CONTENTS

Overview

Attendance Letter Pre-requirements

• Attendance Codes
• Attendance Letter Cycles
• Parent Addresses
• Parent Portal

Letter Templates

• Adding a New Template
• Letter Template Options
• Set Attendance Rules
• Adding a Letter Body
• Including a Staff Signature
• Attach a Letterhead

Generating Letters

• How Students Qualify for Letters
• Running an Attendance Letter
• Publishing Letters to Parents
• Automatic Letter Generating & Publishing

Reviewing Attendance Letters

• Viewing a Letter Run
• Using the Attendance Letter Search
• Deleting Letters that have Run

Overview

Genesis has a robust Attendance Letter facility that allows you to create as many Attendance Letters, as required to implement your Attendance policies. Letters can be either Daily Attendance Letters or Class Attendance Letters; both of these letter types are done through the Attendance>Letters screen. They will automatically generate for the appropriate students who's attendance totals qualify them to receive a letter.  Once a student reaches the absent/tardy total the letter is configured with, a letter will generate for them the very next time letters are run.

The letter templates can merge-in personalized information about the student, their contact/addresses, attendance summary, and other information by inserting a macro from the list of macros. It can also print signatures from certain staff members onto the letter. The entire body of the letter can be printed on the school or district's letterhead.

Attendance letters can now be generated automatically based on a schedule. Generated letters can also be published to the Parent Portal automatically. Parents receive a notification of new letters added to their portal.

Attendance Letter Pre-requirements

This section will provide information on various attendance setup and configuration necessary in order for the letters to work properly.

Attendance Codes

Letters can be either Daily Attendance Letters or Class Attendance Letters. Depending on the letter's Type, the letter will calculate based on either the list of Daily Attendance codes or the Class Attendance codes. 

• Daily Attendance Codes – Codes applied to students (1 per day) when Daily Attendance is posted. These codes are defined  on the Attendance > Codes > Attendance Codes screen.
• Class Attendance Codes – Codes applied to students (1 per day, per class) when Class Attendance is recorded. These are defined  on the Class Attendance > Setup > Attendance Codes screen.
• BOTH types of codes will have an option to Use for Letters that needs to be enabled for it to be included in the letter calculations.

Each code must be set with a Value higher than 0. Enter a value of 1.0 (one whole day, or period) or 0.5 (half day, half period).

All attendance codes used in letters must be set properly as either Absent, Tardy, or Truant. The absence and tardy codes should be set as Excused or Unexcused according to the district's attendance policy.

NOTE: If any of the above fields are changed during the school year, you must recalculate attendance or run maintenance in order to have the changes take effect.
Daily Attendance Code Maintenance: Run from the Attendance > Codes > Maintenance screen
Class Attendance Code Maintenance: Run from the Class Attendance > Setup > Modify Codes screen.

Visit our Daily Attendance Codes and Class Attendance Codes articles for more information on configuring codes.

Attendance Letter Cycles

The letter templates will receive a Letter Cycle, which represents the date range in which the letter analyzes attendance totals for. Your letter's Attendance Cycle could be set to FY - Full Year for example; then when it runs, it will look over the student's attendance for the entire school year to determine if they should receive a letter. This Letter Cycle could also be set for analyzing just one marking period's attendance or perhaps one specific month in the year. All templates must be assigned a Letter Cycle.

Letter Cycles are managed on the Setup > Schools > School Parameters > Letter Cycles screen. Each cycle receives a code (ex: code 'FY' = 'Full Year') with a Start Date and End Date.

These cycles are derived from the Attendance Cycles list where they are copied from, and this list is found within the Setup > Schools > School Parameters > Letter Cycles screen. The Attendance Cycles list is originally created by the Genesis Rollover Team who collects these date ranges from your district during the Summer, however the dates can be changed as needed. Genesis recommends using the built-in Attendance Cycle codes instead of creating custom codes.

Parent Addresses

Are your parents' addresses configured to receive mailings? Each of the parents' individual address records have Mailing Flags to control which 'type' of mailings are sent to that address. These are analyzed when the letters generate, so that letters are only printed for the appropriate addresses. The mailing flags can impact how many copies of a letter are generated for one student, and also which contact(s) receive a copy.

For example, addresses will need the Attendance mailing checkbox enabled in order to generate Attendance Letters for the contact:

These Mailing Flags can be mass updated for students using the Student Data > Mass Change tool. There is an option to update Guardian 1-4 Address Mailings

Visit Student Demographics for more information on updating Address records.

Parent Portal

Is your parent portal configured to display Letters that are generated and published? Various Letter Types can be enabled to display on the Parents > Setup > Settings > School Settings > Letters screen. They can be displayed to Student Portal as well. Visit How to Display Letters or Letter Settings for more information.

Parent Portal accounts must also be set with the proper Relationship which indicates which Guardian (Guardian 1, 2, 3, or 4) they represent. This is extremely important, as it will control which guardians' letters will display on their portal. If the parent account is set to a relationship of Guardian 1 for example, the account must belong to the person listed as Guardian 1 on the student's contacts screen. If the account is set to Guardian 2 instead, the Guardian 1 parent will receive a letter that was addressed to Guardian 2. Auto Creating Parent Accounts is the best method to avoid this issue. There are also maintenance tools that can be used to correct parent accounts with this issue.

Visit Parent Account Management for more information.

Parent Accounts can also be setup to receive Alerts when there is a new letter posted to their account. Visit Configuring Parent Alerts for more information. 

Letter Templates

This section contains everything you'll need to know when designing your new letter template! This section will review how to add and design a letter template, set the template's rules for calculation, and configure other options. The list of letter templates are maintained from the Attendance > Letters > Templates screen.

Adding a New Template

Start by going to the Templates screen. Use the +Add Letter... button to create a brand new letter from a blank template. To create pre-built letters using Genesis templates...

Use the +Add Default Daily button to create a new letter based on a default/example Daily Attendance template.

Use the +Add Default Class button to create a new letter based on a default/example Class Attendance template.

If using one of the Default template buttons, the template will come prepopulated with basic options, default attendance rules, and a generic letter body including examples of the built-in letter macros.

If adding a new blank template, the screen will first show options for adding the new letter which must be completed to add the template. This is the pop-up showing an example of how it was created:

In this example, a letter is being created to generate for students who have 5 or more absences to school, that occurred anytime during the school year. Based on these parameters, the letter was set to Full Year and then Daily was selected as the attendance type.

Click Add to finish adding the letter and continue onto the Modify Letter screen for further setup.

NOTE:  If you wish to copy an existing letter instead, find the letter template you wish to copy first. Then click the Copy icon (duplicate paper) to create a copy. Then click OK.  

Letter Template Options

Options available with each letter template. Some options are specific to only Daily or Class attendance letter types.

Set Attendance Rules

The Create Rules section of the letter controls what absence/tardy total the student must reach in order to qualify them for this letter. This section will review how to 'trigger' a letter to generate. 

Click the +Create Rule button to add your first attendance rule...

For Attendance Type: Daily

• The screen will present you with two options: Total Absences and Total Tardies
• Only fill in one of these fields, regardless of whether you are using the Include Converted Tardies... option
• Click Add Rule to save the rule entered
• NOTE: More templates must be added for each increment of absence totals that require a letter (ex: a letter is sent home after 5, 10, 15, and 20 absences)

For Attendance Type: Class

• In addition to Absences/Tardies option, the rules will also have Semester Type, Course Credits, and Department
• These options are used to setup a rule specific to certain course types and lengths
• Click Add Rule to save each of the rule entered
• Continue clicking +Create Additional Rule to configure more rules for different types of courses

Next, enable the attendance options below to configure which attendance type(s) are included in this letter. 

For example, enabling only the Include Unexcused Absences setting on a '5-day absence' letter will ensure the student accrues 5 total unexcused absences before receiving the letter. A student with 4 unexcused and 1 excused absence would not qualify, unless the letter has both Include Excused and Include Unexcused Absences enabled.

Adding a Letter Body

What information would you like this letter to present to the parents? You can formulate the exact appearance of your letter by editing the large text field under Letter Body. The letter body's Font, Font Size, and Margins can also be set within this area. 

The letter's text can be created either by typing directly into this text field, or copy/pasting the letter text from another source or an existing document. Remember to Save periodically so no work is lost.

Once the letter is typed, macros can be inserted within the body to automatically include personalized information into the context. For example, instead of writing "Your son/daughter..." the text could include the macro that specifies "Son" or "Daughter" appropriately based on the student being generated, as well as the student's name. 

Example text including macros:  "Your ${STUDENT_GENDER_SONORDAUGHTER}, ${STUDENT_FIRST_NAME}..."

Example text when printed:    "Your son, Ed..."

Each letter macro begins with $ and is surrounded by { } as shown above. For example, if you wish to use the STUDENT_NAME macro from the macro list, the macro should be inserted into your letter text as:  ${STUDENT_NAME}

There are many of these variations for gender as well as many other macro types available to use. Visit Attendance Letter Macros to see the full list of macros available (for attendance letters only) and if they are available to only Class or Daily Attendance or Both types. This article also has a Sample Letter Body with text.

NOTE: If using the 'default' Genesis templates, the letter is added with a pre-built letter body, including examples of various macros.

Including a Staff Signature

The attendance letter macros are also capable of inserting the signature of a staff member. At the bottom of the letter macros list, there are several macros that will print the 'image' of the staff member's signature. Copy and paste the macro into the part of the Letter Body where the signature should be listed. These macros begin with # and are surrounded by { }

For example, insert #{STUDENT_PRINCIPAL_SIGNATURE_IMAGE} into the letter body to print the signature for the Principal of the school the student attends.

This requires the staff member to record their actual signature in Genesis.  Visit Staff Signatures for more information on this.

Attach a Letterhead

In Genesis, any letters can be setup to print directly onto the district's letterhead. This is a great way to provide a clean visual of the letter and also include information about the school such as phone number and logo.

Save your current letter so that no work is lost.  Then, locate the section below the letter body titled Upload PDF Template Page for this Letter. Start by clicking Choose File to locate the file on your computer:

Once the file is located and selected, click the Upload File button to save it to this template.

Alternatively, you can easily import a letterhead that's being used in another letter template. Use the Copy Template from option to select another template to copy the letterhead from. Then click Copy to add it to this template.

Letterhead Requirements:

Only .PDF files are accepted

Must not be a scanned document

Document must be blank so there is room to print the letter body

Designing the letterhead in MS Word and saving as PDF is recommended

NOTE: Letterheads created from scanned documents will not work.  The document must not be an 'image' of the letterhead. This can result in letters generating without the text showing.  If this occurs, you may use a free website pdfzorro.com to 'fix' your PDF and convert it into a working document. 

Generating Letters

Now that you have created Letter Templates, this section will review how to 'run' your letters. Each letter can be mass-generated for a specific date. All absence/tardy totals are analyzed as of that effective date (letters can be run with a prior date).

How Students Qualify for Letters

Below are the requirements for a student to qualify for receiving an Attendance Letter. See the Attendance Letter Prerequisites section above for more details. 

For students to qualify for a letter:

• Student must have an address that is set to receive Attendance mailings
• Student reached the specific absence/tardy total as set in the letter's Rules
• The student must reach the attendance total as of the Letter Date
• The attendance codes used are marked Include in Letters
• For daily attendance letters: Student did not receive this letter (template) already
• For class attendance: Student did not receive this letter previously for the same course 

A student who received a "Five Day Absence" letter now has 10 absences, will they receive another letter? 

Will the student receive the same letter again if they already generated one previously? 

Answer:

For Daily Attendance letters, the student can only receive one copy of each template, regardless of their attendance total reached.  For each increment of absence total a letter is sent home for, the school should create a duplicate of the letter template with the new total. For example, 3 separate letter templates must be created in order to generate multiple letters when the student reaches 5, 10, and 15, absences to school.

For Class Attendance letters, the student can receive a copy of a letter for each course that qualifies for the letter. Each class attendance letter can be generated once per student, per class, per rule. Within the same letter template, multiple rules can be setup for the same course type/length.

Running an Attendance Letter

When letters are 'run' or 'generated' the system figures out which students should get a copy of the letter. By default, all active students in the current school are included in this analysis. If the student 'qualifies' for a letter, a copy of it is created with their information, and Genesis saves a copy of the letter to the student's record on their Letters tab. The letters generated from one letter run can be easily deleted in case corrections need to be made. The process itself of generating a letter is separate from sending the letter home or to the Parent Portal. 

To generate a letter for students:

1.  Visit Attendance > Letters > Run Letters screen

2.  Click the Generate button to open the Generate Letters window

3.  Fill out the Letter Date and Letter Template (required)

4.  Optionally a List of Students can be selected instead of including all students in school

5.  Optionally Exclude students with a certain Graduation Attendance value on their IEP

6.  Click Create to run the letter template and assign letters to students.

After creating the letters, the system will take a moment to finish running them...

After letters finish running, a window will indicate how many letter(s) were created...

Continue further to learn how to review the letters that have generated...

Publishing Letters to Parents

This section reviews how to release Attendance Letters to the Parent Portal. When you 'publish' or 'release' letters, this means that you are now distributing letters 'home' to the families. Parents and optionally Students can then log into their portal and view a copy of the letter. Releasing letters will also trigger an alert to the parent simultaneously, so they know to expect a new letter in their portal. Letters must be generated first before they can be released to the Parent Portal.

Automatic Letter Generating & Publishing

Here is how to automate the generating and publishing of letters. Letter automation is controlled by the Letters task as well as settings on the letter templates: Auto Generate and Auto Release

Auto Generate

Enable this option to allow Genesis to automatically generate this letter each day. This will automatically Run the letter, and any letters generated are added to the students' Letters tab instantly for staff to review. 

Auto Release

Enabling this option will allow Genesis to automatically 'release' the letters to parents. When the Letters task runs, any previously generated letters from this template will be updated to display in the Parent/Student Portal.  If configured, parents will also receive an alert that a new letter has been release to the parent portal.

Letters Task

The automation of letters requires this task to be enabled. The Letter task is found on the Core>Scheduler screen in Genesis. First, check off Enabled for this task in the list, and then Save the screen so the task is turned on (will run automatically each morning).

The Letters task can also be duplicated (green +plus sign) in order to have it run at multiple times, or separate times per school.

With the above options enabled, Genesis will handle running letters for you, as well as publishing them to the parent portal. 

NOTE: The Letters task will run each enabled letter template once a day. If a letter template has already generated letters for today's date, it will not continue to run the same letter template until the next day. 

Reviewing Attendance Letters

Viewing a Letter Run

Viewing the results of an individual letter template run can be done on the Attendance > Letters > Run Letters screen. Start by clicking on a letter template that has previously run. The individual run dates will then be listed in the middle column of the screen. From here, you can click the Adobe icon next to the run date to view/print all letters from that date at once. Or, you may click the date itself to list the individual letters generated on that date. 

Using the Attendance Letter Search

Genesis recently added a Search screen to help reviewing and managing letters that were previously generated. Visit the Attendance > Letters > Search Letters screen to utilize the new tools.  See Attendance Letters Search article for more details.

Deleting Letters that have Run

Deleting individual letter template runs can be done on the Attendance > Letters > Run Letters screen. Start by clicking on a letter template that has previously run. The individual run dates will then be listed in the middle column of the screen. The delete button can be used to delete any 'run date' in particular.