Aeries Software

Aeries Software wants our customers and the community to know that we are here to support them through these challenging times. This page contains all information that we have released related to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). We will continually update this page as we gain new information or resources.

Quick Links

Updates

Update 4/1/2021

• Re-Opening Schools Safely - Last week Aeries SIS, along with our partners at ParentSquare, hosted a panel discussion featuring California-based K-12 leaders from Paso Robles Joint USD, Madera USD, and Porterville USD. They discussed the timeline for re-opening at their districts, challenges they are facing or anticipating, and how Aeries Communication powered by ParentSquare has played a role in helping organize their district's efforts to safely re-open their schools. The webinar recording is available here: https://vimeo.com/529095766/0f104422d7

Update 10/3/2020

• As previously mentioned in the SB 98 Update (step 6), the new Weekly Instructional Minutes Certification feature has been released with the 9/24/2020 version.
• A Webinar Wednesday presentation for SB-98 Enhancements was held on 9/30/2020. A Recording is available at the bottom of the  SB 98 Update  page.
• A 2-hour session session on SB-98 Weekly Engagement and Participation Tracking has been added to the upcoming AeriesCon and is scheduled for Monday Afternoon. There is still time to register for our first virtual AeriesCon that's happening October 5-8. The low price of $150 gets you access to up to 20 individual sessions, keynote speakers, Open Forum, and access to recordings of all sessions for the rest of the year. Here's the link to register, registration closes on October 8, 2020. http://www.aeries.com/conference

Update 9/16/2020

• As previously mentioned in the SB 98 Update (step 3), the new Class Calendars feature has been released with the 9/11/2020 version.
• A new feature to Mass Apply Attendance and Quick Attendance Notes has been released with the 9/15/2020 version. This feature allows teachers to quickly mass enter attendance codes or attendance notes.

Update 9/11/2020

• It was recently decided to continue to offer ALL Aeries Academy courses and certifications for FREE through December 31, 2020. Register at learn.aeries.com

Update 9/2/2020

• In addition to the latest California SB 98 Update regarding daily participation and weekly engagement, we created a new article specifically describing Attendance Recommendations for 2020-21 school year in more detail.
• We also just published some FAQs regarding weekly engagement.

Update 8/28/2020

• After multiple discussions with CDE on 8/27/2020, we now recommend that the default Absence Code "A" be the ONLY absence code marked as "Unverified Absence" and be used by teachers to indicate any student who is not present when expected, either On Campus or in a Distance Learning environment. It should be updated to the appropriate Verified Absence Code as part of the normal Absence Verification Process. If it was for a day of Distance Learning, and there was no subsequent contact with the student or parent, it should be changed to Distance Learning-Not Engaged (Unexcused Absence-Verified). This will allow schools to track students who may need to be placed on a re-engagement plan. We apologize for the confusion on this matter, but we received the template and instructions from CDE at the same time it was given to the LEAs. 
• We have scheduled some free webinars next week on our plans for the Daily Participation/Weekly Engagement requirements that were just announced. Customers can register for the webinars at the following link:  https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000119806-sb-98-aeries-adjustments-for-daily-participation-and-weekly-engagement

Update 8/27/2020

• In response to recent information disseminated from the California Department of Education concerning the accounting of Daily Participation and Weekly Engagement during the 2020-2021 school year for Online, In Person, and Hybrid Instruction of students, Aeries is being enhanced with new features including the ability to produce a Weekly Engagement Report. We invite you read about these upcoming changes or register for a webinar on the topic. Because of this, we have also modified our Hybrid Procedures to Consider document.

Update 7/23/2020

• Next week on Wednesday and Thursday we are offering additional free sessions that will introduce scheduling scenarios webinars that can help schools decide on the best fit and set up their custom scheduling. Four different sessions are available. This information will also be sent out to all district contacts in an email today. Resources and sign up links are included below:
  • Notes and documentation for the sessions: https://aeries.link/2020scheduling
  • Elementary (no Master Scheduling) - AM/PM and Hybrid Learning

    For Elementary schools without master scheduling that are looking at dividing students into multiple groups to attend on different school days and/or different school times.

    Wednesday, July 29 – 10:00 – 11:30AM

    Session Recording: https://aeries.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/aeries/recording/playback/e84881ecdc61478d865e41ef9e3aa15e

  • Elementary with Master Scheduling (K-6) - Hybrid and AM/PM
    For Elementary schools with master scheduling that are looking at dividing students into multiple groups to attend on different school days and/or different school times.
    Wednesday, July 29 – 2:00 – 3:30PM
    Session Recording: https://aeries.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/aeries/recording/playback/abadfb52eab14efc8776de06f7bc793f

  • Secondary - Middle/High Schools - Hybrid with Synchronous learning
    For secondary schools that are looking at dividing students into multiple groups to attend on different school days with Synchronous Learning
    Thursday, July 30 – 10:00 – 11:30AM
    Session Recording:  https://aeries.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/aeries/recording/playback/2ab0ae65ab314f728bce70b125f7bbc3

  • Secondary - Middle/High Schools - Hybrid with Asynchronous learning

    For secondary schools that are looking at dividing students into multiple groups to attend on different school days with Asynchronous Learning

    Thursday, July 30 – 2:00 – 3:30pm

    Session Recording:  https://aeries.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/aeries/recording/playback/52ebebe6e3fd42d7aa97a0ec89e4967a

    
    

  • Flex Scheduling 

    Flex Scheduling allows for staggering and overlapping schedules with no limit of time periods. This will be perfect for schools looking at on premise distancing scheduling in the fall and when Aeries traditional scheduling will not meet their needs.

    Thursday, June 18  – 9:00am

    Session Recording: https://aeries.webex.com/recordingservice/sites/aeries/recording/playback/399acf12a15e435d85a3b3200b6f27db 
    
    

Update 7/20/2020

• The article Hybrid Procedures to Consider for 2020-2021 School Year has been updated to also include information regarding Distance Learning only, since many counties in California plan to open online only.
• We are getting Aeries ready for the challenges you face starting school this year. Part of the preparation is deciding what changes to Aeries will have the most impact.  We have put together a survey that will help us prioritize development.  We worked with many districts and the CDE to come up with these possible enhancements.  Please fill out this quick survey at https://aeries.link/hybridfeatures as soon as you can as we are looking to start development this week on the highest priority items. Here is a list of the development items we are considering along with some background to help you prioritize these on the survey:
  1. For Teachers - Easily Create Recurring Gradebook Assignments
     • For students engaged in distance learning on a particular day, a teacher must track the means by which the student engaged that day. The Aeries Gradebook is a great place to record this information with a Daily Assignment so the ability to create a recurring assignment would be helpful.
  2. For Teachers - Allow student sorting using the Additional Student Field Columns (this would be useful when students are identified by the on-campus vs at-home work pattern)
     • When taking attendance for a class of students who are mixed between on campus and distance learning, this will help group these sets of students to make attendance taking easier for teachers.
  3. For Office Staff - Adjust the Classroom Attendance page to include the Additional Student Fields that teachers can see.
     • For A/B Groups of students, students will be flagged using a Student User Code field. This information can be displayed to teachers on the Teacher Attendance page, but if office staff have to take attendance for a teacher, the Classroom Attendance page also need to display this information for each student.
  4. For Teachers - Allow for quickly adding and editing Attendance Notes on the Teacher Attendance page in order to track the details of Student Distance Learning Engagement
     • For students engaged in distance learning on a particular day, a teacher must track the means by which the student engaged that day. Attendance Notes is a possible way to track this information instead of the Gradebook. But Attendance Notes are not easily added for large groups of students. This feature would make it a simple process of checking the correct box(es) for students on how they engaged that day.
  5. For Teachers - Allow for separating students on the Attendance Page by Section instead of by Course
     • For A/B Groups of students, students from each group may be scheduled into different sections of the same course for the same teacher. Currently the Teacher Attendance page groups students in the same course with the same teacher but different sections as one large group. This option would allow for breaking up the different sections visually on the page and make taking attendance for these groups easier.
  6. For Teachers - Add a Select All feature for Attendance Codes on the Teacher Attendance page. This would be unique for each "class" displayed on this page.
     • This features goes along with the option to group the Teacher Attendance Page by Section. With this option, each section would have the option to mass select a particular attendance code for the section and "save" the selected value and any changes as a secondary button to be clicked by the teacher.
• We are also planning on scheduling a few additional webinars next week (week of July 27) to go over complex scheduling.

Update 7/16/2020

• An article on Hybrid Procedures to Consider for 2020-2021 School Year has been released with information on California AB77.  Aeries has reviewed this new information and has compiled some suggested procedures  using existing Aeries features to meet these new guidelines. 

Update 6/30/2020

• We are reviewing the  CA 2020-21 State Budget signed today by Governor Newsom, and have a call scheduled with the CDE to obtain their guidance on what documentation is expected from districts as far as reporting daily and weekly student engagement. Once we have that information, we will be developing procedures for how districts can use the Aeries system to provide the reporting necessary, for in-person, remote, and hybrid learning models. This project will receive our highest priority in order to be ready for school to begin this fall. 

Update 6/16/2020

• In alignment with the California Department of Education Stronger Together Guidelines, we are researching recommendations and best practices for managing attendance for these hybrid schedules. If districts receive any guidance or recommendations on this matter, feel free to send that information to Aeries Support.
• Documentation on report card comments has been released. This will aid those wishing to have custom messages on secondary report cards.

Update 5/13/2020

• Aeries Software has extended the FREE access to Aeries Academy till August 31, 2020. See more at https://learn.aeries.com 

Update 5/11/2020

• Last week's release of Aeries included a new option to account for attendance properly for CALPADS STAS reporting purposes.
• A portal option was also added to disable loading grades from the gradebook. This may be useful for some schools that are using alternative grading and need to keep tighter controls on their final grades.
• A new article has been posted on an alternative to mailing report cards home

Update 4/29/2020

• For districts providing a Parents option to opt into either receiving a letter or pass/fail term grade, we have added a new solution page.

Update 4/28/2020

• We published an article on modifying the Calendar to Maximize ADA. There is specific section addressing our current school year and the current COVID-19 situation.

Update 4/17/2020

• To assist with student wellness-check outreach, Aeries has a couple of solutions to assist in recording the wellness-check activity. See details at How to create a Student Wellness Check-in Page . 
• Districts practicing online distancing model of instruction and learning are looking for different Gradebook grading options in lieu of traditional in-classroom grading. Such as Pass/Fall or Credit/No Credit grading and/or grading new distance learning assignments while not changing the previous overall grade. See features at Gradebook Options During Online Distancing Model Instruction .
• The Quick Links section on this page was added

Update 4/8/2020

• In order to properly report data for the CALPADS STAS extract, we will be making some adjustments to Attendance History to only calculate attendance data until a specified date, so that no changes to the school calendar will be necessary. This data would then be reported correctly for the STAS extract. This is in development and will be released in the coming weeks in time for EOY reporting. More details on this process will be announced.
• For schools switching to Pass/Fail or Credit/No-Credit, Aeries Supports P/F and CR/NC marks right now. They would need to be configured on the Update Valid Marks page. Additionally, we are planning to adjust our UC/CSU calculations to accommodate recently announced policy changes on A-G Completion Logic for Spring and Summer 2020 Course Completions.

Update 4/3/2020

• This page (https://aeries.link/coronavirus) was created as a central location for any COVID-19 Coronavirus updates from Aeries, and will be updated as information changes. Feel free to bookmark this page and check back for any new updates.

Update 4/2/2020

• An email was sent out to all of our customers outlining the following Aeries features and solutions. We are also attempting to reach out to each district individually to ensure they are receiving the support they need during these times.
• Additional Features and Solutions:
  • Google Integration with new and existing Google Classrooms
    • https://aeries.wistia.com/medias/j8clh1bih2
    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000066445

  • Online Learning URL added to Class Summary. This is in addition to the website, so teachers can post an additional URL for students and parents. 

    • https://aeries.wistia.com/medias/ob3ocftoff
    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000069820-intro-to-the-teacher-portal

  • Further refine School and District Messages UI to make messages more prominent. This will allow schools and districts to post a message that will display prominently.

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000111089-school-and-district-global-messages

  • Aeries online portal messages and teacher/student file and document sharing using "Teacher Briefcase" and “Student Backpack"

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000111058-no-lms-no-problem-use-aeries-tools

  • Manage parent and student requests to reset their password from home.

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000071608-managing-parent-student-portal-accounts

  • Display VPC code to teachers and other users to allow teachers to help create parent and student portal accounts if needed. This can be turned on via a district option.

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000076634-district-rules-district-settings-

  • Portal Usage Log can be utilized to see which parents and students are interacting with the Aeries Portal

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000095606-portal-usage-log-video

  • View feedback messages from parents/students they may have sent in the app (can't login to portal, etc.)

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/articles/14000099684-aeries-mobile-portal-app-feedback

  • District Assets - to manage the distribution of Chromebooks and other resources to students starting Distance Learning.

    • https://support.aeries.com/support/solutions/folders/14000107991

  • FREE online self-paced professional development for Aeries SIS day-to-day work and teacher activities. 

    • https://learn.aeries.com

  • For those using Aeries Communications (powered by Parent Square); here is a great link on how to communicate about the stresses of school closures.

    • https://psln.parentsquare.com/blog/how-to-communicate-with-parents-about-mental-health-with-sample-posts 

  • Soon to be released, our Aeries Teacher App. This iOS & Android app can provide student and Aeries information for teachers along with direct access to Aeries Communications (for those participating districts).

    • https://aeries.wistia.com/medias/zdc1ur1bv5

  • And lastly, if you missed the Spring CUE conference this year, come by our virtual exhibit hall booth and learn about our Aeries Teacher Toolkit.

    • https://aeries.link/toolkit

Update 3/26/2020

• We have published some resources to support Distance Learning. This page includes videos and links to various features within Aeries that may be used to support digital learning including using Aeries as a light-weight LMS.

Update 3/20/2020

• We released some additional information related to attendance procedures. 

Update 3/19/2020

• All Aeries Academy courses are now Free through June 30th. Users can register for Aeries Academy courses here: https://learn.aeries.com/
• An email was sent out to all of our customers, letting them know not to make any changes in Aeries until we know more.

Update 3/27/2020

• Aligning with the Stay at Home Order issued by the State of California, our physical office location closure has been extended until further notice. Originally it was only until the end of March. Our employees have been able to transition to working remotely.

Update 3/18/2020

• Our physical office location is now officially closed through the end of March, and all employees who can do so are transitioning to remote work.

Update 3/16/2020

• We recommended all employees work from home at least through the end of March.

Update 4/1/2021

• Re-Opening Schools Safely - Last week Aeries SIS, along with our partners at ParentSquare, hosted a panel discussion featuring California-based K-12 leaders from Paso Robles Joint USD, Madera USD, and Porterville USD. They discussed the timeline for re-opening at their districts, challenges they are facing or anticipating, and how Aeries Communication powered by ParentSquare has played a role in helping organize their district's efforts to safely re-open their schools. The webinar recording is available here: https://vimeo.com/529095766/0f104422d7

Update 9/16/2020

• As previously mentioned in the SB 98 Update (step 3), the new Class Calendars feature has been released with the 9/11/2020 version.
• A new feature to Mass Apply Attendance and Quick Attendance Notes has been released with the 9/15/2020 version. This feature allows teachers to quickly mass enter attendance codes or attendance notes.

@Kelly - We have not received any specific guidance regarding discipline or suspensions, so I would contact CALPADS on that item. If you get some good information, feel free to share with us at support@aeries.com.

Update: It was recently decided to continue to offer ALL Aeries Academy courses and certifications for FREE through December 31, 2020. Register at learn.aeries.com

We also just published some FAQs regarding weekly engagement.

In addition to the latest California SB 98 Update regarding daily participation and weekly engagement, we created a new article specifically describing Attendance Recommendations for 2020-21 school year in more detail.

In response to recent information disseminated from the California Department of Education concerning the accounting of Daily Participation and Weekly Engagement during the 2020-2021 school year for Online, In Person, and Hybrid Instruction of students, Aeries is being enhanced with new features including the ability to produce a Weekly Engagement Report. We invite you read about these upcoming changes or register for a webinar on the topic. Because of this, we have also modified our Hybrid Procedures to Consider document. 

This new report, similar to the Weekly Attendance Report, would include information regarding attendance notes, as I know some others have asked about here in this forum.

Chrissie, thank you for your feedback. We are attending our bi-weekly CALPADS vendor call this morning and are planning to discuss this.