Power School

This information will help you to use PowerSchool, the online student grade and attendance access system. PowerSchool is easy to use and will allow you to take a more active role in your child’s education.

PowerSchool offers parents the real-time access to grades, attendance, homework assignments and other class information. You can even email teachers or ask for automatic updates on your student’s progress and view the school bulletin. Access to PowerSchool is available from anywhere in the world just by using any browser.

Questions? Questions about your PowerSchool account can be directed to Adam Swinchock at  724-941-6251 x 7222 or Shelly Belcher at x 7205.

Getting Started

To enter the PowerSchool program:

• Access the parent portal! To view all students (grades K-12) grades online, click here to visit PowerSchool Portal
  
  
• On the PowerSchool login page, enter your username and password
  
  
• Setting up an Account: PowerSchool allows parents to create one parent account to view multiple student accounts. Detailed instructions for creating or adding a child to an existing account are provided under the "Instructions" heading (right side of page). Access codes for establishing your account can be obtained by contacting your child's school.
  

Remember, the parent login and password are confidential and shouldn’t be shared with anyone. Students (grades 7-12), have their own login to PowerSchool, so you shouldn’t give your information to them.

Once you have logged into the PowerSchool program, you have access to a variety of information at the click of a button. You can view information on your son or daughter at any time. Although information is available 24/7, please allow teachers several days to update grades and information. Any questions you ever have about your son or daughter can still be answered by contacting teachers or administrators.

Some parents may opt to use the PowerSchool application that is available to Apple and Android users for their smartphones and tablets. Please log into your parent account and click on the buttons to "Get it on the App Store" or "Get it on Google Play." In addition, there is a code that you will need to link your account to Peters Township that appears in the parent portal.

 

It is important to update your contact information in your PowerSchool portal so that District communications reach you in a timely manner. Please be sure to review your settings in the following areas:

 

Account Preferences - Be sure your email is up to date. This email is commonly used for sending the Grade Notification Emails to parents. The link for Account Preferences may be found on the left side of the page in the parent portal.

 

School Messenger - Click on the link on the right side of the page under Instructions for details on how you can update your email and phone information in School Messenger. This contact information is used for email news from the District and emergency or weather delays calls. 

Accessing Student Grades and Attendance

Once you have logged into PowerSchool, you will see a menu bar at the top of the page. On this screen, you also will find a complete listing of all your child’s courses, teachers, grades, and attendance information. By clicking on the teacher’s name, you can send an e-mail to your child’s teacher. To use this feature, your computer must be set up to send emails from your browser. 

The blue links give you more information about your student. If you click on any of these links, it will take you to another screen that displays a list of individual assignments, projects, or class information. Click on those underlined items to find out the details for the assignment. The date at the bottom of the screen shows you the last time the information was updated.

To return to the first screen, simply click on the Grades and Attendance button at the top of the page or on the PowerSchool graphic.

The Grades and Attendance screen also shows when your student was tardy or absent. Click on the numbers in blue to find out the days and classes in which your son or daughter was late or absent.

If your son or daughter is in the Middle School or the High School, you can also view the grades your child earned after the first semester ended. Click on the icon marked Grades History for a complete listing of those grades.

McMurray Elementary, Middle School, and the High School have various terms. Because of parameters set in PowerSchool, we code the terms.

Q1,Q2,Q3,Q4: Quarters 1,2,3,4

T1,T2,T3: Trimester 1, 2, and 3

X1,X2,X3,X4,X5,X6 (McMurray, PTMS): 1st six weeks, 2nd six weeks, etc.

X1,X2, X3 (PTHS): Final Exam for a yearly course, Final Exam first semester, Final Exam second semester 

S1, S2: First and Second Semesters

Reviewing Attendance History

Click the Attendance History button to see your child’s attendance record. On days when school isn’t in session, a dash will appear. For a complete listing of all attendance codes, scroll to the bottom of the screen.

Automatic Email Updates/Emailing teachers

You can receive automatic e-mail updates and send e-mails to your child’s teachers. After you have logged into PowerSchool, click on the Email Notification button.

To receive automatic email updates from the school, check off the information that you’d like to receive about your son or daughter, how often you’d like to receive it, and whether you want that information sent to you immediately. Be sure to include the email address where you would like the information sent and press the blue Submit button. You can enter multiple email addresses by separating them with a comma.

To stop receiving these automatic updates, simply unclick the boxes and press Submit.

You can email teachers from the Grades and Attendance screen or from the Teachers Comments screen, (click the Teacher Comments button). From time to time, teachers may include remarks about your child. To respond to any teacher, simply click on his or her name. Remember, your computer must be set to send emails from your browser. 

Class Registration/My Calendars

PTHS students can now use online Class Registration. Students can easily make course requests for the next school year online. Students will receive more information on this during class registration time from the school.

The My Calendars button links to a page that works with some calendar programs, such as Apple’s "iCal". If you use such a program, you can use this page to subscribe to calendars for each of your child’s classes that will show each assignment on its due date along with an assessment description and your child’s score on the assignment, if you choose. Not all calendars are compatible with this feature. To learn more, click on the link titled "Using My Calendars in PowerSchool" on the PowerSchool login page. 

Questions?

If you have any questions about PowerSchool at any time, please contact your child’s school. If they can’t answer your questions, they’ll refer you to someone who can.