• This guide assumes you are familiar with the basic features of the ASCENDER Student system and have reviewed the ASCENDER Student Overview guide.
  
  

Best practices for attendance letters

1. Create letter types.

   
   Attendance > Maintenance > Letters > Update > Directory
   
   

   This tab allows you to create letter types in Attendance. Each type of letter is assigned a code and description and added to the letter type directory. Then, you create and save the letter on the Letter tab as a form letter or template using variables. The form letters and templates can be used to generate the actual letters.
   
   The Attendance letters are campus-specific. They include absence letters, truancy letters, annual notifications, and general mail-out letters. All letter types, except the general mail-out letter type, create a letter control record.
   

   • You can generate different letters for the same absence type.
   • You can print different letters at the same time.
   • The student address is used if the parent's address is incomplete or does not exist.
   • Only one letter is generated for students whose guardians have the same last name and address.
   • Letters are generated even if no parent address, student address, or guardian is found.

   
   

   If letter types exist, they are displayed. If no letter types exist, a blank row is displayed.
   
   ❏ Click +Add to add a letter type, or press ALT+1.

   A blank row is added to the grid.
   

   NOTE: When using ALT+1 to add a row, you must press the 1 key on the keyboard, not the 1 key on the numeric keypad.

   
   

   Ltr ID	Type a unique two-character code for the letter type.
   Preq ID	Type an ID for an existing letter if the letter requires a prerequisite letter. The field is used if the letter type requires another letter to be printed for students before it can be printed for the same students. • A letter ID must already exist before it can be specified as a prerequisite ID. • Prerequisite IDs can only be specified if the selected Letter Type is School Year Absence or Semester Absence. • A letter cannot be its own prerequisite. • Two letters cannot have the same prerequisite. • A prerequisite letter must have the same letter type, absence type, and period type as the letter that requires it. • The Nbr Abs Req for a letter must be greater than the Nbr Abs Req for its prerequisite. • If prerequisites are used, the letter for the lowest number of absences in the prerequisite sequence is printed first. A subsequent letter is not printed (even if the student has the number of absences for which the letter is set up) until the student has at least one more absence than the number reported on the prerequisite letter. • If prerequisite letters are not used, only the letter for the greatest number of absences appropriate for the student's actual number of absences will print.
   Description	Type a description of the letter type, up to 72 characters.
   Letter Type	Select the letter type. The following letter types are available: • Annual Notification - Generates letters for all students once, including new students. You can set up more than one annual notification letter type using different letter IDs. No absence variables are allowed; therefore, the letter type can be used for non-attendance issues. • Four Week Truancy - Generates letters for students who have three or more unexcused absences in a four-week period in the current school year (Rule of Four Weeks warning letter as per SB1432 of the 77th Legislative Session). • Mail Out - Generates letters for all students. No absence variables are allowed; therefore, the letter type can be used for non-attendance issues. A letter control record is not created. • School Year Absence - Generates a report of cumulative absences for the entire school year. • Semester Absence - Generates a report of cumulative absences for the semester selected on Maintenance > Letters > Print > Letter Criteria. • Six Month Truancy - Generates letters for students who have ten or more unexcused absences in a six-month period in the current school year (Rule of Six Months warning letter as per SB1432 of the 77th Legislative Session). NOTE: Only one letter type can be created for Four Week Truancy and Six Month Truancy.
   Absence Type	Select the absence type or combination of absence types for which you want to generate the letter. For certain Letter Types, this field is set to a default value and cannot be changed: • For Annual Notification letters, this field must be blank. • For Four Week and Six Month Truancy letters, this field must be U-Unexcused.
   Period Type	Select the period for which you want to report absences. ADA - Reports absences and tardies that occur in the campus ADA period. Any - Reports a day as an absence day if the student was absent for one or more periods in the day. Same - Reports absence days in which the student had the most absences for a period during the reporting period (semester or year). Tardy equivalent days are not considered in this period type. For certain Letter Types, this field is set to a default value and cannot be changed: • For Annual Notification and Mailout letters, this field must be blank. • For Four Week and Six Month Truancy letters, this field must be Any.
   Nbr Abs Req (number of absences requested)	Type the number of days (not periods) the student is absent or tardy that will trigger the letter to be generated. If prerequisite letters are not used, and another letter with the same Letter Type, Absence Type, and Period Type has a greater Nbr Abs Req, the letter is generated that has the closest Nbr Abs Req, but is not over the number of absences accumulated by the student. For certain Letter Types, this field is set to a default value and cannot be changed: • For Annual Notification and Mailout letters, this field must be blank. • For Four Week and Six Month Truancy letters, this field must be 3 and 10, respectively.
   Nbr Tdy Equiv Req (number of tardies equivalent requested)	Type the number of tardies that equal one absence (day). Leave blank if tardies are not considered. The field is only applicable if the Letter Type is School Year Absence or Semester Absence and Period Type is ADA or Any. • All tardies are reported in the count and are displayed in the list of absences on the letter. • Tardies that occur on a day that is reported as an absence are not included in the equivalence computation. • A value cannot be entered if Absence Type is T (tardy). An error message is displayed indicating that tardy equivalents are not computed when processing the tardy absence type. • For Annual Notification, Mailout, and Truancy letters, this field must be blank.
   Ltr Bdy (letter body)	The field is selected if the form letter has been created. The field can only be updated when the letter body is saved.

   
   ❏ Click Save.
   

   • When absence letters, truancy letters, and annual notifications are printed, all fields except the Description field are disabled to indicate that the letters have been processed and have associated letter control records. Only the Description field can be changed.
     
     
   • Mail Out letters do not create letter control records; therefore, the fields are not disabled when the letters are printed.

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   Other functions and features:

   Delete a letter type. 1. Click to delete a row. The row is shaded red to indicate that it will be deleted when the record is saved. You can select multiple rows to be deleted at the same time. 2. Click Save. You are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the row. Click Yes to continue. Otherwise, click No. You can save edits and delete records in the same step (i.e., the changes are all committed when the record is saved).

   Retrieve

   Click to update the letter body. The letter opens on the Letter tab allowing you to make changes.

2. Create letters.

   
   Attendance > Maintenance > Letters > Update > Letter
   

   This tab allows you to create a form letter or template for each letter type in the Attendance letter directory.
   
   A letter body should be created for each Letter ID in the directory. You can personalize letters using variables.

   
   

   
   

   ❏ Select a letter type in one of the following ways:

   • From the Directory tab, click Retrieve for the letter type.
   • Click the Letter tab. In the drop down at the top of the tab, select the letter type.

   
   The selected letter type is displayed in the text editor.
   
   If the letter body has not yet been created, the editor is blank. Otherwise, the existing letter content is displayed.

   
   
   ❏ Type or edit the letter using as many variables as necessary.

   Copying a letter

   The body of a letter can be copied from one letter type to another, including from one campus to another.

   If you are copying a letter created in Microsoft Word, first copy the text into a .txt file to remove all formatting, then copy the text from the .txt file to the letter editor.

   1. In the body of the letter, press CTRL+A to select all of the letter body.
   2. Press CTRL+C to copy the letter body.
   3. Open the second letter, and then press CTRL+V to paste the letter body.
   4. Delete the variables in the second letter, and add new variables.

      IMPORTANT: The original variables in the second letter must be deleted to generate letters successfully. The same variables may be added back.

   5. Modify the letter as necessary.

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   It is recommended that you do not enter line breaks by pressing ENTER in the paragraph body, as this will cause the text to wrap incorrectly in the actual letter. Instead, let the text wrap naturally in the editor. When you click Preview and print the letters, the line breaks will occur in the appropriate places.

   
   Variables:

   ❏ To add a variable, position the cursor in the letter where you want to insert a variable.

   Variables must be inserted one at a time.

   
   
   ❏ Click Variables to select a variable.

   The Letter Variables lookup is used to select letter variables when printing attendance, discipline, or health letters. Some variables are not available, depending on the letter type.

   
   Search for a variable:
   
   Letter variables are listed in alphabetical order by replacement. Replacement describes the content that will appear in place of the variable when letters are generated for students.

   The list can be re-sorted.

   You can re-sort the grid by clicking on an underlined column heading. It will sort in ascending order. Click it again to sort in descending order.
   
   A triangle next to the column heading indicates the column by which the grid is currently sorted and whether it is sorted in ascending or descending order.

   ❏ To search for a specific variable, begin typing the replacement text in the Search field.

   The list is automatically filtered to display the variables that contain the characters you have typed.

   
   
   ❏ When you locate the variable you want to retrieve, click the replacement.

   The lookup closes, and the letter is populated with the selected variable.

   
   
   ❏ Repeat for the remaining variables.
   
   

   ❏ Click Cancel to close the lookup without selecting a variable.

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   The variable is inserted into the letter, enclosed in curly brackets.
   

   Variables must be inserted one at a time.
   
   A variable cannot be used in the first line of the letter. If the first character in the letter must be a variable, precede it with a blank line to ensure that the letters process properly.

   
   ❏ To delete a variable from the letter, select the variable in the letter body and press Delete.

   
   

   IMPORTANT:

   • The List of Absences variable is used to report absence types and tardy periods if tardy equivalent days are specified; it is not available for Annual Notification and Mail Out letter types.
     
     
   • The font attributes (bold, italic, underline, strikeout) for the List of Absences variable should not be changed. Otherwise, the letters will not generate.

   
   ❏ Click Save.
   

   Preview

   Click to preview the letter. The letter opens in PDF format in an embedded Adobe Reader window where you can print, save, and perform other functions. Margins Adjust the left, right, top, and bottom margins as needed. The margins are specified in inches. Use three digits for the margin with two decimal places (e.g., 1.00). Refresh Margins Click if you changed the margins. The letter is redisplayed with the new margins. ❏ Click Save to save changes to the margins. Edit Click to return to the letter editor.

1. Specify letter criteria.

   
   Attendance > Maintenance > Letters > Print > Letter Criteria
   

   This tab allows you to set criteria for printing attendance letters for parents/guardians.
   
   When absence, truancy, or annual notification letters are generated, letter control records will be created for the students on Maintenance > Student > Student Inquiry > Letter Control. Letter controls are not generated for mailout letter types.

   
   

   Select for Prt

   Select the letters to print. • Multiple letters can be selected and processed at one time. • If selected, the field remains selected so you can run the same letter again throughout the year without having to re-select the field; however, only letters that were not previously printed are generated. For example, if a letter with Nbr Abs Req=3 is printed for a student, that same letter will not be generated again. • Truancy letters are generated according to the number of unexcused absences, so a student may receive multiple truancy letters. • If you are using prerequisite IDs, it is recommended that you select all letters in the set of letters with prerequisite IDs to ensure that each student gets the appropriate letters. • The field is disabled if a letter body does not exist for the letter type. NOTE: This field does not control whether the letter is generated, only whether the letters, once generated, are printed. For this reason, it is recommended that you leave this field selected for all letters.

   
   

   Semester

   If a Semester Absence Letter Type is selected for printing, select a semester. Otherwise, the Semester field is not enabled. NOTE: The beginning date is the first day of school or the first day of the semester, depending on the semester selected. If you change semester, the As of Date field changes to a day within the semester, and a message is displayed indicating that the As of Date field was reset for the semester selected. If you select a previous semester, the As of Date field changes to the last day of the last track in the semester.

   As of Date

   If a Four-Week Truancy, School Year Absence, Semester Absence, or Six-Month Truancy Letter Type is selected for printing, you can adjust the end of the reporting period. Type a date in the MMDDYYYY format, or click to select the date from a calendar. The field is only enabled if one of these Letter Type is selected for printing. Truancy letters use the date in the As of Date field as the ending date of the reporting period. The letters calculate the beginning date as four weeks or six months before the date. The first day of school is the earliest date used for a beginning date. School Year Absence and Semester Absence letters report from the beginning of the period to the date in the As of Date field.

   
   The remaining fields display data as entered on Maintenance > Letters > Update > Directory.
   

   ❏ Click Run to generate the selected letters.

   The Letters tab opens.

2. Preview and print the letters and labels, and create letter controls.

   
   Attendance > Maintenance > Letters > Print > Letters
   

   This tab allows you to preview and print letters, errors, lists (reports), and labels, and generate letter controls. The tab is enabled once you set criteria on the Letter Criteria tab and click Run.
   

   IMPORTANT: You must print letters before creating letter controls.

   
   

   The selected letters open in PDF format in an embedded Adobe Reader window.
   
   From the Adobe Reader toolbar, you can print the letters, save them to your PC, and perform other functions allowed by Adobe Reader.
   

   • If letters are generated, the first set of letters is displayed.
   • One letter is generated for each guardian. Only one letter is generated for guardians who have the same last name and mailing address.
   • The student's two-digit track is displayed below the campus mailing address as well as the student's mailing address.

   
   

   ❏ Under Display/Print, select what you wish to view/print:

   Letters	This option is selected by default. See additional information below.
   Errors	The option is only enabled if errors are encountered when the report is run. Select to view the error report. • If errors are encountered, the letters are still generated. • If no letters are generated, the error report is displayed. • The Errors option is disabled if no errors were encountered. The following error reports may be generated: • Parent & Student Records without Valid Addresses • Students without Primary Parent Records Print the error report. Review the report using the following buttons: Click to go to the first page of the report. Click to go back one page. Click to go forward one page. Click to go to the last page of the report. The report can be viewed and saved in various file formats. Click to save and print the report in PDF format. Click to save and print the report in CSV format. (This option is not available for all reports.) When a report is exported to the CSV format, the report headers may not be included. Click to close the report window. Some reports may have a Close Report, Exit, or Cancel button instead. NOTE: To save the error reports, you must save before printing the letters.
   List	Select to generate the List of Generated Letters report, which lists students for whom letters will be printed, the criteria used to generate the letters, the student's absence and tardy information, and a parent name. If a letter is sent for the same student to different addresses or guardians, it is listed more than once for the same letter ID. Print the error report. Review the report using the following buttons: Click to go to the first page of the report. Click to go back one page. Click to go forward one page. Click to go to the last page of the report. The report can be viewed and saved in various file formats. Click to save and print the report in PDF format. Click to save and print the report in CSV format. (This option is not available for all reports.) When a report is exported to the CSV format, the report headers may not be included. Click to close the report window. Some reports may have a Close Report, Exit, or Cancel button instead. NOTE: To save the list report, you must save before printing the letters.
   Labels	Select to print mailing labels for the letters. See additional information below.

   
   Additional fields are displayed according to your Display/Print selection:
   
   

   Letters:

   Letter Selection	The field is only enabled when Letters is selected for Display/Print. Select the letter type to print. All types of letters that have been generated are listed. The number of letters for each type is displayed in parentheses.

   
   The set of letters for the selected letter type is displayed in the Adobe Reader window.
   

   • Letters are sorted by zip code and then by student name.
   • As sets of letters are printed, the associated letter types are removed from the drop-down list.

   
   
   

   Letter Controls:

   Letter controls allow you to mark which letters have been sent to which students. Letter controls are used to prevent the same letters from generating for students who have already received them. Letters are deleted once the letter controls are created for those letters.

   IMPORTANT: You must print letters before creating Letter Controls.

   ❏ To create letter controls, select Letters under Display/Print.
   
   ❏ Click Create Letter Controls.

   The letter controls pop-up window opens.

   
   
   ❏ Select the letter(s) you want to create letter controls for.
   
   ❏ Click OK.

   The window closes.
   
   A record for this letter is added to Attendance > Maintenance > Student > Student Inquiry > Letter Control for each student who had a letter generated, and the Date Sent field on that tab will display the date on which letters were generated.

   
   
   

   Labels:

   ❏ To print mailing labels for the letters, select Labels under Display/Print.

   The labels are displayed in the Adobe Reader window. Labels are sorted by zip code, student last name, and student first name.

   
   

   Label Selection

   The field is only enabled when Labels is selected for Display/Print. Select the letter type you are printing labels for. Labels for all types of letters that have been generated are listed. The number of labels for each letter type is displayed in parentheses.

   Label Format

   The field is only enabled when Labels is selected for Display/Print. Select the label format. You can select 14 or 30 per page. The labels are designed according to the following templates: • 14 labels per page - Avery 5162 template (1.33“ x 4”) • 30 labels per page - Avery 5160 template (1“ x 2 5/8”) • Select Parent's Name to print the parent's name and address on the labels. • Select Student Name to print “To The Parents of” on the labels.

   
   

   
   

   NOTE: To save the error reports, you must save before printing the letters.

   
   ❏ Click Return to return to the Letter Criteria tab.
   

   IMPORTANT: Any letters or labels generated on the Letters tab are deleted when you return.

   
   You are prompted to confirm that you wish to return. Click Yes.

1. View a student's letters, and update Date Sent as needed.

   
   Attendance > Maintenance > Student > Student Inquiry > Letter Control
   

   This tab displays letter control records for individual students, which are created when attendance letters are generated on Maintenance > Letters > Update > Directory. You can enter or modify the date on which the letters were sent, if needed.

   
   

   
   

   Select a student

   
   ❏ To retrieve a student's records, select the student in one of the following ways:
   

   Student	Begin typing the student ID (with leading zeros) or last name. As you begin typing, a drop-down list displays students whose ID or last name begins with the numbers or characters you have typed. The drop-down list displays the students' full name and grade level. From the drop-down list you can select the student. The student can also be located by typing the name in one of the following formats: • Last name, comma, first name (smith, john) • Last name initial, comma, first name initial (s,j) • Comma, first name (,j)
   Texas Unique Stu ID	Type all or part of the student's Texas Unique Student ID to retrieve students whose ID begins with the characters you typed. TWEDS Data Element: TX-UNIQUE-STUDENT-ID (E1523) If the student does not have a Unique ID, click TSDS Unique ID button to connect to the TSDS Unique ID Web Service and obtain an ID. Your LEA must have the appropriate credentials through Texas Education Agency Login (TEAL) before this functionality can be used. Review the Assign a TSDS Unique ID guide for additional information.
   Directory	Click to select a student from the Directory.
   (photo)	If a photo exists for the student, the student photo is displayed. From Registration > Maintenance > Student Enrollment, you can change the student photo: 1. Hover over the image, and click Change. The Change Student Photo window opens. 2. Click Choose File. Locate and open the file for the new image. 3. Click Save. The window closes, and the new image is displayed. Photos are not displayed in all applications. They are displayed in Attendance (Inquiry), Discipline, Grade Reporting, Graduation Plan, Health, Registration, and Scheduling. They are not displayed in Special Ed or Test Scores.

   From Date	(Required) Type the date from which you want to inquire about the student's attendance letters. Use the MMDDYYYY format.

   
   The student's original entry date, grade level, and withdrawal date (if applicable) are displayed.

   Records are displayed that indicate letters have been printed.

   • Data from Maintenance > Letters > Update > Directory is displayed.
   • The list can be re-sorted.

     You can re-sort the grid by clicking on an underlined column heading. It will sort in ascending order. Click it again to sort in descending order.
     
     A triangle next to the column heading indicates the column by which the grid is currently sorted and whether it is sorted in ascending or descending order.

   
   

   Date Sent	The date on which the letters were generated is displayed. Type another date in the MMDDYYYY format if necessary. NOTE: If you manually change this field for a student, it will not be updated if you run the Update/Delete Letter Controls utility to mass update letter controls.

   
   ❏ Click Save.

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   Other functions and features:

   Delete a letter control record. 1. Click to delete a row. The row is shaded red to indicate that it will be deleted when the record is saved. You can select multiple rows to be deleted at the same time. 2. Click Save. You are prompted to confirm that you want to delete the row. Click Yes to continue. Otherwise, click No. You can save edits and delete records in the same step (i.e., the changes are all committed when the record is saved).

   Documents

   View or attach supporting documentation.

2. Mass update or mass delete letter controls.

   
   Attendance > Utilities > Update/Delete Letter Controls
   

   This utility mass deletes letter control records, which are created when letters are printed. You can also mass update the letter control records for a particular set of letters with the actual date on which those letters were sent.
   
   Student letter control records can be viewed on Maintenance > Student > Student Inquiry > Letter Control.
   

   NOTE: If a student's Date Sent was manually changed on the Letter Control tab, it is not updated when you use this utility to do a mass update.

   
   

   
   

   Existing letter control records are displayed, including the number of letters generated, the date on which they were sent, and the options selected for the letter type.

   The list can be re-sorted.

   You can re-sort the grid by clicking on an underlined column heading. It will sort in ascending order. Click it again to sort in descending order.
   
   A triangle next to the column heading indicates the column by which the grid is currently sorted and whether it is sorted in ascending or descending order.

   Date Sent	The date on which the letters were run is displayed. To change the date, type the actual date in the MMDDYYYY format. You may need to scroll to the right to see this field.

   
   ❏ Click Update.
   

   Del	To delete all letter control records for a particular Letter Type and As Of Date, select the check box for the rows you want to delete, and then click Delete. The selected rows are deleted.