Master Schedule or Scheduling Master Schedule
Scheduling Students into Classes
Overview
An elementary school can use a master schedule next year and can begin the scheduling process during the previous school year instead of waiting until the new school year is created. Consider the following factors when scheduling an Elementary with Master Schedule school.
Courses ↑
All elementary courses must be added to the Courses table. Most school districts have guidelines for adding new courses, so complete this process in collaboration with your school district.
When adding courses:
- Courses for lower grade levels can be titled Kindergarten, Grade 1, Grade 2, and so on.
- Credit Values are not needed for elementary courses. A Dept code is optional.
- All CALPADS required fields must be populated. Please check the CALPADS in Aeries document for a listing of these fields.
In the example below, the Course Title is 0-Kinder Core. The Low Grd and High Grd are both 0, since only kindergarten students are scheduled into this course.
Courses for upper grade levels have more specific titles related to the subject area. In the example below, the Course Title is 6th Math A and the Long Title is 6th Grade Math A. The Low Grd and High Grd are both 6, since this is a grade 6 math course.
It is common practice to add a course titled Homeroom, or something similar. This course is used for the Master Schedule sections created for the period when attendance is taken.
NOTE: Do not populate the Subject Area Code fields. They are used by high schools to track graduation requirements.
Master Schedule or Scheduling Master Schedule ↑
When all courses are added to the Courses table, decide whether to use the Master Schedule or Scheduling Master Schedule to create the sections students are assigned to. The Scheduling Master Schedule, in the Scheduling Process area, has many mass scheduling options that the Master Schedule does not.
NOTE: While scheduling for the current year, changes made to an MST record will automatically sync the changes to the matching SMS record.
Master Schedule ↑
To add sections to the Master Schedule, click Add New Record.
The form opens in edit mode with the cursor in the Period field. Enter the period number and press Tab to auto-populate the section number. Populate the following fields to create the new section:
- Period – The period this class will meet.
- Block (Blk) - If this class meets for more than one period, enter the number of periods. For example, the screenshot below the period is 1 and the block is 1 which indicates that this period meets period 1 for a 1 block period of time.
- Semester (Sem) – The semester this class will meet. The drop down menu is populated from the school’s terms. Aeries recommends using Term Y for the Attendance Period section. The Attendance period should not be changed.
- Course – Select the course for this section using the drop down menu.
- Teacher – Select the teacher for this section using the drop down menu.
- Grd Range – The low and high grade level this class will allow.
- Exclude – Homeroom and Lower Grade level sections should be populated with an X which will exclude the section from Grade Reporting.
- Split Term – Indicates the days of the week the class will meet.
There are several other fields on the Master Schedule form that are required to be populated for CALPADS reporting. If the Highlight State Reporting Fields option is selected, those fields will shaded in green. If the option is not selected, the green shading will not display. The fields must be accurately populated for State Reporting. Please refer to the CALPADS in Aeries Basics - Field Mapping by Page documentation for a complete listing of all required fields. To turn on the Highlight State Reporting Fields, select the user login drop-down, then select the option.
When all data is entered, click Insert at the bottom of the form. Continue adding sections until all classes are in the Master Schedule.
Scheduling Master Schedule ↑
Classes can be added to the Scheduling Master Schedule using either the Scheduling Master Schedule or the Scheduling Master Schedule (SMS) Board. Both are in the Scheduling Process category of the navigation.
To add sections using the Scheduling Master Schedule, follow the instructions above for adding sections to the Master Schedule.
If the Scheduling Master Schedule is blank:
- Add sections using the SMS Builder on the Scheduling Master Schedule Board.
- A blank Scheduling Master Schedule Board displays the message There is no data. and lists no teachers or periods.
- A teacher is displayed on the Board only after the teacher has at least one section assigned.
- Add Class adds a section for a teacher and period on the Board, so it cannot add sections until teachers are displayed. Use the SMS Builder to add the first sections.
For detailed instructions on the use of the SMS Builder as well as the Scheduling Master Schedule Board, please refer to the Scheduling Master Schedule Board documentation.
Copy Scheduling Results to SEC & MST
When scheduling is complete, run Copy Scheduling Results to SEC & MST. Select Check here to continue to display the options.
For Elementary with Master Schedule schools, the following options are displayed on the same page:
- Update Student Teacher (STU.CU) Based on Attendance Period updates each student's teacher based on the attendance period section. This option is selected by default.
- Update Student Attendance (ATT.TN) is displayed only when the school has attendance records, such as during mid-year scheduling. Enter the Leave Date, Enter Date, and a Reason for each. The Leave Date defaults to the nearest school day, the Enter Date defaults to the next school day, and the leave Reason defaults to 440.
- What is the Course Attendance Start Date for new sections added to students' class schedules? is displayed when the school has Course Attendance (CAR) records. It defaults to the next school day.
Click Run Process. A confirmation message is displayed before the copy runs.
Scheduling Students into Classes ↑
Students in lower grade levels are typically scheduled into one class only. Students in upper grade levels are typically scheduled into a rotating schedule.
Lower Grade Level Student Scheduled into One Class Only
In the example below, the student is in kindergarten and is scheduled into a 0-Kinder Core class that meets period 0. Period 0 is the period when attendance is taken.
This student is scheduled on the Classes page by entering the Sec # (Section Number). Alternatively, enter the Crs ID (Course ID) and allow the scheduler to schedule the student into the class.
Upper Grade Level Student Scheduled into a Rotating Schedule
In this example, the upper grade level student is scheduled into many classes during the day, which is a rotating schedule. The student is scheduled into a Home Room class that meets period 0. In this school, period 0 is the period when attendance is taken.
This student was scheduled on the Classes form found in the navigation tree under Student > Scheduling > Classes.
To move the student to a new section:
- In Edit Mode, check the End Date and Start Date.
- The End Date is the last school day the student was enrolled in the old section (the section they are leaving).
- The Start Date is the first school day the student is enrolled in the new section.
- Locate the course that contains the section to change, then click the section the student is moving into. The new section turns green.
NOTE: The End Date and Start Date must be correct so the Course Attendance Record (CAR) table is maintained properly.
In this example, the student is changing homeroom classes from Merle to Caudill and starts the new class on 03/31/2022.
Students can also be mass scheduled using the forms in the Scheduling Process > Functions category of the navigation.
Detailed instructions on student scheduling is available at the following link: Scheduling.