Tables

Security

Prerequisites

Setup

Steps

Overview

The Alternative Education (Alt Ed) Scheduling feature allows you to set up and schedule a student into Alt Ed sections. 

In Alt Ed Scheduling, the student is scheduled into 'placeholder' sections, and the course ID for the section can be changed throughout the year as a student moves in and out of classes, usually according to a master agreement or contract. The section number remains the same even when the course ID changes. When using this feature, the course ID is changed at the student-section (SEC) level, which is not permitted in traditional scheduling. 

Teachers can issue grades to individual students as they complete their coursework for each course. Report cards are typically bypassed, and the student's grades are reflected on the Grades page and transcripts.

While this feature is often used for Credit Recovery, it can also be used for independent study, home hospital schooling, court schools, and other situations where more flexibility is needed.

Alt Ed environments usually consist of a teacher teaching multiple core academic subjects in one self-contained class. Alt Ed scheduling requires use of the Master Schedule and is typically only used at the secondary school level.

The Alt Ed can be implemented schoolwide or for individual sections.

• Schoolwide - The school has only Alt Ed students and classes
• Student-Section - The school has students in both traditional classes and Alt Ed classes

(California only) This feature facilitates scheduling for Independent Study classes and meeting CDE guidelines related to Assembly Bill AB130. Also, the CALPADS Fall 2 and End of Year extracts will pull the Student-Class Course ID (SEC.CN) field for Alt Ed classes.

Tables ↑

Security ↑

Prerequisites ↑

• To use Alt Ed scheduling, the school must be using a Master Schedule.

Setup ↑

Complete the following before scheduling students into Alt Ed sections.

• Navigate to School Info > Configurations > School Settings
  
  
  Under Alt Ed Scheduling - Data source is OPT table, indicate whether the school uses schoolwide Alt Ed scheduling or individual sections.
  
  WARNING: Avoid changing these settings once an Actual Course has been assigned (described below), because this can cause inaccuracies on the Classes page.
  
  Select one:
  • Use Alt Ed Scheduling For Entire School - Select this option if Alt Ed scheduling is used for all students at the school.
    
    
  • Allow Individual Sections to be Flagged for Alt Ed Scheduling - Select this option if the school has both traditional students and Alt Ed students. This allows the school to set up certain sections on the Master Schedule page that are flagged as Alt Ed courses.
    
    When either is enabled, a message is displayed on the Classes page to notify users that Alt Ed scheduling is enabled and that Course IDs can be changed. Users should use caution.
• Navigate to School Info > School Options
  
  • Enable Allow Issue Credit on Classes/Course Attendance pages.
    This facilitates issuing grades individually to students as they complete their coursework.
    
    
• Navigate to Grade Reporting > Configurations > Multiple Mark Headings and Descriptions
  
  • Ensure that at least one mark heading is defined.
    
    For traditional scheduling, the Descriptions of Mark field is used to enter the headings that will print on report cards and progress reports (IPRs) according to the Begin and End Date fields. However for Alt Ed grading, the report cards are typically bypassed. Although a mark heading is required for the Aeries Issue Credit process to function, the content can be generic.
    • Descriptions of Mark - Any description can be used.
    • Begin Date and End Date - The dates can encompass the entire school year.
      
      
• Navigate to School Info > Staff
  Ensure Alt Ed staff is set up correctly:

  • The State ID field must have a valid State ID.

  • A Staff Job Assignment - STJ record must be added for any teacher who is not assigned to a section in the master schedule but provides instruction for students, such as a pull-out teacher who instructs emergent bilingual or special education student who are pulled out of their regular classroom.
    
    
• Navigate to School Info > Portal Management > Portal Options (Grades tab)
  • Allow Teachers to Change Credit in GRD
    • Select if teachers are allowed to adjust a credit on the Grades page (GRD table) in order to give partial credit instead of full credit for a course. 
    • If unselected, the credit awarded cannot be changed by the teacher. In this case, the value in the Default Credit field on the Courses page is awarded (CRS.CR) unless changed by campus staff from the Grades or Grade History page or directly on the transcript.
  • Allow Teachers to Change Absences in GRD
    • Select if teachers are allowed to adjust the absence totals on the Grades page (GRD table).
    • If unselected, absence totals can only be updated by campus staff.
  • Under Open GRD Grading Windows for Teachers, ensure that a grading window for the mark is set up for the full year.
    
    
• Navigate to Grade Reporting > Configurations > Grading Periods
  
  This step is optional if Alt Ed scheduling is used for all students at the school.
  This step is required if the school has both traditional students and Alt Ed students.
  
  At least one Term (TRM.TM) must be set up before grading periods can be added.

Steps ↑

1. Create 'placeholder' courses and sections.

2. Assign the teacher to each Alt Ed section.

3. (Optional) Create a course request packet containing the Alt Ed scheduling courses.

4. Add Alt Ed 'placeholder' course-sections to the student's schedule.

5. Update actual courses for a student throughout the year.

6. Handle additional Alt Ed tasks as needed.

1. Create 'placeholder' courses and sections.

Navigate to Scheduling Process > Courses

• Click Add. The fields are enabled.
• Add a 'placeholder' course for each 'placeholder' section that represents each period for Alt Ed scheduling.
  
  
• Click Insert to save the course. 

Navigate to Scheduling Process > Master Schedule

• Click Add. The fields are enabled.
• For each 'placeholder' course, add the 'placeholder' section that represents each period for Alt Ed scheduling.
  
  NOTE:  If any section information will not apply to all students in the section, create separate sections.
  Examples:
  • (California only) For CALPADS reporting, multiple sections may be needed for different Education Service codes. 
  • If there are multiple teachers for a class, create a section for each teacher.
  • Multiple sections may be needed for CTE coding
    
    
• The following fields must be entered for Alt Ed scheduling sections:
  • Section, Period, Course
    
    Example:
    Section = 2290, Period = 0, Course = Alt Ed Period 0
    Section = 2291, Period = 1, Course = Alt Ed Period 1
    Section = 2292, Period = 2, Course = Alt Ed Period 2
    Section = 2293, Period = 3, Course = Alt Ed Period 3
    Etc.
    
    
  • Teacher - Select the Alt Ed teacher assigned to the section. This field is only displayed for schools using traditional scheduling. 
  • California specific fields that must be populated in the placeholder course: 
    • Ed Svc (Education Service)  - MST.ESR
    • Lang Instr (Language Instruction) - MST.LI
    • Instr Strategy (Instructional Strategy) - MST.INS
    • Fund Src (Funding Source -  MST.FS
    • CTE Prvdr (Provider) - MST.TEP - Filler, no longer used as of 2024/25 academic year
    • Ind Study (Independent Study) - MST.ISI
    • Dist Lrng (Distance Learning) - MST.DLI
      
      
• NOTE: Most course information used for state reporting will be come from the actual course for the Alt Ed student and not the placeholder course except for the fields listed above.
• When using Individual Sections for Alt Ed scheduling, select Alt Ed Sched Enabled (MST.AE) for each Alt Ed course identified in the Master Schedule.
  
  Enabling the field for an individual section triggers the Class Schedule table (SEC) to allow the 'placeholder' course ID to be changed throughout the year as needed to the actual course the student is taking.
  
  This field is not displayed if Alt Ed scheduling is used schoolwide because Alt Ed scheduling is automatically enabled for all courses when used schoolwide.
  
  NOTE: This field is also available on the Scheduling Master Schedule page when creating the next year Master Schedule.
  
  

2. Assign the teacher to each Alt Ed section.

Navigate to Scheduling Process > Master Schedule

• Select the Section of the Alt Ed Course.
• Click Change. The fields are enabled.

Assigning teachers to sections is handled differently for schools using traditional scheduling and schools using Flex Scheduling/Section Staff.

• For schools using traditional scheduling: 
  • In the Teacher field select the teacher assigned to the section.
    
  • Click Save.
    The section will now be listed for this teacher on the Teachers page (TCH table) under MST Classes. 

• For schools using Flex Scheduling/Section Staff: 
  • The Section Staff Members section is displayed instead of the Teacher field. Under Section Staff Members, click Add New Record.
    
  • Select the staff member to be assigned to the Alt Ed section.
  • Click the Save icon.

3. (Optional) Create a course request packet containing the Alt Ed scheduling courses.

This step is optional but simplifies the process of scheduling students into a full Alt Ed schedule. Students who attend Alt Ed all day typically require a full schedule of placeholder classes.

Navigate to Scheduling Process > Configurations > Course Request Packets

• Add the packet:
  • Click Add Packet.
  • Add a Code and Description indicating the packet's use for Alt Ed scheduling.
  • Click Save.
• Add courses to the packet:
  • Under Course Request Packets, click the packet to select it.
  • Under Records, click Add New Record to add each Alt Ed course for each period to the packet. 
  • Click the Save icon.
    

4. Add Alt Ed 'placeholder' course-sections to the student's schedule.

'Placeholder' sections can be assigned to a student one at a time. Or, you can add an Alt Ed course request packet, if set up as described above, which assigns a full schedule of Alt Ed sections to the student at once.

Navigate to Student Data > Scheduling > Classes

• Retrieve the Alt Ed student.
• Click Edit.
  
• Confirm that the Start Date displays the date on which classes will start. Modify as needed. 
• The End Date can initially be left blank and modified as needed to reflect the student's end date for each actual course.
  
  NOTE: The Start Date and End Date fields are only displayed if the Attendance table (ATT) and Course Attendance table (CAR) have been initialized.
  
  
• Option 1: Add an Alt Ed course request packet, if set up as described above.
  
  • Click CrsReqPack to add a course request packet.
    A window opens listing available packets.
    
  • Select the Alt Ed Schedule packet and click Add Packet(s).
    
    The window closes and all sections in that packet are added to the the student's schedule, one section per period.
    
  • To delete any periods that do not apply to the student's schedule click the delete icon in that row.
    
    
    
• Option 2: Add course-sections individually to the student's schedule.
  • A blank row is initially displayed. Select the Alt Ed section to be assigned to the student in period 0.
    
    
    
  • Repeat for each section until all required Alt Ed sections are added to the student's schedule. As each section is selected, it is added in the appropriate period column (0-9).
    
    
    
• The remaining steps are the same no matter how classes were added:
• You can verify information about the section by hovering over the information icon, including the section number, teacher, and other section-level information.
  
  You can also select Show Section Info to display the information without hovering.
  
  
  
• For each section, select the Actual Crs that the student is currently taking during that period.
  Repeat for each scheduled period.
  

• Select all sections, or only the sections you wish to save. The gray Unlocked icon toggles to a red Locked icon for the selected sections.
  
• Click Save.
• The student's schedule will also be reflected on Student Data > Scheduling > Course Attendance.

5. Update actual courses for a student throughout the year.

From the Classes page you can update/assign the next course for the Alt Ed student as needed. You can also add a period placeholder section to the student's schedule if needed.

Navigate to Student Data > Scheduling > Classes

NOTE: The Edit button and Edit icon are used for two different functions. The Edit icon is only available for Alt Ed course-sections.

• Retrieve the Alt Ed student.
• Click the Edit icon next to the course.
  
  A window opens allowing you to select the next actual course the student will take during that period.
  
  
• In the Course field, select the actual course the student will take. As you begin typing characters the drop-down list is filtered according to the characters you type.
• Adjust the End Date and Start Date as needed:
  • The End Date displays the current date by default. Adjust as needed to reflect the final date of the prior class. 
  • The Start Date displays the next valid school date by default. Adjust as needed to reflect the first date of the next class.
• Click Save.
  • The course title and course ID are changed, but the section number remains the same.
  • The new course information will also be reflected on Student Data > Scheduling > Course Attendance, including Start Date and End Date.
• To add a period placeholder section to the student's schedule, click the Edit button (rather than the Edit icon).
  
  A blank row appears in the grid. Add the class as described above.

Initialize grading

Navigate to Grade Reporting > Functions > Initialize New Grade Reporting Cycle

The process is different depending on whether the school uses schoolwide Alt Ed scheduling or uses both regular and Alt Ed scheduling.

Schoolwide Alt Ed Scheduling

If using schoolwide Alt Ed scheduling, creating a grading cycle is optional.

• Select Use Course Attendance instead of current sections to pull all sections from the Course Attendance Records (CAR table) for the selected Reporting Period. Otherwise sections are pulled from the current actual course.
  
  This option is only displayed for schoolwide Alt Ed scheduling schools, and only if Allow Issue Credit on Classes/Course Attendance pages is selected on School Options.
  

Both Regular and Alt Ed Scheduling

If using both regular scheduling and Alt Ed scheduling, you must create a grading cycle.

• When the Grade Reporting Cycle is created, the student's Actual Course will be copied into the Grade Reporting (GRD) table. Grade Reporting Cycle will extract the student's Actual Course based on the reporting period during this initialization process.
  

6. Handle additional Alt Ed tasks as needed.

Class Roster Report

Navigate to Reports > Attendance > Class Rosters

This report can be used for recording student attendance in Alt Ed classes using the following settings:

• Under Sort, select Teacher/Period.
• Under Sort Each Sheet By, select Student Name.
• Select the Print Course With Student option.

The report is generated similar to this example:

See Class Roster for Alt Ed Scheduling.