Part 2. Journeys
2.1 Setting up the school
From the first administrator's sign-in to the first records: the school's details, roles, staff access, calendar, absence codes and fields.
Written forITBusiness manager
What this journey achieves
A new school starts with an empty record. This journey takes it from that point to a console staff can use for the first day: the school's own details are set, the roles say what each person reaches, staff have access, the year has its terms and bells, absences are recorded under the state's codes, and the first records are made.
Two roles do most of it. The first administrator, usually the person who looks after IT, signs in and works down the setup list. The business manager supplies the facts only the school knows, such as the address, the terms and the fee categories, and checks the result.
The school itself is created at a terminal by the operator who installs Kestrel. That step makes the school's database, its reference data and the first administrator, and it is not a screen in the console. Everything after it is.
The steps in order
- IT
Go to the sign-in page and choose "Email me a 6-digit code". Enter the code from the email, then add a passkey when Kestrel offers one. Choosing "Not now" is allowed, and the Account page offers "Add a passkey" later.
/login1.1 Signing in - IT
Open the setup list. It reads the school's own tables and shows what is done and what is left, so you do not need to keep a tally. Each row opens the screen that finishes it.
/app/settings/setup5.1 Settings and setup - IT
Fill in "School name", "Language" and "Reports in" on the School screen, then save.
/app/settings/school5.2 The school - IT
Read what each shipped role reaches. If the school needs a role of its own, choose "Compose a role" and tick the capabilities it has.
/app/settings/roles5.3 Staff and access - IT
On Staff accounts, choose "Roles" on a person's row, tick the roles they hold and choose "Save the roles". The screen lists staff who already have access, so ask the operator to give the first colleagues access if the list is short.
/app/settings/people5.3 Staff and access - Business manager
Add the year's terms with "Add a term", and set the school days and bell schedules. A student's day, the rolls and the class build all read from these.
/app/settings/calendar3.3 Timetable and classes - Business manager
On Bells and rooms, choose "Add bells" for each schedule and "Add a room" for each room.
/app/settings/bells3.3 Timetable and classes - IT
On Absence codes, choose the school's "Jurisdiction" so Kestrel adopts that state's codes. Use "Add a code" for any the school needs besides.
/app/settings/attendance3.4 Attendance - IT
On Fields, choose "Define a field" for each extra fact the school records about students and staff.
/app/settings/fields5.1 Settings and setup - Business manager
On Vocabularies, choose "Add a charge category" for each category of fee the school raises, before the first fee line is written.
/app/settings/vocabularies3.12 Billing - IT
Load the first records by import. The Data imports list shows each file Kestrel can read and what it loads.
/app/imports5.8 Imports and returns - IT
Where there is nothing to import, add a person by hand. Fill in the given names and family name and save.
/app/people/new3.1 Students and households
Things to watch for
The last administrator cannot be made ordinary staff. Kestrel refuses with a message saying the person is the only administrator, so promote a second person before you change the first.
What happens next
With the school set up, the registrar starts to record the families who want a place, and the school builds its classes before the first day. The setup list stays available, and an administrator returns to it when the school adds a campus, a term or a role.