Recent Changes

Latest Update: 10.03.08

  • The Click and Scan Attendance method has been improved to require fewer clicks to take attendance. It is now the fastest method for taking daily attendance in YouthStar. Users with Access 2007 can no longer use the older Daily Attendance method. This method remains available to users with Access 2003.

Update: 09.17.08

  • This is a significant update. It includes a number of enhancements to usability, simplifying and speeding up various tasks and processes. It also adds many new reports and some additional options for taking attendance. All sites are encouraged to download and install this update.

Update: 10.25.07

  • You can quickly and easily manage enrollment for each class from the class profile screen. Just cliek the "Enrollment" button and it brings up a list of students. Click to enroll, unclick to unenroll. Simple and fast.
  • Improved the utility that lets you transfer a student from one site in your YouthStar system to another site in the same system (if they move or graduate from one school to another).
  • Added a new daily sign-in sheet for Marysville Joint Union School District. It's our favorite so far...thanks Marysville, for the good ideas!
  • We have brought up to date the ASES/CLCC reporting spreadsheet mandated by the California Department of Education. The data entry screen corresponding to this report has been revised, and the exports now give you the ability to export the spreadsheet as required by CDE.
  • We've made some nice improvements to the "Click and Scan" attendance method.
  • There is a new report in the "classes and utilization" category that shows attendance per month by grade level.
  • Prior versions did not allow you to change the student ID from the Student Profile page. This version adds the ability to do so; when you update the Student ID it automatically updates all related attendance, enrollment, outcome, etc. records.
  • This version also lets administrators assign ALL attendance for a given site, within a given date range, to a specific grant. This means that you do not have to assign grants on a student-by-student basis.

Latest Update: 09.29.07

  • The data exchange utility has been simplified, and has been accessible from the Reports screen.
  • Data exports are now accessible from the reports screen.
  • A field for California Student Information System ID (CSIS) has been added to the student profile, and also to the Student Information Import function.

Latest Update: 09.14.07

  • Quarterly ASES, ASSETS and 21CLCC reports have been supplemented by Semi-annual versions.
  • For distributed installations this version adds a very simple method for exporting core data, which can then be easily emailed to a central collection point and then quickly uploaded into a master version of YouthStar. This makes it easy for districts that do not have a robust Wide Area Network to compile data.
  • A correction has been made to calculations in the "Daily Attendance Report per Site."
  • A new report has been added that lists students who are absent on a selected day.
  • The method for adding enrollments through individual student profiles has been updated and improved.
  • Since to our knowledge no sites were using the ability to assign students to "tracks" within the context of a year-round school, we have removed references to that feature. It's still embedded in the software and can be made accessible again, just let us know if you need. We removed it and few other unused items in a light housekeeping effort to keep YouthStar as easy to use as possible.
  • The scan attendance screen has been improved. This includes fixing a bug in recording snacks, and adding Search fields at the top of the two columns (for students marked present and marked absent).

Latest Update: 05.02.07

  • The attendance scanning feature has been improved so it is faster. Printed bar codes on attendance forms have been enlarged to facilitate easier scanning with low-end, low-resolution handheld scanners.
  • A report has been added that displays data needed to complete the online ASSIST forms for CDE-funded sites.
  • A registration code is now required for new sites. This does not apply to sites licensed before May of 2007.
  • Prospective sites may use the software for 60 days prior to licensing. This is a fully-functional trial period. After 60 days sites that decide to purchase are given an activation code so they have full unlimited access to data entered during the trial period, and to all features of YouthStar.
  • The Utilities screen now includes a Pivot Analysis form in which you can make your own custom charts and graphs displaying attendance and funding data.
  • A utility has been added to allow you to control the list of calendar years that appears in many screens; you can delete past years that you no longer call upon.
  • The student photos feature has been enabled. Likewise, the district logo feature is now fully enabled so you can add your logo and it will print in the headers of many reports.
  • The utility to import attendance from Excel has been updated and improved.

Brief summary of selected software improvements completed between 05.30.05 and 02.06.07

  • Added ASES and 21CCLC reports to match current version of California Department of Education Reporting Requirements. This is a complex change that includes adjustments to the District Profile in how grants are tracked. The reports print in the quarterly format required by CDE.
  • Added ability to export data from the CDE student questionairre.
  • Added more control to display of certain features through the Site Profile; you can turn on or off the assessments that appear or hide the whole assessment feature if you don't use pre- and post-tests.
  • Built a variety of custom features for the Operation Exodus in New York.
  • In the Utilities section there is a new utility that enables sites to quickly and easily to batch enrollments to multiple classes.
  • Added ability to change the name of a class without de-linking it from attendance and enrollment records taken under the old class name.
  • A Staff Training Record form has been added to staff profiles; this allows sites to keep track of trainings attended by staff and volunteers.
  • Weekly attendance method
  • Added a custom report for San Juan Unified that gives in-depth data reporting for sites using the Weekly method of taking student attendance.
  • The Individual Protective Factors Index outcome measure has been added. This allows sites to pre- and post-test to detect changes in a number of indicators of risk and resiliency. At request of San Diego Parks and Rec Department.
  • Added custom reports for Critical Hours program.
  • Field added to student profile to record referral source.
  • The data export feature has been significantly enhanced and expanded.

Changes prior to those listed un the 02.06.07 version

  • IMPORTANT: Staff profiles now include a "Default Site" field. All staff must be assigned a default site; this controls which site the staff views when they log on. When you install this update all staff will automatically be assigned a default site. If you have only one site then you need do nothing further. However, if you have multiple sites you should review each staff profile after you install this update to ensure that staff are associated with the correct sites.
  • Another display policy has been added. This one controls if the Staff Timesheet function is displayed or not. It is independently set for each site under the Site Profiles, Display Policies tab. Admin-level access only.
  • In class profiles there is a new button to view the class schedule and review/edit class holidays. The class schedule display includes a button at the top that you can use to automate setting class holidays to the same as district holidays.
  • There are some new fundor-related data exports and reports.

Changes in the 05.12.05 version

  • This version refines the reports for summarizing attendance and snacks by fundor.
  • Bugs in code that handles fundors that prevented the attendance exports from running have been fixed.

Changes in the 04.13.05 version

  • There are two new exports added, each a version of the previous attendance data export but with student names included.
  • The export utility screen has been redesigned to accomodate more exports and make it easier to add more exports in the future.

Changes in the 03.17.05 version

  • Reports related to the dual-funding feature (for separately tracking Am and PM funding sources for students) have been revised in this version. Also, the way funding records are recorded has been improved, so that the software does not allow overlapping funding dates in the AM section, or in the PM section.
  • There are now some Site Policy settings in the site profiles that allow you to set the default times for AM and PM classes, and to control whether or not to display class track information.
  • Another attendance method has been added. This is similar to the Simple Attendance and Scan Attendance, but works in reverse: when you choose a class and date the software adds an attendance record for each student enrolled in the class. The default is "did attend." Then you can either use a scanner or simply click on the student's name to correct attendance to "did not attend."

Changes in the 01.27.05 version

  • This version allows sites to track separately funding sources for classes that are designated "Morning" and classes that are designated "Afternoon." This is accomplished in the student profile screen, where there are two tabs that can be used to keep track of fundor, by AM or PM program, by date range. The primary restriction is that you cannot have more than one fundor per date per AM or PM program. However, you can have separate fundors on the same date, provided one of them is for the AM program and the other is for the PM program.
  • Many of the reports have been revised to accommodate the effects of providing the fundor tracking options described above. A couple of reports have been removed, and in the Classes and Utilization some new "Attendance Count by Fundor" reports have been added.

Changes in the 01.11.05 version

  • The log on and information screens have been redesigned to incorporate our new logo.
  • Adds ability to print single student ID cards from student profile. Some fields on the student profile have been modified to improve display and accommodate more data. The student profile also includes a new field in which you can make a brief note that will appear on student sign-in sheets (for example, "OK to excuse early").
  • This version ignificantly changes the way in which student funding is recorded. There is a new tab on the main student profile screen labelled "Funding." If you have multiple funding streams and need to keep track of which fundor to bill for each student day, use this feature. You can add a list of funding sources through the Utilities screen (click on "Manage List of Funding Sources"). The rule that is enforced by the software is that you can only bill on funding source per a given student day. If you change a funding source for a student after attendance records have already been taken during the date range that you specify for the new funding source, YouthStar updates the old records to indicate that they are properly billed to the funding source that is newly indicated in the updated record.
  • All the attendance methods (daily, monthly, weekly, scan, and simple) have been updated to include fundor information. If no fundor is specified for a given student on a particular day the attendance record includes a "no fundor" datum.
  • Two new attendance/snack summary reports have been added: Choose Fundor, AM Classes Only; and Choose Fundor, PM Classes Only.
  • The utility to export to Excel has been improved. The exported data files now include the name of the district and site; this facilitates combining data from multiple sites. You now have the option to open and view the exported data by simply clicking a button, instead of having to manually find it in the YouthStar folder. The export also contains fundor information for each student-day.

Changes in the 02.05.04 version:

  • The Student Outcomes screen for sites funded by the California Department of Education has been updated to match the requirements for the 2004 evaluation.
  • The Student Outcomes report for CDE-funded sites has also been updated. It's been slightly reformatted so that it can fit better into a landscape-oriented page when printed.
  • In the Daily Attendance Screen there is now a button you can click to add a note for each student. The note added will be associated with the student, date, and class to which it pertains, so anytime you are reviewing attendance data from the daily attendance screen, you can also review the relevant notes.
  • The utility for exporting attendance data was not working in some circumstances; we have tracked down the problem and fixed it.
  • The student profile now includes a checkbox to indicate if the student has an IEP on file or not. Rumor has it that this bit of data may be required for future reports to CDE.

Changes in the 09.26.03 version:

  • If you assign students to tracks, you can now schedule in YouthStar up to three breaks per track, plus a separate start and end date for the track if those differ from the start and end date of the class.
  • The student profile form has been enhanced in severals ways. The form now includes a field for "Current Age" which updates automatically (assuming you have entered a date of birth for each student). All the items related to the student's enrollment in the daytime school have been moved to their own tab; these items now include the student's daytime teacher and school.
  • You can keep a list of teachers at students' daytime schools, including contact information for teachers.
  • Several new reports have been added, and several existing reports improved. These include new enrollment reports, and new student demographics report that shows information related to designations such as Migrant Ed, Special Ed, etc.
  • This version a number of other minor improvements.

Changes in the 08.26.03 version:

  • Student names on attendance sign-in and roll sheets did not sort alphabetically in the 8.15 version. This update fixes this problem..

Changes in the 08.15.03 version:

  • This is a significant upgrade with many new features and reports. If you have a maintenance contract you will definitely want to download this upgrade.
  • Report headers print your agency, district, or site logo along with other information.
  • Student notes have been enhanced, as have the related reports.
  • You can now use YouthStar to keep and print staff timesheets. If you enter profiles for all staff, including volunteers, and staff use this function to record their working hours you can select from nine reports that analyze staff time in terms of:
    • Employee status (volunteer or paid)
    • Funding source
    • Program
  • Weekly Attendance: you can print weekly roll sheets and take attendance on a weekly basis.
  • Attendance Hours: The weekly attendance method includes the ability to record hours of attendance per student per day.
  • Attendance Reports: There are several new attendance reports, some of which include hours attended. They are available at district, site, and class levels of aggregation (depending upon how you have YouthStar set up).
  • Attendance Navigation Screen: The display of instructions on this screen has been improved.
  • There are several small bug fixes also.

Changes in the 07.21.03 version:

  • The Attendance and Snack reports for both AM and PM program are printing again.
  • The Overall Attendance and Snack report prints only data for the current default site.
  • Date input fields have been changed so they are more flexible and forgiving.

Changes in the 04.10.03 version:

  • This version fixes a few data entry problems.
  • Attendance reports have been extensively reviewed and in some cases the ways in which snacks and attendance were calculated have been modified.
  • The simple attendance screen has been improved.

Changes in the 03.6.03 version:

  • There is a new sign-in sheet under daily attendance that has sign in, time in, sign out, and time out.
  • In the utilities section there is a utility that can be used to remove all attendance data for any selected date. This is useful if you have accidentally entered data for holiday or other day when your site was closed.
  • The main menu bar has been simplified.

 

copyright 2005 Griot Evaluation Systems, Inc.