What is an electronic sign-in/out sheet?
An electronic sign-in sheet is just like a traditional paper sign-in sheet except that parents/guardians or school staff can sign in using a computer or tablet device like an iPad. Each time a student is signed-in or out, that information is saved in your Gradelink account allowing you to easily run attendance reports. This feature is ideal for Preschool, Before Care, After Care, Extended Care, Day Care and more.
Why would I want to use it?
Forget the hassle of fumbling with clipboards and paper. Use Gradelink’s simple and secure Check In app and make a great impression with parents right from the start.
Automates the process: The Check In web app makes it easy to check students in and out on a computer, tablet or phone. It even allows multiple users to sign students in or out on separate devices. And it instantly shows you who’s in class. Facilitate car line drop off/pickup
Records and Reports: The Check In app keeps a legal record of attendance, including digital signatures, indefinitely. It can also help speed up your billing process because it records each student’s time in the classroom. Automatic reporting for the total the number of hours a student was in preschool for billing. Ensure accurate sign-in/out times. Historical archives of all sign-in activity
Flexibility: Have a parent who needs to authorize someone to pickup their child on a particular day? Or how about an entire week? It can handle that, too.
Administrative Setup
Before you can begin, an Administrator will need to make sure they've already done the following:
- Add students to Gradelink
- Add staff to Gradelink
- Add emergency contacts with the role "Authorized for pick-up"
Once those are out of the way, we'll go ahead and create a Check In class.
Creating a Check In Class
From the "Classes" tab:
- Type in an appropriate title in the Class Title and Report Title fields. The Report Title will be shown to parents on the sign-in screen.
- Set the Class Type to “Preschool”. This will cause the "Auto-Checkout" field and the optional "Round to Next" field to appear. Configure them as appropriate.
- Click "Add".
After creating your Check In class, you’ll need to populate it with students using the "Populate Classes" tab. Once that's done, you'll be able to use the Check In sign-in/sign-out sheet.
Security and Safety
Online Access and Mobile App access:
For security, a Full Administrator will need to sign-in to the Check In portal each day in order to activate it. This simple act prevents unauthorized users from using your sign-in/out sheet even if they have the URL/link.
Authorized Pickups:
For security, only authorized pickups are able to sign-in or sign-out a student.
Gradelink’s Students page has two areas where a contact could be listed:
1) In the area titled “Demographics”
2) the area titled "Contacts"
If a parent or guardian needs to be listed as an authorized pickup, then they'll need to be added to Family 1 in the Demographics page or as a “Contact".
Temporary authorized pickups can be added. This is ideal if a neighbor needs to be the authorized pickup for just one day or one week.
Federal and State Requirements:
Gradelink recommends that you check with your state laws before using the electronic sign-in/out sheet.
Most states allow electronic sign-in/out sheets as long as they record the following information:
The name of the student who was signed in or out
The date and time the student was signed in or out
The name of the adult who signed the student in or out
An “identifying mark” to identify the adult to signed in or out the student. An “identifying mark” could be a physical signature, a PIN or initials
Furthermore, many states require that these records be kept for up to seven years.
The electronic sign-in/out sheet provided by Gradelink meets all of the above requirements, but we recommend consulting your local and state regulations before opting to use the electronic sign-in/out sheet.
Using the Sign-in/out Sheet
On the web-connected device you wish to use for sign in, log yourself into the preschool portal by visiting:
https://secure.gradelink.com/{yourschoolID}/preschool
Be sure to replace {yourschoolID} with your school's Gradelink ID number.
A Full Administrator will need to sign in to the sheet at the start of each day by entering their Gradelink username and password. Upon successful login, the sheet will be activated and the Sign-In screen will appear.
To Sign-In or Sign-Out a Student, the parent/guardian:
Selects the Class
Selects the Student they are dropping off
Selects the appropriate Contact
Enters their Initials
Clicks Submit
Note: Students can be signed in and out multiple times in a single day.
Check In Reports
The following reports can be accessed through the Check In Reports button in the Administrator Reports tab (near the bottom right).
Check In Log
The Check In Log shows all of the individual sign-ins and sign-outs for every student in a class during a specific period of time. To use it:
Select a Period of time to view
(Optionally) Narrow your focus to specific days within the period of time you selected previously
Filter the student entries by Student, Date, Action (whether the student signed in or signed out) as well as Class
The entries that match your criteria will appear below
Total Hours Report
The Hours Logged report displays the total amount of time recorded for specific students. To use it:
Select a Period of time to view
(Optionally) Narrow your focus to specific days within the period of time you selected previously
Filter your entries by Student, Family, and Class
The entries that match your criteria will appear below
Checked In Report
The Checked In report shows all students that are currently logged in to a specific class. To use it, simply select a class from the menu at the top of the page and any students still checked in will appear below.
Missing Contacts Report
If a student does not have any authorized pickups listed in Gradelink then he/she cannot be picked up. This report will help you identify the students who need authorized pickups added to their file.
Note: This report excludes Temporary authorized pickups
Add/Update Logs
This report allows Administrators to edit existing check in and check out entries. To edit an existing entry:
If you'd like to edit an existing entry, start by selecting a 'From' date...
...and a 'To' date; then select your entry from the list that appears
If you'd like to manually add a new entry, hit "Add Entry"
Edit/Complete the Entry Forms, including Class, Student, Date, Time, and Check In or Check Out
Finally, hit Save
Student Notes
The Student Notes section is primarily used for quickly adding temporary authorized pickups, although you can also add miscellaneous notes as well. For more on temporarily authorized pickups, please see the Questions section below.
Customization
Changing the Sign-In screen logo
The Check In sign-in screen for parents has an area at the top for your school’s logo. The logo space uses the same logo used by your EnrollMe account. If you do not have an EnrollMe account you can still include your school’s logo. Please contact Gradelink support for assistance.
Questions
What happens if a Parent/Guardian forgets to sign their child out?
When a Check In class is first created, an Auto-Checkout time must be added. The Auto-Checkout time ensures that after a certain time of day, all students will automatically be signed out so parents and guardians who forget to sign their children out don't have to worry. In addition to the Auto-Checkout time, when Administrators load the Check In Reports page, Gradelink double-checks to make sure that there are no remaining students still signed in.
Can I temporarily authorize Parent/Guardian pickups?
You may encounter a situation where a parent wants to allow another person to have authorization to pick up their child(ren) but only for a given period of time. For example, a parent may allow another parent to pickup their child for a play date, or a parent may want to allow a relative to pick up and drop off their child for a given week.
To setup a temporary authorized pickup:
Click “Add Note” and specify the Class and Student.
Specify the Start and End Date for the temporary authorization.
Make sure to choose the “Pick Up/Drop Off” type for the note.
(Optionally) Include a description about the temporary authorization.