Getting Ready for a New School Year – UK RDC Help

Perform these tasks to get ready to use your Renaissance Place software in the next school year. (You do not need to wait for the old school year to end; you can simply choose to work in the new school year before you follow these steps.)

Renaissance Place Checklist

Add the new school year start and end dates (must be done by a school network administrator or school network staff member).
1. On the Home page, select School Years.
2. Select Add School Year.
3. Enter the school year dates.
4. Select Add.
When the new school year begins, it will be the year that all users are working in automatically when they log in.
Add the marking periods for each school (used for targets and reports) or copy the marking periods from the previous school year.
You do not need to add or copy marking periods if you plan to copy last year's classes. The marking periods will be copied with the classes.
1. On the Home page, select School Years.
2. If the school year is in the future, select Work in a Different School Year and choose to work in that school year. This is not necessary if the new school year is the current school year.
3. Select Add/Edit Marking Periods.
4. If you are a school network administrator or school network staff member, select one or more schools and select Next.
5. Now, you have two choices:
Add the non-teaching days during the school year for each school (used for report calculations) or copy the non-teaching days from the previous school year.
1. On the Home page, select School Years.
2. If the school year is in the future, select Work in a Different School Year and choose to work in that school year. This is not necessary if the new school year is the current year.
3. Select Add/Edit Non-Teaching Days.
4. If you are a school network administrator or school network staff member, select one or more schools and select Next.
5. Now, you have two choices:
Set reporting periods for Consolidated Reports (must be done by school network administrators or school administrators)
1. On the Home page, under Dashboards and Reporting, select Consolidated Reports.
2. Select View Reporting Periods on the left side of the page.
3. Select Add Reporting Period just under the page title.
4. Enter a reporting period name, short name and the start and end dates. (For the end date, you can also simply set a number of days, weeks or months and select Set.)
5. Select Save and Add if you want to add more reporting periods or simply Save after entering your last reporting period.
Your new reporting periods will be available for reports after the next consolidation. (You will see the consolidation date and time on the Consolidated Reports page.)
Review the list of personnel to see if any need to be added or changed.
1. On the Home page, select Users.
2. Select View Personnel.
3. Search for specific personnel or just select Search to see the full list.
4. If you need to change a person's information or school, click Select next to the person's name. If you need to make changes:
  - To check or change a person's information, select Edit Personnel Record Information.
  - To check or change the person's school assignments, select Edit School Assignments.
  - To check or change the person's capabilities (rights), select Edit Capabilities for Personnel Record. Although the default capabilities will work well for most users, you may need to add or restrict capabilities for certain groups or individuals.
You can also import student, personnel, class and course information (including updates to student enrolments and personnel assignments) if you have a properly formatted file from another source (such as a student information system).
Add personnel if necessary. Be sure to give personnel the user names and passwords you set when you add them.
1. On the Home page, select Users.
2. Select Add School Personnel or Add School Network Personnel (or Add Personnel if you are a school administrator).
3. Enter each person's information.
4. Select Save and Add. (After adding the last person, select Add.)
Review the list of students to see if any need to be added or if they need information or characteristics changed. This is also a good time to look for duplicate students and merge their records if necessary.
1. On the Home page, select Users.
2. Select View Students.
3. Search for specific students or choose a school, year and/or class to see a group. You can also select Search to see the full list.
4. If you need to change a student's information, characteristics, school or classes, select the student's name. Then, select the appropriate tab, and make the required changes.
You do not need to change students' years; students are automatically promoted to the next year in the software when a new school year starts.
Transfer students from one school to another as needed, and un-enrol those who are not returning to your school.
1. On the Home page, select Users.
2. Select Edit Multiple School Enrolments.
3. Select a school, choose how to search for students, and select Search.
4. The matching students are listed in the lower right portion of the page. Tick the students who require changes.
  
  Do not click Next >> or << Previous until you have applied your changes to the first group.
5. On the left side of the page, tick the boxes that apply to the student:
  - Tick Un-enrol to un-enrol the selected students from their current school.
  - Tick Enrol to enrol the selected students in the school that you chose from the drop-down list.
6. Select Apply above the list of ticked students to finish the changes. Then, find and select other students as needed and repeat these steps. Select Done when you are ready to leave the page.
Add new students as needed.
1. On the Home page, select Users.
2. Select Add student.
3. Enter the student's information; then, select Save and Add. After adding the last student, select Save.
If school-network-level personnel will be adding students or transferring them from one school to another, school personnel should wait until this is done before adding their students to avoid adding the same student more than once.
Check your course list to see if any need to be added for the new school year. (Courses stay in the list from one year to the next.)
1. On the Home page, select Courses and Classes.
2. Choose a school if necessary.
3. Check the list of courses to make sure that it is current.
If you need to add a course, select Add Course. Enter the course information. Then, select Save and Add if you need to add another course, or select Save if this is the last course that you need to add.
Decide whether to add classes, import them or copy your previous year's classes.
If your classes are similar to last year's classes, copy your previous classes (if they are available):
1. On the Home page, select Courses and Classes.
2. Choose a school if necessary.
3. If the Copy/Edit Classes and Marking Periods link is available above the course list, click it to begin copying classes.
4. Choose whether to copy just the classes, the classes with teachers and assigned products, or the classes with teachers and products and enrolled students. (Marking periods and class preference settings are copied regardless of your choice.) Usually you should not copy enrolled students since class enrolments change from year to year.
Check your school marking periods after you copy classes in case the dates for the copied marking periods need to be changed.

Check the copied classes as well to make changes to the teachers and products as needed and to enrol this year's students.

If you want to import classes, importing a spreadsheet, comma-separated or delimited data file.

If you need to add classes manually, follow these steps:
1. On the Home page, select Courses and Classes.
2. Choose a school if necessary.
3. Select the course name.
4. Select Add Class.
5. Enter a class name, select a primary teacher and the select the marking period that is the duration of the class. You must also tick the products that you want to allow the class to use.
6. To add students, select the Add Students link at the bottom of the page. Then, search for the students you want to add, tick them and select < Add. Select Continue to go back to the Add Class page.
7. Select Save to finish adding the class.
Set the Learning Standards preference to choose which Learning Progression to use with Star Maths, Star Reading, the Maths Dashboard and the Reading Dashboard.
Go to the Learning Standards preference. To keep the skills and Learning Progression used by your classes consistent, set this preference at the beginning of the school year, and then leave the preference as is throughout the school year.

Follow these steps to change the preference:
1. On the Home page, select Product Administration.
2. Select Set Learning Standards.
3. For each subject (Reading and Maths), choose a progression to use.
4. Select Save.

Be prepared to help students with user names and passwords so they can log in. To find the information, on the Home page, click Users; then, click View Students. Search for your students. In the search results, click the Passwords tab to see user names and passwords. If you want to print the page of search results that you are viewing, click Print Page. To print all of the results and choose how to group and sort them, click View PDF instead.

Checklist for Technology/Computer Coordinators

Check for required supporting software on any new or updated computers that will be used with the Renaissance Place software.
Make sure that you check both teacher and student computers. You must be logged in to each computer with the rights required to install software for all users. (This is also a good time to recheck computers that had supporting software installed in case they need updates or additional software. You may also want to take advantage of updated technologies with better built-in security features, such as newer browser versions.) Follow these steps:
1. Before logging in to Renaissance Place, click Check Software Requirements on the Renaissance Place welcome page, OR, after logging in, on the home page, click Product Administration, then Download Supporting Software.
2. Select Downloads (on the left or at the top) and view the tab for your operating system.
3. If you will use an AccelScan scanner with Accelerated Maths on this computer, select Download for AccelScan and install the program.
4. If you will use Renaissance Responders or NEO 2s with a Renaissance Receiver and Accelerated Maths on this computer, select Download for Renaissance Responder and install the program.
5. If you are using Accelerated Maths, click Download for the Renaissance Place Print Plug-In to see instructions.
6. Make sure all required Third-Party downloads are installed. If any software is not installed, select Download for instructions.
To prevent students from working from home, restrict the computers that can access Renaissance Place.
1. On the Home page, select Product Administration.
2. Select Set Security Options for Students and Parents.
3. In the Restrict Student Workstations field, enter the external IP addresses of computers that students can use to access Renaissance Place. You can use ranges or individual IP addresses as shown; on individual computers, you can select Add to List to add the computer's IP address.
4. Select Done.
Make sure each computer that will be used with the Renaissance Place software has a browser favorite set up that points to the current Renaissance Place address.

Follow the instructions for your computer's operating system and/or browser.
If you are using AccelScan scanners with Accelerated Maths, connect the AccelScan to the computer it will be used with.
1. Connect the power cable to the AccelScan.
2. Plug in the AccelScan.
3. Connect AccelScan's USB cable to your computer.
4. In Renaissance Place, select Product Administration on the Home page; then, select Downloads. Check the server name/IP address shown on that page.
5. Start the AccelScan software that you downloaded while checking software requirements.
6. Fill in the address that you noted on the Downloads page.
7. Enter your Renaissance Place user name and password and select Log In. The AccelScan light should turn green, and the software should tell you it is ready to scan.
If you will be using either NEO 2s or Renaissance Responders with Renaissance Place software (Accelerated Maths or Accelerated Reader), connect Renaissance Receivers to the computers where they will be used.
1. Make sure you are logged in to your computer as an administrator or that you have administrator privileges so that the device drivers load properly.
2. Using the cable provided, connect each Renaissance Receiver to the computer where it will be used.
3. Start the Renaissance Wireless Server Utility on the connected computer. (The utility was installed with the Renaissance Responder software mentioned in the step about checking software requirements.)
4. To log in, type 1234 (the default Administrator PIN) and click OK.
5. Click the Server Settings tab in the utility.
6. Enter a new name in the Network Name field. Make sure the name is different from the name used by your school's other Receivers.
7. Click Update Network Settings.
8. Click OK when the program finishes updating the network settings. Make sure your students know the Receiver network name.

For most Renaissance Place products, there are also tasks that need to be done at the beginning of a school year, such as checking or setting preferences, assigning objectives, setting levels or setting benchmarks. Follow the instructions in the sections for each product below.

Accelerated Maths School Year Set-Up

Do the Renaissance Place setup tasks before these tasks so that your classes are available for Accelerated Maths. These tasks can be performed by school network administrators, school administrators and teachers unless otherwise noted.

Set up groups if necessary for each class.
Groups allow some students to work on objectives that the class as a whole is not working on. Follow these steps to set up groups:
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Maths; then, select Assignment Book.
2. Choose the school and class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. Select Create Group.
4. Enter a group name and select Save.
5. On the Manage Groups page, select Add/Remove Students.
6. Tick each student who should be in the group.
7. Select < Add.
8. Select Save.
9. Select Done on the Manage Groups page.
10. Choose an objective list for the group to use.
Check the objective lists that are available to make sure you have the ones you need for your classes and groups.
1. On the Home page, select Accelerated Maths; then, select Libraries.
2. Select Manage Objectives.
3. Select View/Edit Lists.
4. Review the available objective lists. To see the objectives in any one objective list, select View in the row for that list.
Create/add new objective lists if necessary.
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Maths; then, select Libraries.
2. Select Manage Objectives.
3. Select Create New List.
4. Enter a name and select a list type and sharing option. Then, select Next >.
5. Add objectives to the list.
6. Select Done.
Select/assign an objective list for each class and group.
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Maths; then, select Assignment Book.
2. Choose the school and class from the drop-down lists if necessary. If you are choosing a list for a group, select the group.
3. Select Manage Objectives.
4. Click Select/Copy Existing List.
5. In the List Selection row, click an option to choose the type of list to select. Library lists include all objectives from a library and cannot be changed. Shared lists are created by administrators. My Lists are lists you have created. After you choose an option, use the drop-down list to choose the objective list.
6. In the List Options row, choose whether to use the objective list without changes or to make a copy. If you choose to make a copy, enter a name for the new copy and choose a sharing option.
7. Select Save.
Assign objectives to students in each class and group.
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Maths; then, select Assignment Book.
2. Choose the school and class from the drop-down lists if necessary. If you are assigning objectives for a group, select the group.
3. Tick the boxes next to the students who need objectives assigned.
4. Select Assign Objectives on the left side of the page.
5. Tick the objectives that you want to assign to students. (To assign an objective to all students, tick the box at the top of the column.)
6. Select Assign.
7. Select Done.
Set targets for students. (You can also set up teams from the Teams and Targets page.)
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Maths; then, select Teams and Targets.
2. Choose the school and class from the drop-down lists if necessary. If you are assigning objectives for a group, select the group.
3. Select Manage Targets.
4. If necessary, select Select Class Marking Periods to choose the target time periods before setting the targets.
5. Enter the targets for each student (number of objectives each student should master and average test % correct).
6. Select Save.
7. Select Done.
Check preference settings.
Since classes do not automatically carry over from one school year to the next, Accelerated Maths preferences do not carry over either unless you have copied classes from the previous school year.

Follow these steps to check or change the preferences:
1. On the Home page, click Accelerated Maths; then, select Preferences.
2. Choose the school and class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. To check or change the settings of each preference, click the preference name. For each preference, if you make changes, be sure to click Save to save them.

If you are using Renaissance Home Connect, this is also a good time to make sure Renaissance Home Connect is activated for your schools and to print Informational Letters for the parents of your Accelerated Maths students.

Accelerated Reader School Year Setup

In the software, you can also find resources to help you get started; click Accelerated Reader on the Home page and choose Resources from the menu. Then, click Resources to Get Started.

Do the Renaissance Place setup tasks before the AR tasks listed below so that your classes are available for Accelerated Reader. These tasks can be performed by school network administrators, school administrators and teachers unless otherwise noted.

If you have used the Date and Time Restrictions preference previously to restrict student quizzing before and after specified dates, check the preference for each school and set your new school year dates.
This can only be done by an administrator, and only after the new school year has been added to the software.
1. On the Home page, select Accelerated Reader, then Preferences.
2. Select Date and Time Restrictions under School Preferences.
3. Use the drop-down list to choose a school if necessary.
4. Select Edit Date and Time Restrictions.
5. Change the settings as needed; make sure the Before Date and After Date settings are up-to-date.
6. Select Save.
7. Repeat these steps for other schools if necessary.
Check the settings of all other school preferences and make changes if necessary. These settings carry over from year to year (except for Override Authorisation).
School preferences can be changed by administrators only.
1. On the Home page, select Accelerated Reader, then Preferences.
2. Select a preference name under School Preferences.
3. Use the drop-down list to choose a school if necessary.
4. Review the current preference settings. If any need changing, click the Edit link.
5. Repeat these steps for each school preference category.
Check class preference settings.
Since classes do not automatically carry over from year to year, these settings do not carry over either unless you have copied classes from the previous school year, so you need to check and set preferences for this year’s classes.

Individual Student Preferences do carry over from one school year to the next, regardless of the students' school or class enrolment. However, it is a good idea to check these with each new school year in case some settings are no longer appropriate.
1. On the Home page, select Accelerated Reader, then Preferences.
2. Select a preference name under Class Preferences, or click a link under Individual Student Preferences.
3. Use the drop-down lists to choose the school and class if necessary.
4. Review the preference settings. If any need changing, click the Edit link(s).
5. Repeat these steps for each class/individual preference.
Select marking periods for Reading Practice targets and set the targets for students in your new classes if necessary.
An administrator must have the school marking periods set up for the school year before you can set targets for those marking periods.

For Reading Practice targets to carry over from one marking period to another, you must have those marking periods selected before each one starts. Select all marking periods for the entire school year at the beginning of the year.
1. On the Home page, select Accelerated Reader, then Record Books and Targets.
2. Use the drop-down lists to choose the school and class if necessary.
3. Select Reading Practice Targets.
4. Click Select Marking Periods. Select the marking periods that will be used for targets; then, click Save.
5. Set the targets; then, click Save.
Set Reading Practice certification targets if necessary
1. On the Home page, select Accelerated Reader, then Record Books and Targets.
2. Use the drop-down lists to choose the school and class if necessary.
3. Select Reading Practice Certifications.
4. For students with no achieved certifications, select Set Target in the Actions/New Targets column.
  For students who have achieved certifications and need a new target, click one of the suggested levels in the Actions/New Targets column, or select More.
5. Choose the certification that you want the student to work toward, and choose the date the student started working toward that target. Then, click Save.

Star Early Literacy School Year Setup

Do the Renaissance Place setup tasks before the tasks listed below so that your classes are available for Star Early Literacy. These tasks can be performed by school network administrators, school administrators and teachers unless otherwise noted.

Set the class preferences.
These preferences set the authorisation password requirement and options for the demonstration video and hands-on exercise. (If you copied last year's classes in Renaissance Place, the preference settings were copied with the classes.)
1. On the Home page, select Star Early Literacy, then Preferences.
2. Choose a school and a single class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. To change the preferences, select Edit under Classroom Preferences.
4. Make your changes; then, select Save.

Star Maths School Year Setup

Do the Renaissance Place setup tasks before the tasks listed below so that your classes are available for Star Maths. These tasks can be performed by school network administrators, school administrators and teachers unless otherwise noted.

Set the Testing Password preferences for each Star Maths class.
Preferences set the authorisation password requirements. (If you copied last year’s classes in Renaissance Place, the preference settings were copied with the classes.)
1. On the Home page, select Star Maths, then Preference.
2. Choose a school and a single class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. To change the preferences, click Edit under Classroom Preferences.
4. To change whether the authorisation password is required before tests, tick the box or remove the tick. You can also change the password itself. When you have finished making changes, select Save.
Set the student preferences for each Star Maths class.
You can use the student preferences to set a Maths Level or an extended time limit for students who need them. (If you choose extended time limits, these carry over for the students from one year to the next.)
1. On the Home page, select Star Maths, then Preferences.
2. Choose a school and a single class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. To change the preferences, click Edit under Student Preferences.
4. For students who need their first test to start at a different level, enter the year level. For students who need an extended time limit for questions, tick the box in the Extended Question Time Limit box. When you have finished changing the settings, select Save.
Set up benchmarks (administrators and non-teaching staff only).
The settings carry over from one school year to the next, but administrators should check the settings at the start of each new school year.
1. On the Home page, select Star Maths, then Screening, Progress Monitoring & Intervention.
2. Select View Benchmarks.
3. Click one of the tabs to choose whether to view the School or School Network benchmarks.
4. If you are viewing the school benchmark, select a school if necessary.
5. You can do the following:
Set screening dates (administrators and non-teaching staff only).
1. On the Home page, select Star Maths, then Screening, Progress Monitoring & Intervention.
2. Select View Screening Dates.
3. If necessary, select a school from the drop-down list.
4. Edit the dates if necessary. (Teachers cannot edit dates.)
Set up student groups if necessary. Groups carry over from year to year, but you may need to make changes.
1. On the Home page, select Star Maths, then Screening, Progress Monitoring & Intervention.
2. Select Manage Groups.
3. Select Create Group, or click Add/Remove Students for an existing group.
These groups are not used for instructional planning. You can create instructional planning groups in Maths Dashboard.

Star Reading School Year Setup

Do the Renaissance Place setup tasks before the tasks listed below so that your classes are available for Star Reading. These tasks can be performed by school network administrators, school administrators and teachers unless otherwise noted.

Set the classroom preferences for each Star Reading class.
Preferences set the authorisation password requirements. (If you copied last year’s classes in Renaissance Place, the preference settings were copied with the classes.)
1. On the Home page, select Star Reading, then Preferences.
2. Choose a school and a single class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. To change the preferences, click Edit under Classroom Preferences.
4. To change whether the authorisation password is required before tests, tick the box or remove the tick. You can also change the password itself. When you have finished making changes, select Save.
Set the student preferences for each Star Reading class.
You can use the student preferences to set an Estimated Reading Level or an extended time limit for students who need them. (If you choose extended time limits, these carry over for the students from one year to the next.)
1. On the Home page, select Star Reading, then Preferences.
2. Choose a school and a single class from the drop-down lists if necessary.
3. To change the preferences, click Edit under Student Preferences.
4. For students who need their first test to start at a different level, enter the year level. For students who need an extended time limit for questions, tick the box in the Extended Question Time Limit box. When you have finished changing the settings, select Save.
Set up benchmarks (administrators and non-teaching staff only).
The settings carry over from one school year to the next, but administrators should check the settings at the start of each new school year.
1. On the Home page, select Star Reading, then Screening, Progress Monitoring & Intervention.
2. Select View Benchmarks.
3. Click one of the tabs to choose whether to view the School or School Network benchmarks.
4. If you are viewing the school benchmark, select a school if necessary.
5. You can do the following:
Set screening dates (administrators and non-teaching staff only).
1. On the Home page, select Star Reading, then Screening, Progress Monitoring & Intervention.
2. Select View Screening Dates.
3. If necessary, select a school from the drop-down list.
4. Edit the dates if necessary. (Teachers cannot edit dates.)
Set up student groups if necessary. Groups carry over from year to year, but you may need to make changes.
1. On the Home page, select Star Reading, then Screening, Progress Monitoring & Intervention.
2. Select Manage Groups.
3. Select Create Group, or click Add/Remove Students for an existing group.
These groups are not used for instructional planning. You can create instructional planning groups in Reading Dashboard.