Managing Classes

Administrative users can manage the class catalog and the website's configuration settings. This article lists the basic steps for managing classes and explains some of the website's idiosyncrasies.

Let's begin by setting things up for the new school year, which you can do soon after the end of the current school year. In summary, the class registry and catalog must be cleared, and various dates must be updated in the website's settings.

• Navigate to the Administration > Manage Database page. You may see a note that data files have been backed up and/or that the currently displayed table has been alphabetized.
• Use the drop-down near the top of the page to select the Registration table, and click Load Table.
• Scroll to the bottom of the page, and click the Delete All button. The Registration table should now be empty.
• Use the drop-down to select the Class Catalog table, click Load Table, scroll all the way to the bottom, and click Delete All. The Class Catalog should now be empty, too.
• Click on the Settings menu item. Update School Year, and set Current Trimester and Registration Trimester to Fall.
• Also set the date for each phase of class registration, paying attention to the customary day of the week, listed in each field's description.
• Click Save.

Now, you can begin adding the new classes, and assigning teachers and aides. Don't forget to include Study Hall and Nursery, for each hour!

Once the fall or winter trimester is under way, you can prepare for the next registration cycle.

• Navigate to the Administration > Settings page, and update Registration Trimester. Note that you should wait until after the last class of the session, to update Current Trimester.
• Set the date for each phase of class registration, paying attention to the customary day of the week, listed in each field's description.
• Click Save.
• You can start updating the class catalog for the next session, as long as you remember three simple rules: (1) Watch the title of the catalog page, to make sure you're looking at the right session, (2) if you extend a continuing class, you must manually re-register each student and teacher to that class, and (3) if you remove a session from a continuing class, you must re-register each student to that class (in the current session), so that their registration from the future session(s) is removed.

Once the current trimester is over, you may finish preparing for class registration.

• Navigate to the Administration > Settings page, and update Current Trimester.
• Click Save.
• Navigate to the Classes > Entire Catalog page, check the box to display only classes offered during the current trimester, and click Reload Catalog.
• Select Description from the list and click Reload Catalog. Contact the teachers whose classes have no description, and explain the importance of submitting class descriptions, so that other parents can decide which classes to sign up their kids for.
• Skim the Fall, Winter, Spring enrollment counts for each class, looking for (1) continuing classes that have no students carrying over into the next trimester, and (2) classes that no longer continue, but that still have students enrolled. If there are such classes, make a note of them, and use the Classes > Family Schedules page to enroll or unenroll the appropriate students and teachers.