HCPSS FAMILY PORTAL

The HCPSS Family Portal is an online tool that allows you to monitor your child's progress in school. It gives you instant access to your child's grades and other information anytime and anywhere you have Internet access. For the 2011-2012 school year, the Family Portal will be available to parents/guardians of all middle and high school students. Elementary schools are scheduled to come online in 2012-2013.
As a parent/guardian, you can:

• View the most current information about your student's academic performance such as grades and quarterly averages.
• See student schedules.
• Access daily and class attendance information.
• Review family information, such as emergency contacts.
• Request optional automatic notification of attendance and grades.

The system was developed and tested with great care to ensure that student information is kept confidential and that only you, and authorized school personnel, can view your child's information.
In the near future, you will be able to:

• View one parent account for multiple student records.
• Review your contact information and submit changes online.
• Submit course requests online.
• Register for summer school online.

In general, the following guidelines apply:

• School attendance is updated daily.
  
• Grades for tests and projects are to be posted within three weeks following the due date. If this 3-week guideline will not be met, the teacher will notify both students and parents.

Additionally…

• Teachers will review major assignment grades with students before they are posted.
  
• You are asked to talk to your child about a grade prior to contacting the classroom teacher.
  
• Teachers will do their best to respond to emails from parents within two school days.
  
• You can only view, not edit, your child's profile information. If you find that it is incorrect, notify your child's school.

In order to access the HCPSS Family Portal for the first time, you will first need to verify your identity and the identity of the students for whom you will have access.

1. Open a Web browser to connect to the Internet.
   
2. Enter www.hcpss.org, look in the right column and click on HCPSS Family Portal.




3. Click on Activate Account Now.
4. Agree to the Terms of Use.
   
5. Start entering your information beginning with your name and address to verify your identity.
   
6. Enter the student ID number and date of birth of each student in your family. (The student ID number can be found on the latest report card or class schedule.)
   
7. If the information entered is verified, your Login ID and Temporary Password will be displayed on the screen. You may print this information for later use or you may continue to log in to the Family Portal. Keep this information in a secure and accessible place for future reference.
   
8. For the 2011-2012 school year, you will receive separate Login ID for each child you have enrolled in the HCPSS. During the course of the year, your school will work with you to consolidate your accounts to create one account that allows access to information on all of your children at the same time.

Note: To request an additional account to the HCPSS Family Portal, please complete the Account Request Form .

You can log in to the HCPSS Family Portal from any computer that connects to the Internet. You can access the system from anywhere – your home or your office.

1. Open a Web browser to connect to the Internet.
   
2. Enter www.hcpss.org, look in the right column and click on HCPSS Family Portal.
   
   
   
   
3. Enter the Login ID and Password you received when you activated your account.
   
4. When prompted, create a permanent password. Enter your Temporary Password in the Current Password field and create a New Password of at least eight (8) characters. Confirm New Password and click OK.
   
   
   

Once you have logged in successfully, you will see your personal Family Portal page.

The first time you log in to the HCPSS Family Portal, you should update your security information. This allows you to request a Temporary Password should you forget your Password.

1. In the top right corner of the page, click Set Preferences.
   
2. Click the Security tab.
   
3. Enter your Primary email.
   
4. Select a Security question.
5. Enter you Security answer.
   
6. Enter and Confirm answer.
   
7. Click OK. You will return to your Family Portal page.
   

Your Family Portal page shows recent activity and the latest updates. You can choose to view activity for the current day, the last 7 days, last 30 days, or last 60 days.

On your portal page, you will find three Tabs labeled Pages, My Info, and Academics in the banner across the top of the page.

After you select a Tab from the top of the page, related Side Tabs will appear on the left side of the page to reveal detailed information:

The Pages Tab:

• Announcements from your school.
• Recent activity regarding your child's grades and attendance.

The My Info Tab:

• Profile information, address and ethnicity.
• Contact names and phone numbers.
• Daily attendance.
• Schedule.
• Subscriptions to email notifications.

The Academics Tab:

• Current schedule.
• Grade.
• Assignments.
• Class attendance.

You can register to receive email notifications whenever any attendance is recorded for your child or when your child receives an assignment grade below a threshold that you define.

1. Click the My Info Tab.
   
2. Click the Notifications Side Tab.
   
   
   
   
3. Select the checkbox next to your email address.
   
4. Select the checkboxes for the notifications you want to receive.
   
5. If you select to receive notifications about Grades, enter the appropriate Grade Threshold.
   
6. Please note that this system does not replace HCPSS News. You will still need to subscribe to the HCPSS News email notification system to receive information from your child's school. Subscribe to HCPSS News by visiting www.HCPSSNews.com.

The portal is easy to navigate. The data is secure and read-only. Feel free to explore. If you have a question about how to do something, go to the Help menu for the following options:

• Online Help: Click to open online help, then click Using the Family Portal. A table of contents, index and search feature helps you find the information you need.
  
  
  
  
• User Guides: Click to open, download and print a PDF version of Using the Family Portal.
  
• If you still have questions, contact your school's main office.

If you forget your Login ID, follow the steps required to activate your HCPSS Family Portal account (see #3 above). Follow steps 1-8 and you will be provided with your Login ID. Please note that if you have already activated your account, the Temporary Password will no longer be valid. If you also forgot your password, follow the directions below after obtaining your Login ID.

If you forget your Password, click on the I forgot my password link on the HCPSS Family Portal Login page. You will be prompted to enter your Login ID and your e-mail address. Your Password will be reset, and the Temporary Password will be e-mailed to you.

After you login, click Set Preferences in the upper-right corner of the screen. Click the Security Tab to edit your email, select and answer a security question, and change your Password.