SchoolCal makes it easy to keep your school community's calendars up to date by automatically syncing schedules from your Student Information System (SIS) to Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. This guide will walk you through the setup process and help you get the most out of SchoolCal's features.
Initial Setup and Configuration
Before you begin syncing calendars, you'll need to complete the initial setup process. This involves connecting your SIS account, configuring your calendar preferences, and setting up your sync rules.
Start by logging into your SchoolCal dashboard and navigating to the Settings section. Here, you'll find options to connect your Student Information System. SchoolCal supports integrations with PowerSchool, Blackbaud, Veracross, Infinite Campus, iSAMS, and FMX.
Once your SIS is connected, you'll need to choose which calendar platform you want to sync to—either Google Calendar or Microsoft Outlook. You can sync to both platforms if needed, but each requires separate configuration.
Understanding Sync Types
SchoolCal supports several different types of calendar syncs, each designed to handle specific types of school data. Understanding these sync types will help you configure the right options for your school's needs.
Class schedules sync teacher and student class schedules directly to their primary calendars. This ensures that everyone has their daily schedule visible in the calendar app they already use. Resource calendars map your school's rooms and facilities to calendar resources, making it easy to see availability and avoid double bookings.
Rotation days keep everyone on the same page by syncing cycle days as all-day events. Birthday calendars can automatically celebrate your community by syncing birthdays (without years) to one or multiple calendars. You can customize these to exclude certain users or separate divisions.
Each sync type can be configured independently, allowing you to choose exactly what data gets synced and to whom. This granular control ensures that users only see the information that's relevant to them.
Configuring User Permissions
One of SchoolCal's most powerful features is the ability to control who receives which calendar events. You can filter syncs by user roles, departments, grade levels, or any other criteria that makes sense for your school.
For example, you might want to sync class schedules only to students and teachers, while keeping resource calendars visible to all staff members. You can also exclude specific users or groups from certain syncs if needed.
Permissions are managed through the SchoolCal dashboard, where you can create custom filters based on your SIS data. These filters are applied in real-time, so changes to user roles or assignments are automatically reflected in calendar syncs.
Customizing Event Display
SchoolCal gives you full control over how events appear in your users' calendars. You can customize event titles, descriptions, visibility settings, and more to ensure that calendar events contain all the information your community needs.
Event titles can include information like course names, room numbers, teacher names, or any other metadata from your SIS. Descriptions can contain additional details such as course codes, section numbers, or special instructions.
You can also control event visibility, choosing whether events are public, private, or visible only to specific groups. This is particularly useful for sensitive information or events that should only be visible to certain members of your community.
All of these display options can be configured per sync type, so you can have different display rules for class schedules versus resource calendars or rotation days.
Testing and Pilot Programs
Before rolling out SchoolCal to your entire school, we recommend starting with a pilot program. This allows you to test how events appear in calendars and make any necessary adjustments before a full deployment.
SchoolCal makes it easy to test syncs with a small group of pilot users. You can select specific users or groups to participate in the pilot, and all syncs will only go to these users until you're ready to expand.
During the pilot phase, you can review how events look in both Google Calendar and Outlook, test different display configurations, and gather feedback from your pilot users. Once you're satisfied with the setup, you can easily expand the sync to include all users.
The pilot program also gives you a chance to verify that all your filters and permissions are working correctly, ensuring that users only receive the calendar events they should see.
Managing Syncs and Updates
Once your syncs are configured and running, SchoolCal handles updates automatically. When changes occur in your SIS—such as schedule changes, room assignments, or new events—these updates are automatically reflected in your users' calendars.
SchoolCal syncs on a regular schedule, but you can also trigger manual syncs when needed. This is particularly useful for last-minute changes or when you want to ensure that a specific update is reflected immediately.
You can view your sync history in the SchoolCal dashboard, which shows a complete log of all data that has been synced. This makes it easy to verify that specific events or changes were successfully synced to calendars.
If you ever need to pause or disable a sync, you can do so from the dashboard. All syncs can be paused and resumed at any time, giving you full control over when calendar updates occur.
Troubleshooting Common Issues
While SchoolCal is designed to work seamlessly, you may occasionally encounter issues. Most problems can be resolved quickly by checking a few common areas.
If events aren't appearing in calendars, first check that your SIS connection is active and that syncs are enabled. Verify that your filters aren't excluding the users or events you're trying to sync. You can also check the sync history to see if events were successfully processed.
If events appear but with incorrect information, review your event display settings. Make sure that the metadata fields you're using exist in your SIS and contain the expected data. You may need to adjust your display templates to match your SIS data structure.
For issues with calendar permissions or visibility, check your user permission settings and event visibility configurations. Remember that users need appropriate calendar permissions in Google or Outlook to receive synced events.
Best Practices and Tips
To get the most out of SchoolCal, follow these best practices. Start with a pilot program to test your configuration before rolling out to all users. Use clear, descriptive event titles that include key information like course names and room numbers.
Regularly review your sync history to ensure that all expected events are being synced correctly. Keep your filters and permissions up to date as your school's structure changes. Consider using different sync types for different purposes—for example, separate syncs for academic schedules versus athletic events.
Finally, communicate with your users about what calendar events they should expect to see. This helps set expectations and reduces confusion about which events are synced from SchoolCal versus manually created events.