Sync Cialfo with PowerSchool

A guide to setting up the SIS integration with PowerSchool

Priscilla Ann avatar
Written by Priscilla Ann
Updated over a week ago

Overview

With the PowerSchool SIS integration, counseling teams can eliminate the hassle of double-handling data between the two systems. Any new students added to PowerSchool will automatically get a Cialfo account created, complete with their basic information. Any time this information gets updated on PowerSchool, changes will reflect automatically on Cialfo upon the weekly sync.

What is PowerSchool?

PowerSchool is a US-based School Information System (SIS) that can directly integrate student information with Cialfo. Schools that have already purchased and are using PowerSchool as their SIS can activate the integration with Cialfo at no extra cost. *applicable to Pro schools only

Data attributes synced from PowerSchool

PowerSchool field

Cialfo field

Requirement

SCHED_YEAROFGRADUATION

Graduation Year

Required

FIRST_NAME

First Name

Required

LAST_NAME

Last Name

Required

DCID or STUDENT_NUMBER

PowerSchool ID

Required

DOB

Date of Birth

Optional

GENDER

Gender

Optional

Note: At this time, the integration is unable to support syncing of grade levels, subject grades, and parent information until further notice.

How to complete the PowerSchool Integration Setup

There are three major steps to completing the process.

  • Install Cialfo's plugin on PowerSchool

  1. Download and install the Cialfo PowerSchool Plugin v1.xml

  2. Log in to your PowerSchool Admin Portal as a System Administrator

  3. From the Start page, select System from the main menu

  4. Upon landing on the System Administrator page, select System Settings

  5. Click Plugin Management Configuration, then select Install

  6. Choose the Cialfo PowerSchool Plugin v1.xml file you downloaded in Step 1

  7. Click Install, and choose Yes to confirm the installation when the pop-up appears

  8. Upon returning to the Plugin Management Configuration page, tick the checkbox for the Cialfo plugin to enable it

  9. Click Yes to confirm your selection when the confirmation message appears

  10. Your installation is now complete 🎉

  • Retrieve your new plugin credentials

  1. On the Plugin Management Configuration page, search and click on the Cialfo plugin

  2. Click OAuth Configuration or Data Provider Information

  3. Copy the Client ID and Client Secret and save it securely

  4. Ensure there is a publicly-accessible https URL for your PowerSchool server and note down this URL for the next step of the process

  • Set up your integration settings on Cialfo

  1. Log in to Cialfo as an administrator

  2. From the home page, select the profile icon in the top right corner, then select Upload from the drop-down menu

  3. Under the Manage Integration section, click Start Setup and Integrate

  4. Choose PowerSchool as the SIS

  5. Enter the Client ID, Client Secret, and the Client URL you saved from the previous step

  6. Toggle the integration to the Active state

  7. Turn on the Test Run function (Recommended, but optional)

  8. Enable Email Notifications (Recommended, but optional)

  9. Decide which Grade From and which Grade To sync student information from

  10. Click Save

  11. Select Update Mapping

  12. Decide whether to sync optional fields. For example, whether PowerSchool ID on Cialfo should be populated with data from the DCID or STUDENT_NUMBER field on PowerSchool.

  13. Click Save & Trigger Now to activate the integration and trigger an immediate sync

  14. Your integration setup is now complete 🎉

Note: If the Test Run function was turned on, remember to return to the integration settings to turn the function off once you are satisfied with the accuracy of the synced data and want to confirm pulling in the data into Cialfo.

Have questions? Reach out to us on Chat with Cialfo.

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