IT Department

Important Reminder: Keep Student Demographic Information Up to Date

We’ve identified a high number of inactive phone numbers and invalid email addresses in our student records. This significantly impacts our schools’ and district’s ability to communicate with families, especially during emergencies or time-sensitive events.

It is crucial to keep student information in PowerSchool up to date, whether through district enrollment forms, Parent Portal Updates, or in-person communication with the school. Up-to-date records are crucial for seamless operations across all systems and services.

Keeping student information current helps prevent:

• Undelivered mail

• Missed text messages or phone calls

• Unreceived emails

• Delays in receiving annual forms and surveys

• Registration issues for programs like PrimeTime, Summer School, and other district offerings, such as Choice

Unified Operations Communication (UOC) to Identify Invalid Contact Information

School sites that actively use Unified Operations Communication (UOC) to engage with families can easily identify invalid phone numbers and email addresses.

• To check for invalid phone numbers: Launch UOC in PowerSchool. Navigate to the Messaging section. Select Contact clean up, and use the By SMS Status filter to preview all Inactive numbers. 

• To check for invalid email addresses: Launch UOC in PowerSchool. Navigate to the Directories section. Select Parents, and use the By E-mail status filter to preview Nonexistent email, Invalid Domain, or Rejected.

How to Update Student Information Online

Families can update contact and demographic information directly through the Parent Portal Updates feature in PowerSchool—no paper forms or manual data entry required. Once submitted, school staff are notified and can quickly review and approve the changes.

Enabling Parent Portal Updates (for School Staff)

To enable this feature:

1. From the PowerSchool Start Page, go to Setup > School

2. Under General, select Parent/Student Access

3. Select the Available Features tab

4. Click to enable (blue) Parent Portal Updates

To enable this feature (New Enhanced UI):

1. Select School Management

2. Select User Access

3. Select Configure Parent and Student Access

4. Select the Available Features tab

5. Click to enable (blue) Parent Portal Updates

Resources

For Families:

• Share the Using the Parent Portal to Update Student Information Handbook (available in English and Spanish)

For School Staff:

• Refer to the Accepting Parent Portal Updates – for School Sites handbook for step-by-step instructions on reviewing and approving updates.

Additional Support:

• Parent/Student Portal Administration Handbook: Guidance on enabling and managing the Parent Portal.

• Staff Training: Offered twice a month through the end of the school year to help schools set up and support Parent Portal use. Register in Professional Learning by searching for “Parent Portal.”

Thank you for your ongoing support in maintaining the accuracy and accessibility of our student data.

For questions or support related to PowerSchool, please submit a support case online at https://sandiegounified.freshservice.com or email us at [email protected].