Table of Contents
Obtaining the App
The Silent Dismissal Parent Handheld App is available for both Android and Apple iOS. You may obtain the app from the Google Play Store for Android or the Apple App Store for iOS.
Before obtaining the app, ensure that your child's school supports the use of the app and to what degree. If the school does not support the use of the app, then the app will not function for you. Individual schools may choose to unilaterally discontinue support for the Parent Handheld App at any time without informing SDCS, Inc. SDCS, Inc. will not be liable should the app no longer be supported by a school and will not refund the purchase price to the buyer.
Creating an Account
Required Information
Accounts may only be created by persons who have at least one active student at a school. When a school supports the use of the Parent Handheld App, they will provide to the parent or guardian a document containing the following three pieces of information:
- School Code
- Domain Code
- Student Reference and Code
Users of the Parent Handheld App will also be required to have a valid e-mail address and to create a password.
Establishing an Account
Upon launching the Parent Handheld App, you will be presented with a screen prompting your for your e-mail address and password. At the bottom of the page is a link titled “Create New Account.” As a new user, you must click on this link.
The Create New Account page has four prompts for personal information:
- First Name
- Last Name
- Email Address
- Password
Enter the appropriate information into these four fields.
NOTE: The entered email address must not already be in use at the school. Each separate installation of the Parent Handheld App requires a unique email address to create an account.
Choose a password that is different from other passwords that you may have elsewhere. Do not use the same password value that you use for other accounts such as your e-mail address or on-line banking.
Next you will see additional fields titled:
- School Code
- Domain Code
- Student Reference and Code
Enter the first two entries from the information provided by the school to you.
For the Student Reference and Code fields, you may have received multiple values, one for each child assigned to a carpool number. It does not matter which of these you choose to use for this step. In the section titled Adding Students you will find instructions for associating the additional students to your account.
Enter all of the information, noting that each value is case sensitive, then press the “Create” button.
Provided that the information entered is valid, your account will be created.
Adding Students
Add as many active student accounts as is required to the app by selecting the Menu / Students entry. At the bottom right of the page is a green plus mark. Click on this button to add a student by entering the student reference number and the student code.
Current Student Status
The current status for each student is shown on the Dismiss by Name screen - the Dismiss menu entry preceded by an icon of a group of students.
If a student is currently set for normal dismissal and has not yet been dismissed, the student indicator will read “Not Dismissed.”
If an explicit dismissal reason has been set for the student, the message will indicate the specific dismissal setting and the time that it was set.
If a child has been called for a dismissal reason, the most recent dismissal reason and time will be shown.
If a child has been marked as “Loaded” for a dismissal reason, the load time of the student will be shown.
Setting a Method
To set an explicit dismissal method or to designate a student will not be participating in dismissal for the current day
- Select Menu / Method
- Touch each child's name for which you want the setting to apply; the student indicator will change to a check mark
- Touch the green arrow in the bottom right of the screen
- All of the possible dismissal methods which all of the selected students have in common will be listed
- To designate a method available only to a single child, select that child separately
- Select the specific dismissal method for the current day from the list, or designate the child as absent or left school early
- To dismiss a student to a different carpool number, enter that number on the screen that appears
Dismissing by Student
To dismiss a student from the classroom select Menu / Dismiss (by name) as indicated by the icon which resembles a group of students.
Three requirements must be met to process a dismissal by a parent:
- The student must be associated to your account
- The school must allow dismissals from parents
- You must be within the geographic area defined for the dismissal location as shown on the map. This requires that your smart phone have location services enabled
When the Dismiss by Name page opens, all associated students are selected by default and the carpool location is the same as the prior value (provided it has not been changed by the school).
You may optionally deselect one or more students by touching their name and change the dismissal location from the drop down list.
When you are within the boundary displayed on the map, you may press the button in the lower right corner to dismiss the students to the selected location.
Do not dismiss students by name if you are picking up additional students other than those associated to your account, i.e., students that you are picking up based upon an alternate carpool number setting.
When picking up additional student based upon alternate carpool settings, use the Dismiss by Number option.
Dismissing by Carpool Number
The allowed set of carpool numbers that will appear in the Menu / Dismiss (by Number) page is determined by the specific students associated to your account.
For each associated student, the specific carpool number and any group carpool numbers (those number 5000 or larger) will be available for dismissal.
To dismiss by carpool number, select the appropriate location from the drop down list then ensure that you are located within the defined boundary.
Select the desired number with the radio button, then press the green dismissal button in the lower right corner.
All students associated to the number who do not have an alternate explicit dismissal method set will be dismissed, including additional students set with an alternate carpool number that matches.
Updating Profile
You may use the Menu / Profile option to change your user ID (e-mail address), and your first and last name.
It is important to keep your e-mail address value current as this is the address that will be used to send your password should you forget it.
It is also important to ensure that your name is correct so that it is not deleted by school staff when reviewing system data.
You will be required to enter your current password to make any changes to your profile to ensure that someone else who may have access to your phone cannot change this information.
Changing the Password
You may change your password at any time by entering your current password along with a new password value from the Menu / Password option.
Choose a password that is different from other passwords that you may have elsewhere. Do not use the same password value that you use for other accounts such as your e-mail address or on-line banking.