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Getting started

You get access to PowerSchool SMS by using a web browser such as Internet Explorer® or Safari®. You sign in [>>] to a web page that is set up for use across your district. Each web browser page gives you access to information that is stored in a central location on the network.

Signing in

To work with PowerSchool SMS, you must first sign in to your district's system. For this purpose you need:

The User ID matches a user account [>>] and determines the role(s) [>>] to which you have access. A User ID is provided by the system's administrator. On some systems, the ID's prefix is a domain name and the ID matches your domain login ID.

This is provided by the system's administrator for use with a User ID. It is case-sensitive. On some systems, the password is identical to the domain login ID. The user can change his or her own password [Figure 3].

Also known as a URL, this address is provided by the system's administrator [see System maintenance & setup >>]. An example is "http://DistrictServer/PowerSchoolSMS/User/Login.aspx".

To sign in to PowerSchool SMS:

1

On your computing device, open a web browser.

2

In the browser's Address field [Figure 2], enter the web address of your district's PowerSchool SMS system.

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Once you have entered the address in the web browser, consider adding it to your list of favorites so that you can return to it without typing.

3

Press the Enter key. The PowerSchool SMS Sign In page opens [Figure 3].

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This page displays the version number of the PowerSchool SMS system software [Figure 3].

4

Enter a User ID.

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The User ID field is not sensitive to case.

5

Enter a Password.

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The Password field is sensitive to case.

6

Click Sign In. The home page appears [>>].

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If your user account has more than one role and you have not yet chosen a default role [>>], the Choose Role dialog appears. Select the default role that you would like to enter automatically each time you sign in.

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Caution: For a District Administrator to sign in as a school-level user, that administrator's user account must have an appropriate role [>>] AND a staff record at that school [>>].

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You can switch roles while staying logged on [>>].

Figure 2: Web browser: Address field

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Figure 3: Sign In page

Signing out

When you sign in to a PowerSchool SMS system, you start a work session. PowerSchool SMS continues your session until you sign out or until you do not interact with PowerSchool SMS for a certain period of time (typically about 20 minutes), in which case PowerSchool SMS signs you out automatically. This is called a session timeout. A system technician can adjust the length of the timeout period for all users of a system. Note: If your session times out, any changes that you had not saved may be lost.

To sign out of from PowerSchool SMS:

In the top right corner of the PowerSchool SMS window [Figure 6], click Sign out. The Sign In page appears.

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Or click the web browser's close button [Figure 4].

Figure 4: Web browser: Close

Pearson
Always Learning
www.pearsonschoolsystems.com 
Tel: 866-434-6276
Email: psstechsupp@pearson.com