Chronic Absenteeism Setup Guide

Use this Setup Guide to install and configure your Chronic Absenteeism solution using test data. At the end of this Setup Guide you'll have a test environment which closely mimics a staging or production environment. This test environment allows your tech team, administrators, and stakeholders to test configuration changes being considered for the production environment without an impact on end-users. It is important to note that this test environment is separate and distinct from the sample environment you accessed during the Quick Start.

It is important to note that this Setup Guide assumes that you have access to a certified Student Information System (SIS), which provides the data to power the dashboard.

The following steps to get this test environment up and running are very similar to the steps for setting up a production or staging environment.

Summary

Solution Overview

In this section you'll get a general understanding of the components of your Chronic Absenteeism solution to provide context for completing the remainder of the Setup Guide. The diagram below depicts the high level architecture and component interactions.

Once you complete this Setup Guide:

• Data from your Student Information System "SIS" will flow into your Operational Data Store (ODS) via the Ed-Fi ODS / API.

• Credentials and connections between your SIS and the ODS / API will be managed using the Ed-Fi ODS / API Admin App.

• The Chronic Absenteeism Power BI Starter Kit connects directly to the Ed-Fi ODS database and the Analytics Middle Tier to retrieve the data and use it to generate your Chronic Absenteeism Dashboard and Reports.

The core components involved in this solution are:

• A Student Information System (SIS).

• The Ed-Fi ODS / API & Tools, which include Ed-Fi ODS / API, Ed-Fi Admin App, and the Ed-Fi Swagger Documentation. 

• The Ed-Fi Analytics Middle Tier.

• Power BI Desktop, the application chosen to model, create, and deliver the Chronic Absenteeism Dashboards.

• Power BI Online, which allows you to publish the dashboard and manage the different users and roles.

The rest of this guide will instruct you on:

• Installing these components.

• Connecting your SIS to the Ed-Fi ODS via the ODS / API.

• Connecting the Chronic Absenteeism Starter Kit application to your ODS.

• Using the Chronic Absenteeism Starter Kit to engage and support your staff, superintendent, principals, and teachers with your data.

Step 1. Install the Ed-Fi Solution

Step 2. Configure your SIS and Load Test Data

In this step, you will load test data from your SIS to the Ed-Fi ODS / API for it to be available on the Chronic Absenteeism Power BI Dashboard. This step requires you to have access to a certified Student Information System (SIS) capable of sending data to the Ed-Fi ODS / API. 

Add Your Student Information System in the Admin App

Once you have successfully installed the Admin App following the instructions provided above, you can continue to configure and add your "SIS" so that it can consume and write student data to the Ed-Fi ODS / API.

• Follow the Admin App - Next Steps to configure your first Vendor and Application entry for your Student Information System. 

• Once you create an Application in the Admin App, you will store and use the generated "Key" and "Secret" in the next section.

  • Note: Treat the Key and Secret as secure information for your organization (because it will control student data exchange from your SIS).

  • Store it according to your local IT Security policy. Often this will be in a password keeper app, on a secure file server, or a similar method. 

• Note that you may add other applications over time. For example, Assessment applications used in other Ed-Fi Starter Kits will each have their own API Client credentials ("Key" and "Secret").

Configure Your Student Information System

Each SIS provider has its own vendor-specific configuration tool as well as steps to connect to the Ed-Fi ODS / API, perform basic data mapping, provide descriptors, and enable you to begin loading data into your ODS / API. You will connect your SIS to your ODS / API using the URL, Key and Secret you generated in the Admin App. 

• Verify that your SIS supports Ed-Fi data interoperability, and is certified to use the ODS / API to allow you to use the Chronic Absenteeism Starter Kit: Registry of Ed-Fi Certified Products - Student Information Systems. 

  • Note: If your SIS is not listed as Ed-Fi certified, use the vendor request form provided to the right. Ed-Fi can help you convey your data requirements to your vendor.

• Verify that your district's SIS version is Ed-Fi certified.

• If you are not running the current certified version of your SIS (or newer), update/upgrade to the certified version of your SIS.

• Submit a technical support ticket to your SIS vendor requesting them to enable the Ed-Fi API client functionality for your district, as well as to provide a product configuration guide. 

• Follow your SIS vendor's configuration guide for instructions on how to connect to your ODS / API and load your data.

See the General Reference page for a list of publicly known vendor configuration guides.

Map Your District Codes to the Ed-Fi ODS / API Descriptors

• Once your SIS is configured to connect with the Ed-Fi ODS / API, the next step is to map "code sets" (or descriptors, as they are known in the Ed-Fi data standard) from the data elements and codes used in your district's SIS to those you will use in the Ed-Fi ODS / API. To do this: 

  • Refer to the SIS vendor configuration guide you used earlier in order to locate and use the data mapping tools in your SIS application.

  • Proceed with your SIS vendor's data mapping instructions, referring to their configuration guide and the dependency chart provided above to work through the data mapping and loading in the right sequence.

• In the next step, you will use these descriptors to understand how your data is displayed in the Chronic Absenteeism Dashboard.

• Refer to the Best Practices for Descriptors presentation for more information on how descriptors may be relevant to your use case. 

Let the Data Flow From Your SIS Into the Ed-Fi ODS / API

Quick recap:

• Using the Ed-Fi Admin App, you configured your SIS to be able to access the Ed-Fi ODS / API.

• Using the SIS configuration screen for Ed-Fi interoperability, you added the Ed-Fi ODS / API URL, Key and Secret so that it could connect to the API.

• Using the SIS configuration screen for codes and descriptors, you mapped your District's codes to the Ed-Fi Standard Descriptors.

Now you are ready to let the data flow into Ed-Fi. Contact your SIS vendor support team to launch the necessary processes to let the data flow into the Ed-Fi ODS / API. 

Note: It is always a good idea to collaborate with your SIS vendor support team so that both of you can monitor any issues preventing data flow from the SIS to the API. Most common issues include network connectivity and data quality.

If you run into any issues that require troubleshooting guidance, please do not hesitate to contact your Ed-Fi Alliance representative via one of the support channels provided in the introduction to this Starter Kit.