Process Overview
Students and family members of students (like parents, guardians, grandparents, etc.) must be prepared separately for import in separate Excel files. The Excel files will be imported into different import pages in the system.
Once you have all students and all family members imported into the system, you can then do an import of family relationships.
In Summary: First you import students, then you import parents (and other family members if applicable), then you do a final import which tells the system which parents belong to which student(s).
Importing Students
Download an Empty Student Import Excel Template
The first step in this process is ensuring that all students are in the system. To bulk import students, you will need to download the Excel template used for importing student information.
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Login to SchoolFront as an Administrator.
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Place your mouse cursor over Manage Students in the left-navigation menu. When the sub-menu appears, click Export/Import Students.
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Click the Click Here link next to the Excel icon that says “download empty student data to excel format.”
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Save the file to your desktop.
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Go to your desktop and open the Excel file you saved.
Add Your Data to the Student Import Excel Template
The next step is to add your student information to the student information import template. Each student should be entered into his or her own row in the spreadsheet.
Student Import Fields (Columns)
Here is an explanation of the fields (columns) in the Excel template:
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Field / Column Title
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Description / Instructions
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Student ID
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This must be a unique number that will only ever be associated with this student. No other user (students, family members, or staff) can also use the same ID number.
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First Name
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Enter the student’s first name.
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Last Name
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Enter the student’s last name.
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Middle Name
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Enter the student’s middle name or initial.
Leave this blank if you do not have the information.
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Cell Phone
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Enter the student’s cell phone number.
Family cell phone numbers will be entered in the family member’s profiles in SchoolFront. This field relates specifically to the student.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Home
Phone
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Enter the student’s home phone number.
Family home phone numbers will be entered in the family member’s profiles in SchoolFront. This field relates specifically to the student.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Street
Address
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Enter the student’s street address. (We recommend that you use a mailing address for mail-merge purposes).
If family members of the student reside in a different location, that is not a problem, each family member will have his/her own address fields.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Street
Address 2
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If the student has an apartment number or other address information, enter it here.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information or if it is not applicable.
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City
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Enter the city in which the student lives.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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State
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Enter the state in which the student lives.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Zipcode
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Enter the zipcode in which the student lives.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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E-mail
Address
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Enter the student’s email address.
This may be an email address assigned to the student by the school. It is the email address which teachers and other school staff may use to contact the student his/herself.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Home Base Room
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Enter the homeroom to which the student is assigned.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Grade
Level
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Enter the grade level which the student will attend in the School Year listed in the left-navigation bar (e.g. 2012 – 2013).
Only specific values will be accepted. Enter one of the following, ensuring that you spell it in exactly the same manner:
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Birthdate
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Enter the student’s date of birth.
Proper format is mm/dd/yyyy.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Gender
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Enter one of the following options:
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If the student is a male, enter “M”
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If the student is a female, enter “F”
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Ethnicity
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Only specific values will be accepted. Enter one of the following, ensuring that you spell it in exactly the same manner:
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Asian
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Black, African American
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East Indian
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Latino, Hispanic
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Middle Eastern
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Native American
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Other
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Pacific Islander
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White, Caucasian
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State
Assigned ID
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The Student ID in the first column is a unique number used by the SchoolFront system to track the student in the system. Sometimes the government assigns IDs to students as well. If your students have government-issued IDs (or any other type of ID number) you can track it in this field.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Enrollment Date
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Enter the date on which the student was formally accepted into the school.
Proper format is mm/dd/yyyy.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Cohort
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Only specific values will be accepted. Enter one of the following, ensuring that you spell it in exactly the same manner (include the hyphen and spaces):
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1997 - 1998
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1998 - 1999
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1999 - 2000
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2000 - 2001
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2001 - 2002
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2002 - 2003
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2003 - 2004
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2004 - 2005
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2005 - 2006
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2006 - 2007
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2007 - 2008
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2008 - 2009
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2009 - 2010
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2010 - 2011
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2011 - 2012
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2012 - 2013
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2013 - 2014
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2014 - 2015
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2015 - 2016
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If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Purchasing Restriction
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This field is optional. Some schools, particularly those with residential students, track student allowances and may prevent students from making purchases. Options include:
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Business Office Only
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Parental Permission
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Unrestricted
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Written Permission
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Laundry Number
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For the purpose of tracking property, some schools issue students a “laundry” number with which they must mark their clothing and other personal belongings. If you desire to track such a number, you can do so in this field.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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SSN
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This field was provided for student Social Security Number tracking. It is an optional field and will be visible to all school staff members with access to SchoolFront. If you wish to track SSN, you can do so in this field.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Employer Name
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Some schools track student employment either because they are required to do so by law or because the student’s employment is associated with a school activity or requirement such as an internship.
If you wish to track student employer information, enter the Employer Name here.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Title
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If you wish to track student employer information, enter the student’s title at the job here.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Work Phone
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If you wish to track student employer information, enter the telephone number at which the student may be reached while on the job here.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Employer Address
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If you wish to track student employer information, enter the employer’s address here.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Work E-mail Address
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If you wish to track student employer information, enter the email address at which the student may be reached while on the job here.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Import the Student Data by Uploading the Excel Template
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Make sure you save the Excel file with the student information in it.
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Login to SchoolFront as an Administrator.
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Place your mouse cursor over Manage Students in the left-navigation menu. When the sub-menu appears, click Export/Import Students.
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Click the Browse… button.
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Locate the Excel file with the student information in it and open it.
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Click the Preview Import button.
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Look through the preview data to make sure it reflects the data which you intended to upload to SchoolFront.
Note: If the data is wrong, click the Cancel button and go update and re-save the Excel file so that the data is correct.
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Once you are satisfied with the information, click Import Data.
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If any rows were ignored / skipped by the system for any reason, you will receive a list of the row numbers and reason for the skipping. This allows you to reopen the Excel file, make corrections to the problematic rows, re-save the file and re-try the import.
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To confirm the data imported properly, click the Manage Students option in the left navigation menu and look through the student profiles in the grid.
Importing Family Members
In SchoolFront, family members include any family member you wish to track in the system. Parents / Guardians should definitely be entered into the system, but you can also track grandparents, step parents, aunts/uncles, cousins, etc.
It’s up to you whether or not you allow all or some of the family members to access SchoolFront using a personal login name and password, but any family member added to the system can be given access if you wish to give them access.
You can also easily disable the access of family members to Schoolfront.
Download an Empty Family Import Excel Template
To bulk import the family members of your students, you will need to download the Excel template used for importing student information.
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Login to SchoolFront as an Administrator.
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Place your mouse cursor over Manage Families in the left-navigation menu. When the sub-menu appears, click Export/Import Families.
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Click the Click Here link next to the Excel icon that says “download empty student data to excel format.”
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Save the file to your desktop.
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Go to your desktop and open the Excel file you saved.
Add Your Data to the Family Import Excel Template
The next step is to add your family member information to the family information import template. Each family member should be entered into his or her own row in the spreadsheet.
Family Import Fields (Columns)
Here is an explanation of the fields (columns) in the Excel template:
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Field / Column Title
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Description / Instructions
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Family ID
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This must be a unique number that will only ever be associated with this family member (it is used by the system like the Student ID is used for students). No other user (students, family members, or staff) can also use the same ID number.
To have this ID auto-generated by the system, go to Feature Administration>Misc>Unique ID/Username Settings>Family>Edit
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In the field called Current ID # enter the number after which the system should begin generating IDs, for instance, if you enter 500000, the next number the system will generate for a family member is 500001.
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In the field called Prefix enter any letters/numbers/symbols that should preface the number generated by the system. For example if this was FrontEdge High School, we might put in “FEHS-.”
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Check the Auto Generated checkbox.
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Click the Save button.
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You will leave this field blank in the Excel sheet when you are ADDING a new family member. When the system identifies a blank Family ID field, it will automatically add the information in a row to a brand new system user and auto-generate an ID.
Important: There is a risk associated with using auto-generate ID when you are also using Excel import. If you are attempting to EDIT a family member’s profile information and forget to put in an existing ID, the system will still create a new user. Make sure that you only leave the field blank if you want the system to generate a new user.
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First Name
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Enter the family member’s first name.
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Last Name
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Enter the family member’s last name.
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Middle Name
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Enter the family member’s middle name or initial.
Leave this blank if you do not have the information.
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Home Phone
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Enter this family member’s home phone number.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Work Phone
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Enter this family member’s work phone number.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Cell Phone
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Enter this family member’s cell / mobile phone number.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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E-mail Address
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Enter the family member’s primary email address. There will be a separate space for the family member’s work (secondary) email address.
Once the family member has been given access to the system, this is the email address they will be able to use to retrieve their password if they forget it.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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SSN
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This field was provided for family member Social Security Number tracking. It is an optional field and will be visible to all school staff members with access to SchoolFront. If you wish to track SSN, you can do so in this field.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Employer Name
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If you wish to track family member employer information, enter the Employer Name here.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Title
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Enter any non-priviledged generic notes about the family member. All school staff members will be able to see this information so make sure you don't enter anything private/sensitive.
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Ethnicity
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Only specific values will be accepted. Enter one of the following, ensuring that you spell it in exactly the same manner:
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Asian
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Black, African American
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East Indian
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Latino, Hispanic
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Middle Eastern
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Native American
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Other
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Pacific Islander
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White, Caucasian
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Suffix
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If the family member includes some sort of suffix with his / her name, enter it here. Examples include:
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Jr.
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Sr.
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Esq.
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Ph.D.
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Atty.
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O.F.M.
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Etc.
If this family member does not use a suffix, leave it blank.
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Work E-mail Address
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This field can be used either for the family member’s email address at work or for any secondary email address.
If you do not track this information or do not have this information, leave it blank.
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Initials
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Initials are sometimes used when mail-merges are generated by the system. If you wish to be able to use family member intials in mail-merges, enter the initials here. Otherwise leave it blank.
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Citizenship
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Enter the country in which the family member is a citizen.
If the family member is a citizen of the USA, enter “United States”
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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BirthPlace
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Enter the country in which the family member was born.
If the family member was born in the USA, enter “United States”
Leave this blank if you do not have this information.
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Nickname
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If the family member prefers to be called by a name other than his / her legal given name, you can enter that name here.
If you do not have this information or the family member does not have a nickname, leave it blank.
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PassPortNumber
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Some schools track both student and family passport information. If your school tracks passport information, enter the passport number here.
Leave this blank if you do not track this information or if you do not have this information.
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PassportExpiration
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If your school tracks passport information, enter the passport expiration date here.
Proper format: mm/dd/yyyy
Leave this blank if you do not track this information or if you do not have this information.
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Import the Family Data by Uploading the Excel Template
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Make sure you save the Excel file with the family member information in it.
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Login to SchoolFront as an Administrator.
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Place your mouse cursor over Manage Families in the left-navigation menu. When the sub-menu appears, click Export/Import Families.
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Click the Browse… button.
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Locate the Excel file with the family member information in it and open it.
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Click the Preview Import button.
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Look through the preview data to make sure it reflects the data which you intended to upload to SchoolFront.
Note: If the data is wrong, click the Cancel button and go update and resave the Excel file so that the data is correct.
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Once you are satisfied with the information, click Import Data.
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If any rows were ignored / skipped by the system for any reason, you will receive a list of the row numbers and reason for the skipping. This allows you to reopen the Excel file, make corrections to the problematic rows, resave the file and re-try the import.
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To confirm the data imported properly, click the Manage Families option in the left navigation menu and look through the family member profiles in the grid.
Importing Relationships
At this point you now have students in the system and family members of students in the system, but you do not know the manner in which the family member is related to the student—i.e. there is nothing linking the student to the family member in the system.
In order to create this link, you must import the relationship between each student and each related family member.
Once you have imported these relationships, the family members will appear on the Family Info tab in student profiles and the students will appear on the Child Info tab in family member profiles.
Download an Empty Relationship Import Excel Template
To bulk link students to family member(s), you will need to download the Excel template used for importing relationship information.
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Login to SchoolFront as an Administrator.
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Place your mouse cursor over Manage Families in the left-navigation menu. When the sub-menu appears, click Export/Import Family Relationships.
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Click the Click Here link next to the Excel icon that says “download empty student data to excel format.”
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Save the file to your desktop.
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Go to your desktop and open the Excel file you saved.
Add Your Data to the Relationship Import Excel Template
The next step is to add your relationship information to the relationship information import template. Each relationship should be entered into its own row in the spreadsheet.
Family members can be linked to multiple students and students can be linked to multiple family members via a defined relationship. For example:
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If a student has a mother and father in the system, you will use 2 rows--One to define the student’s mother relationship and one for the student’s father relationship.
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If a student has a mother, an aunt, and a grandmother in the system, you will use 3 rows—One to define the student’s mother relationship, one for the aunt relationship, and one for the grandmother relationship.
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If a mother has 2 students in the system, “studentA” and “studentB,” you will use 2 rows—one to define the mother relationship for studentA and another to define the mother relationship with student.
If there is no row in the Excel spreadsheet defining the relationship, the system cannot recognize the relationship.
Important: Again, before you continue with this part of the process, make sure that you’ve completed importing all students and family members for whom you wish to now define relationships. You cannot link two people if one or both of them are not yet in the system.
Relationship Import Fields (Columns)
Here is an explanation of the fields (columns) in the Excel template:
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Field / Column Title
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Description / Instructions
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Student ID
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Enter the unique ID of the student.
This is the same ID as is entered in the Student ID field in the student information import file.
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Student First Name
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Enter the first name of the student exactly as it is in the system.
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Student Last Name
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Enter the last name of the student exactly as it is in the system.
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Student Middle Name
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Enter the middle name of the student exactly as it is in the system.
If the student has no middle name defined you can leave this blank.
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Guardian
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If the family member is a legal guardian to the student, enter “yes”
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If the family member is not a legal guardian to the student, enter “no”
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Communication Level
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Some schools like to group family members by communication levels or types. The way you use these groupings is up to you. The system will allow you to send communications to family members of specific levels. For example you could say “send to only level 1,” or “send to level 1, 2, and 3, but exclude level 4.”
If you want to use communication levels, enter the level of this family member. Your options are as follows:
Again, the school must decide what the levels mean.
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Family ID |
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This is the unique ID of the family member.
This is the same ID as is entered in the Family ID field in the family member information import file.
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Family First Name
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Enter the first name of the family member exactly as it is in the system.
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Family Last Name
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Enter the last name of the family member exactly as it is in the system.
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Family Middle Name |
Enter the middle name of the family member exactly as it is in the system.
If the family member has no middle name defined you can leave this blank. |
Important: Remember to make a row for every relationship. If there is no row in the Excel spreadsheet defining the relationship, the system cannot recognize the relationship.
Import the Relationship Data by Uploading the Excel Template
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Make sure you save the Excel file with the relationship information in it.
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Login to SchoolFront as an Administrator.
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Place your mouse cursor over Manage Families in the left-navigation menu. When the sub-menu appears, click Export/Import Family Relationships.
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Click the Browse… button.
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Locate the Excel file with the relationship information in it and open it.
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Click the Preview Import button.
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Look through the preview data to make sure it reflects the data which you intended to upload to SchoolFront.
Note: If the data is wrong, click the Cancel button and go update and re-save the Excel file so that the data is correct.
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Once you are satisfied with the information, click Import Data.
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If any rows were ignored / skipped by the system for any reason, you will receive a list of the row numbers and reason for the skipping. This allows you to reopen the Excel file, make corrections to the problematic rows, re-save the file and re-try the import.
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To confirm the data imported properly, you can do the following:
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Click the Manage Families option in the left navigation menu and click on family members to open their profiles. Then go to the Child Info tab and make sure that the appropriate children are linked to each family member.
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Click the Manage Students option in the left navigation menu and click on students to open their profiles. Then go to the Family Info tab and make sure that the appropriate family members are linked to each student.
Remember: If you experience any issues with any of these imports or find that the data imported improperly, please do not hesistate to contact SchoolFront Support for help!!!!