SEMS Tracker User Guide - Bibb County Schools

User Guide
Eutactics, Inc.
21 Salt Island Road
Gloucester MA 01930
1-877-204-7197
www.eutactics.com
www.semstracker.com
© 2008. All rights reserved. Eutactics, Inc.
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Table of Contents
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................................ 3
System Requirements........................................................................................................................................................... 4
What do I need on my computer? ....................................................................................................................................... 4
How quickly does SEMS Tracker work on the Internet?............................................................................................... 4
Are there any settings on my computer that I should check? ........................................................................................ 5
Getting Started for Administrators........................................................................................................................................ 6
How do I access SEMS Tracker? ........................................................................................................................... 7
How do I add schools to SEMS Tracker?.................................................................................................................. 8
How do I add staff to SEMS Tracker? .................................................................................................................... 10
How do I create security roles using Role-Based Security? ........................................................................................ 12
System Permissions Explained.................................................................................................................................... 14
How do I set access settings and security permissions for staff? ................................................................................. 17
Description of Access Settings .................................................................................................................................... 18
How do I create the list of services?....................................................................................................................... 19
Deleting a Service from the List ................................................................................................................................... 21
Getting Started for Users .................................................................................................................................................... 22
How do I access SEMS Tracker?....................................................................................................................................... 23
How do I get a Login and Password? ................................................................................................................................. 23
How do I navigate through SEMS Tracker?............................................................................................................. 24
What do the icons refer to? .................................................................................................................................. 26
How do I get additional Help? ............................................................................................................................................ 27
How do I exit SEMS Tracker? .............................................................................................................................. 27
Forms Overview .................................................................................................................................................................. 28
What are Demographic Forms? ............................................................................................................................ 29
What are some examples of Program Forms? ......................................................................................................... 30
What are Tracker Forms?.................................................................................................................................... 33
How do I save?.................................................................................................................................................. 35
Can I work on the same form as someone else? ...................................................................................................... 35
Using SEMS Tracker........................................................................................................................................................... 36
The Student List ................................................................................................................................................ 37
Changing Which Students You are Viewing in the List............................................................................................... 38
The Menu......................................................................................................................................................... 39
Searching the List .............................................................................................................................................. 40
The Body of the Student List ................................................................................................................................ 41
The Event Log.................................................................................................................................................................. 43
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Chapter
1
Introduction
SEMS Tracker is a state-of-the-art web-based program designed to manage all of the special populations
within your district. Based on SEMSNet, SEMS Tracker will still manage your district’s special education
population by facilitating the development of IEPs and associated documents through data entry in statemandated
forms, supported with databases and selection lists. SEMS Tracker builds off these functions
to assist your district in managing all special populations including but not limited to Gifted/Talented, 504,
ELL, Pre-referral, etc.
The program management features include pre-formatted reports on the student population in whole or in
part, as well as other reporting options. All reports print in PDF (Portable Document Format) which
provides the flexibility of printing uniformly from printer to printer, of saving documents to your computer,
and of emailing documents. This means, for example, that a developed IEP, Intervention Plan,
Accommodation Plan, etc. can be emailed to a receiving facility as the student’s transition is in process.
Principal Features
Web-based – available 24/7
Capable of sharing data with other applications using standard file formats
Duplicates state forms in data entry and printing
Develops Plans for each program, Progress Reports and other student-based forms and reports
Ensures that Review, Reevaluation and Assessment meetings are completed within appropriate
time lines
Manages the Referral process for Special Education
Mines important data with more than 80 different management reports
Utilizes extensive library of goals, benchmarks/objectives, sentences and, where available, the
State Curriculum, for use in development of student forms
Provides instantly available help screens directly to address topics during data entry
Provides districts a place to put their own help screen content to address district-specific
requirements
Prints documents in PDF, providing ability to save and to email
Saving takes place by refreshing a page, or moving to another page/location
Please take a few moments to review this manual. It discusses the major features of SEMS Tracker.
While using the program, check out the help screens if you have any questions about a specific page.
Please feel free to contact Eutactics' Support whenever you have a question, comment or suggestion
about SEMS Tracker via email at support@eutactics.com or by calling our Support line at 1-877-204-
7197 option 1.
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Chapter
2
WHAT DO I NEED ON MY COMPUTER?
SEMS Tracker requires that your computer and some of the software meet minimal requirements.
Before accessing SEMS Tracker you should check the following items:
Internet Connection: You must have a connection to the Internet to use the program. SEMS
Tracker will work on dial-up connections, cable, DSL, and other types of Internet connection.
You can even use SEMS Tracker within your AOL browser by typing the SEMS Tracker
address into the URL Space.
Current Internet Web-Browser
System Requirements
o PC: If you are using a PC with Windows, we recommend Internet Explorer 6.x+ /
7.x+, Firefox 1.5 / 2.0.x+, or Opera 9.x+
o Macintosh: If you are using a Macintosh computer with OS 10, we recommend Safari
2.x+, Firefox 1.5, 2.0x+, or Opera 9.x+. Note: There are known issues with scroll bars
in Safari. SEMS Tracker with Internet Explorer on a MAC will not work due to
Javascript incompatibilities.
o Check your Internet web-browser version: You can check the version number of
your browser by opening the browser’s Help Menu and selecting ‘About..’. If your
browser is older than the required versions, you can download a current browser at no
cost from www.microsoft.com or www.mozilla.com.
PDF Reader: SEMS Tracker prints forms and reports as PDF (Portable Document Format)
files. You must have a PDF reader installed on your computer in order to view the reports. The
most common PDF reader is Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you do not have a PDF reader installed
on your computer, you can go to www.adobe.com and download a free copy of Acrobat
Reader.
HOW QUICKLY DOES SEMS TRACKER WORK ON THE INTERNET?
SEMS Tracker is designed to be amazingly fast, usually displaying a complete page of information in less
than three seconds. There are a couple of issues that will impact the speed of the program:
Internet Connection: The speed of your Internet connection is the most important item. Even
when SEMS Tracker is running on a 56K dial-up modem it is fast – improve that connection with
a high-speed Internet cable or DSL mode and your speed improves dramatically. Use a T1 or T3
line, which is available in many school buildings, and you may have immediate response.
Computer: The speed of your computer and the amount of memory it has also impact the speed
of SEMS Tracker. While SEMS Tracker forms can zip into your computer in an instant, if your
computer is old, slow and memory-bound, SEMS Tracker cannot display its full speed. While
SEMS Tracker will work on any computer that meets the minimum browser specifications, we
suggest the following for optimal performance:
o PC: Pentium 3 processor; Windows 2000, Windows XP, or Windows Vista; and a
minimum of 64K of memory
o Macintosh: OS 10 with a minimum of 128 K of memory
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ARE THERE ANY SETTINGS ON MY COMPUTER THAT I SHOULD CHECK?
After ensuring that you have a compatible Internet browser, you should check the following items:
Pop-Up Blocker Disabled: If you have a pop-up blocker installed with your Internet webbrowser
(commonly included with Yahoo or Google tool bars); you must disable it in order to use
SEMS Tracker. After you login to SEMS Tracker, a new window must open; this is the first page
which includes the Student List. Also, when using look-up lists, another window must open. You
could have up to 3 windows open when using SEMS Tracker, so if your pop-blocker is enabled
you will not be able to successfully use SEMS Tracker. If you have a pop-up blocker installed
with your Internet web-browser (maybe included with Yahoo or Google tool bars); you must
disable it or add https://www.semstracker.com to your pop-up blocker settings. To disable
your pop-up blocker, either right-click on the message which appears along the top (if applicable)
or go to your Tools menu in your browser select Pop-up Blocker. You may then select Turn Off
Pop-up Blocker. To add SEMS Tracker to your pop-up blocker setting, select Pop-up Blocker
Settings. Add https://www.semstracker.com in the input box under Address of website to
allow then click on Add then click on Close.
Screen Area/Resolution: SEMS Tracker is designed to work with screens set to any size from
800 X 600 on up; however, the program is much more attractive and much easier to use if your
monitor is set for Screen Area of 1024 X 768. (Note: These steps may vary depending upon the
version of Windows and the version of the MacOS that you are using. Changing the Screen Area
will modify the screen for all programs, not just SEMS Tracker. Ultimately, the Screen Area
setting that you choose is a matter of personal preference.)
o PC with Windows
Click the START button Settings Control Panel Display
When the Display properties screen appears, click the last tab (usually called
Settings)
Find the item for Screen Area and move the slider over until it displays 1024 X
768
Save your settings and follow the instructions provided by Windows (if any) about
resizing the screen and restarting the computer.
o Macintosh computer
Click the Apple menu Control Panel Monitors
Click on the 1024 X 768 setting
Save your changes.
Text Size: It is also a good idea to check the Text Size setting in your browser.
(Note: You can select smaller fonts if you wish, but larger fonts may distort the page
arrangements in SEMS Tracker. These settings must be set in a browser window; they
cannot be set within SEMS Tracker.)
o Internet Explorer: Open the View menu, select the Text Size selection, and be sure the
size is set for ‘Medium’.
o Netscape: Open the View menu, select Text Zoom, and be sure it is set for 100%.
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Chapter
3
Getting Started for
Administrators
This chapter is specifically for Administrators who are either setting up the system for the first time or
need to add information. It describes what Administrators need to do in order to get the system up and
running for users. Some of the tasks described in the subsequent pages may have been done during the
data conversion process.
If you are a user of the system, you can go to Chapter 4 – Getting Started for Users.
Items covered in this chapter:
Logging into SEMS Tracker
Adding Schools to the System
Adding Staff to the System
Creating Security Roles
Setting Staff Access Rights and Permissions
Creating the Services List
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HOW DO I ACCESS SEMS TRACKER?
To access SEMS Tracker, open your browser and type in www.semstracker.com. We recommend
that you type in the address and once the login screen appears, bookmark or save the login screen as a
favorite.
Our introductory window will appear.
Type in your Login and Password and then click Login.
HOW DO I ADD SCHOOLS TO SEMS TRACKER?
Students and Staff are attached to Schools within SEMS Tracker so it is important that you create your
School List first. Note: You may already have schools included in this list if you previously were using
SEMSNet.
1. Expand the Administration menu by clicking on the plus sign and then click on Schools.
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The Schools List will appear on the screen. It is from the schools list where you will add new schools.
2. Click on the green plus sign to add a new school.
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3. Fill in the ‘School Insert’ screen and then return to the School List to add another school.
School Code This is usually the state code for your school from the
DOE. If you have linked SEMS Tracker to your SIS using
iShare it is important that the codes in SEMS Tracker
match the school codes in your SIS.
School Name This is the “long” or “formal” name of the school.
Short School
Name
Enter in an abbreviated name for your school. It is this
abbreviation that will appear in the School column on the
Student Lists. If the school column is blank for a student,
check to see that this field is filled in for that school.
Street School’s street address.
City School’s city.
State School’s state.
Zip School’s zip.
Phone School’s main phone number.
Total Hours per
Week
This is the total number of instructional hours in the school
in a cycle. For example, if your school has six hour cycle,
then total hours would be 30 (6 x 5 days).
Once you have entered all of the schools, you can add Staff.
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HOW DO I ADD STAFF TO SEMS TRACKER?
After Schools, Staff is the next list to populate. Adding staff is actually a two-step process. The first step
is physically adding the staff member to the database. The second step is setting that staff member’s
access settings and security settings.
Note: Staff may already appear in this list if you were previously using SEMSNet.
1. Expand the Administration menu by clicking on the plus sign and then click on Staff.
The Staff List will appear on the screen. It is from the staff list where you will add new staff members.
2. Click on the green plus sign to add a new staff member.
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3. Fill in the Contact Information on the Update Staff Member and then return to the Staff List.
Once you save the staff member’s account, you will have to go back into that staff member’s
account in order to set up Access Settings and Security Permissions (if not using Role-Based
security roles – see note below).
The Access Settings tab is where basic usage rights, program access and student access are
set. It is also under the Access Settings tab where you can assign the staff member to a Security
Role. Security Roles are a way of grouping permissions based, usually, on job responsibility such
as Central Office, SPED Teacher, Building Administrators, etc. If a staff member is not assigned
to a role then security permissions must be set under the Permissions tab for the staff member.
Note: Most Districts have found that creating security roles under Role-Based Security a convenient way
to assign permissions to staff because once the role has been created and assigned to the staff member
all permission changes are done through the role.
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HOW DO I CREATE SECURITY ROLES USING ROLE-BASED SECURITY?
Role-based security is a feature in SEMS Tracker which enables you to bypass individual entry of security
permissions by providing implementation of group privileges, to which individual staff can be assigned.
This is useful if you decide to either grant more or restrict privileges all you will to do is edit the role and
then those new rights will propagate down to all members of that role as opposed to going into each staff
member and editing their permissions.
1. Expand the Administration menu by clicking on the plus sign and then click on Role-Based
Security.
2. Click on the green plus sign to create a new security role.
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There are three different aspects of a role.
Security Role Name – this is usually descriptive of the job title of the members of the
role. (e.g., Central Office, SPED Teachers, Therapists, etc.)
System Permissions – provide access to the different functionalities within the program.
Access is granted (or taken away) by checking or unchecking the boxes. System
Permissions are global: if a user has access to a certain function (like Add students,) that
user can perform this function in any accessible program.
Form Permissions – provide access to the different forms for all of the programs you
have created. If your district is using SEMS Tracker for Special Education only, you will
only see the Special Education forms on the list. However, if your district is using SEMS
Tracker for the District and you have created other programs (i.e., ELL, 504, Title I, etc.),
you will see forms for those programs as well.
3. Type in a role name.
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4. Assign System Permissions.
System Permissions provide global access to the different functionalities within the program.
In terms of how to determine access, the best way is to ask the question
“Do I want members of the role to have the rights to…?”
The answer(s) to these questions will either be a Yes (check the box) or a No (do not check the
box). While security can certainly be changed, it is ideal to be able to set it up “once and for all.”
Keep in mind that it is easier administratively to “loosen” security than to tighten it.
Below is a list of all of the System Permissions, in order, with a brief description of what the staff
member is able to do if given permission, along with our recommendations regarding access.
System Permissions Explained
District policy should dictate access
District policy should dictate access
District policy should dictate access
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
District policy should dictate access
District policy should dictate access
District policy should dictate access
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
District policy should dictate access
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Enables staff members to add new students to the database.
Enables staff members to edit the sentences and goal
databases.
Enables the staff member to change the student’s status to
Active, Withdrawn, Referred, Not Eligible and, in Special
Education, Pending.
Enables the staff member to export data to local Comma-
Separated (CSV) files.
Enables the staff member to completely delete the student from
the database.
Enables the staff member to print the graph reports that come
with the program.
Enables the staff member to search all students by entering the
ID Number in the Advanced Search screen. With this checked,
staff can search beyond those students that can be seen on the
assigned student lists.
Enables the staff member to print any of the pre-developed
reports that come with the program. Note: These reports print
only for the students the staff member can see in student lists.
Enables the staff member to edit District Help. District Help
provides the opportunity to develop content appropriate to your
district for each screen. Staff members with access to District
Help will see the District Help icon on all pages that can
have help associated with them. Staff members without access
only see the icon on pages where there is Help.
Will email the user the unique district code, District Key, if
requested. The District Key is an extra level of security. In
order to access Tracker for the first time on a new computer,
the District Key must be entered.
Enables the staff member to create and edit business rules.
Business Rules provide a way for the district to control data
entry for specific fields. Staff members with access to Business
Rules will see the Business Rule icon on all pages for which
business rules can be developed. Staff members without
access will not see this icon.
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District policy should dictate access
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
Access should be restricted to Administrative users
District policy should dictate access
District policy should dictate access
Enables the staff member to access student records
archived in iKeep.
Enables the staff member to change District Preferences.
Enables the staff member to add, edit or delete items on the
service option list provided on the Service Delivery page.
Enables the staff member to edit the text of the parent letter
templates.
Enables the staff member to add, edit and delete staff
records from the database. This includes the ability to
change a staff member’s security access settings, program
permissions as well as the ability to add, edit and delete
security roles.
Enables the staff member to add, edit and delete records in
the School database.
Enables the staff member to upload data from your School
Information System (SIS).
Enables the staff member to edit the field maps which dictate
what fields are going to be importing from (or exporting to)
the SIS.
Enables the staff member to access or make an item
Restricted. Items that are restricted are “eyes-only” meaning
that only people with this access can see the document.
Enables the staff member to access Tracker messages.
This includes being able to send and receive messages.
Staff members with access to Messaging will see the
Messaging icon on all pages from which they can send a
message. Staff members without access will not see this
icon nor will they receive any messages.
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5. Set Form Permissions.
Access to a form is granted (or taken away) by checking the appropriate radio button; and rights
to lock, erase or print a form are determined by checking or unchecking the boxes.
In order to determine form permissions, you need to ask yourself four questions for each form.
The answers to these questions will enable to you to determine the permissions for each form for
the staff member.
1. Who will need access to the form? If the members of a particular role will not be access
a particular program, there is no need to give them access to those forms.
2. What kind of access will the staff member have to the form?
Full Access – staff member can read and edit the form.
Read-only Access – staff member can read the form.
No Access – staff member cannot access the form at all.
3. Can the staff member Lock a form? Locking makes a form read-only.
4. Can the staff member Erase the contents of a form?
5. Can the staff member Print the form?
Once you have created a role, return to the security role list by clicking on the list icon . From the list,
you can either create another role or access the Administration menu to assign staff members to roles.
HOW DO I SET ACCESS SETTINGS AND SECURITY PERMISSIONS FOR STAFF?
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The second step in adding staff is to set access setting and (if needed) security permissions for each
staff member. If the staff member has a security role of Custom, permissions need to be set individually
by clicking on the Permissions tab under the staff member’s record.
1. Expand the Administration menu by clicking on the plus sign and then click on Staff.
2. Select a staff member and click on the edit icon to access the record.
3. Click on the Access Settings tab.
Regardless of whether or not you have created security roles, you will have to go to Access
Settings to determine basic usage rights, program and student access for the staff member.
For a description of settings mean, see next page.
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Description of Access Settings
Set Staff Member’s SEMS Tracker time
out:
The Timeout setting in SEMS Tracker is the amount of time a user can
be on a single page without generating any server-level activity (moving
from page to page or accessing a lookup). The 60 minute default can
be increased or decreased.
Assign staff member the rights for: SEMS Tracker comes with two levels of basic program rights:
Administrator and User.
Administrator – automatically has access to all parts of SEMS
Tracker including being able to set access settings and security
permissions.
User – has a predefined set of permissions which can be
adjusted. This does not include being able to set access
settings and security permissions.
Role based Security: SEMS Tracker comes with the ability to create security roles. A security
role provides a way to group permissions based on job responsibility. A
user’s permissions will be dictated by the role. If you have established
roles, you will see them in the drop-down list. Custom indicates that the
user is not part of a role and permissions need to be set on the
Permissions tab.
Staff member’s primary program: SEMS Tracker, if purchased for the district, can track all of the special
populations in your district. This setting sets the program that the user
will see upon initial login.
Staff member may also access the
following program:
Include name in staff drop-down lists
for eligible program:
Determine what other programs the staff member will have access to.
These programs are displayed in the Program drop-down on the
Student List.
Checking the box means that the staff member’s name will appear on
Staff drop-down lists for any of the highlighted programs. These are the
staff drop-down lists found throughout the program (,, Contact Person,
Case Manager, Service Provider, etc.).
Staff member can access students: This setting determines which group of students will appear on the
Student List for each program for this staff member.
HOW DO I CREATE THE LIST OF SERVICES?
By Contact Person – Enables a staff member to access a
student’s record only if that person is listed as the Contact
Person/Case Manager for that student.
By Service Provider – Enables a staff member to access a
student’s record only if that person is listed as a Service
Provider for the student. Students can have more than one
Service Provider.
By ID Number only – Enables the staff member to access only
those students for whom that staff member has either the
student’s State or Local ID number. Staff will not see a student
list if this is the level of access.
All Students – Enables the staff member to access all
students in the programs to which that person has access
throughout the district.
Who Attend These Schools – Enables the staff member to
access all students in a particular school. Staff members can
have access to more than one school.
Prior to opening up SEMS Tracker to your teachers and other staff, you must create the list of services
that teachers will pull from in order to complete the service information for a child. It is strongly
recommended that you limit who can edit and add entries to this list. The ability to add/edit the Services
options is a system permission.
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1. Click on the Forms Manager icon for a student.
2. Services are entered in either the Administrative Data Form or the IEP. Click on the Edit icon
for the Administrative Data Form.
3. Go to the Services page and scroll to the Services/Program section.
4. Click on any of green plus signs under Program Summary to open a Service edit window.
5. When the Update Student Service screen appears, click on the magnifying glass icon next to
Program or Service to add Programs/Services.
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6. If no services have been entered, click on Insert record to open up the Add window. If services
have been entered, click on the green plus sign to add an entry to the list or click on edit
to change an existing entry.
7. When the “Add Control” window comes up, you will need to type in a Code and Text describing
the code and then click SAVE.
Code: The code can be up to 4 characters (letters, numbers or a combination) in length
and it must be a unique value.
Text: The text description can be up to 40 characters in length.
Once all of the services have been entered, just close the window.
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DELETING A SERVICE FROM THE LIST
There may come a time when you need to delete a service from this list.
1. Click on the Forms Manager icon for a student.
2. Click on the Edit icon for the Administrative Data Form (Administrative Data Form).
3. Go to the Services page and scroll to the Services/Program section.
4. Click on any of green plus signs under Program Summary to open a Service edit window.
5. When the Update Student Service screen appears, click on the magnifying glass icon next to
Program or Service to add Programs/Services.
6. When the list of services comes up, click on edit next to the service you wish to delete.
7. Click DELETE on the “Update Control” window.
8. A warning message will appear stating that if you delete the item, it will remove it from any
student’s record that has it. If you are sure you want to proceed, click DELETE.
21

Chapter
4
This chapter is specifically for Users of the system.
Items covered in this chapter:
Logging into SEMS Tracker
Getting Started for
Users
Understanding the Navigational Flow of the Program
What do all those icons mean
How to get Help
How to Log Out of the program
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HOW DO I ACCESS SEMS TRACKER?
To access SEMS Tracker, open your browser and type in www.semstracker.com. We recommend
that you type in the address and once the login screen appears, bookmark or save the login screen as a
favorite.
Our introductory window will appear.
Type in your Login and Password and then click Login.
HOW DO I GET A LOGIN AND PASSWORD?
Logins and Passwords are assigned by the SEMS Tracker administrator in your district. This may be a member
of the Special Education central office staff, a member of the technical staff, or anyone who has been assigned
this role. You will need to check with your administrator to locate the person in charge of SEMS Tracker and
ask them for your login and password.
The SEMS Tracker administrator will have added your information to the staff database, assigned you a
unique Login and Password, and set security rights and access settings. This includes which students you
can see. This could be students in a specific school(s), students who have you listed as their contact person
(a.k.a. case manager), students who have you listed as their service provider, all students in your district or
you may just be able to access students based on their State or Local ID number.
Helpful Hint: Forgetting Your Password
Unlike other programs, you will not be “locked out” of SEMS Tracker if you forget or mistype your
password. Keep trying until you get it or ask the SEMS Tracker Administrator to reset your password.
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WHAT IS A TRACKER MESSAGE?
Messaging is a feature in SEMS Tracker which enables users of the system to send one-on-one
messages to other users of the system. If Messaging has been enabled for your district and if you have
access to messaging (through security permission), you can send and receive Tracker Messages. These
messages are displayed immediately following a successful entry of your login and password.
You may not see any messages upon logging in, but in case you do, just click on Continue to proceed to
the Student List.
HOW DO I NAVIGATE THROUGH SEMS TRACKER?
SEMS Tracker follows a very simple navigational/programmatic flow: Program Student Form.
Programs – refers to the program (Special Education, 504, ELL, Gifted/Talented, etc.).
Different programs may be selected by going to the drop-down in the upper left of the Student
List and selecting the program you want. If your District only owns SEMS Tracker for Special
Education, then Special Education will be your only program choice. If, however, your district
owns SEMS Tracker for the district, then you may see any number of different programs in
the drop-down for Programs.
Students – every program is made up of students who are in those programs. Students may
be in more than one program at the same time (e.g., Special Education and ELL). Students
are listed on the Student List. By default, you will always be viewing Active students
(students who are active in a program). To change the type of student you are viewing (i.e.,
24

Active, Referred, Not Eligible, Withdrawn and in Special Education only, Pending), use the
Status drop-down.
Forms – each student has their own set of forms for the program(s) that they are in. Access
to these forms is the through the Forms Manager . All information regarding a student is
entered in a form. This could an IEP, a 504 Accommodation Plan, an Intervention Plan, etc.
T DO THE ICONS REFER TO?
You will see several icons throughout the program. Most navigation and program functions are done
through these icons. The chart below shows the different icons and what they do. Note: If you do not
see all of these icons it may be due to your security permissions.
Icon What it does
ADD Enables you to add items to the system. These items could be students, staff, form
entries, etc.
EDIT/VIEW Brings you into a form or log entry.
DELETE/ERASE
FORMS
MANAGER
CHANGE
STATUS
WHA
Clicking on this icon will either Delete an entry such a student’s record, message or log
entry or it enables you to erase the contents of a form.
Brings you to the Forms Manager for the student.
Brings you to the Change Status screen. From there you can change the status of a
student and/or refer them to another program.
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iKeep Brings you to the iKeep records for the student. iKeep is the archiving feature of SEMS
Tracker.
STUDENT
MESSAGE
Enables you to view Tracker Messages for a specific student.
EVENT LOG Brings you to the Event Log. The Event Log enables you to see all of the milestones in
a student’s intervention career in your district.
FILTER Enables you to filter information. This could be what is being displayed on the student
list or what data is being pulled for a Management Report.
VIDEO HELP Clicking on this icon will bring you to a video tutorial.
PRINT Enables you to print the displayed page.
HELP Brings up a help screen.
LOCK Locking a form makes it read only.
RETURN TO
LIST
FORMS
MANAGER
BUSINESS
RULES
Returns you back to the Student (School, Staff or Security) list
Returns you to the Forms Manager for the student whose record you are currently in.
Brings you to Business Rule editing mode enabling you to create and edit Business
Rules.
SPELL CHECK Spell checks the page you are currently on.
DISTRICT HELP Brings up help that was specific written by people in your district.
MESSAGING Brings up the send message screen.
CALENDAR Brings up a calendar for date fields.
LOOKUP Brings up a lookup list.
EXPORT Enables you to export information out of SEMS Tracker.
HOW DO I GET ADDITIONAL HELP?
There are several different avenues for additional help to broaden your understanding of the many
features of SEMS Tracker. Using any or all of these available resources, you can quickly become
comfortable with SEMS Tracker.
Help Button: The first place to look for help is the help button on each screen on the
program.
District Help: If you have questions about how to fill in a specific form, look for the district
help icon . District Help is written by your district. It could contain tips, reminders,
district policies, etc. If you see that icon on a page, click on it, you might learn something
new.
User Guide: If your question is still not answered, you should check the appropriate section
of the manual.
Email/Telephone: If you have further questions, you should e-mail Eutactics' Support at
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support@eutactics.com. You may also reach our Support line at 1-(877) 204-7197
option 1.
On-Site Training: Eutactics also conducts on-site training classes at the request of the
school district and conducts regular web-conferencing based training classes. Check our
web site at http://www.eutactics.com, or your central office, for a schedule of upcoming
web-conferences. On-site training and web-conferencing are billable.
Ask a Colleague: Often, you may find the answers to your questions simply by asking a colleague in
your school district. Within each district there are staff with varying levels of computer expertise and
usually those staff comfortable with a program are happy to share their knowledge with other staff.
HOW DO I EXIT SEMS TRACKER?
You should always exit SEMS Tracker by clicking the Log Out item on the menu to the left. This is
important for a couple of reasons:
Saves Data: It makes sure that all of your files are closed on the web server and that your
data is safely tucked away until you need it again.
Protects Confidentiality: It makes sure that your password is erased and not available to
the snooping eyes of people with nefarious plans to steal your SEMS Tracker identity.
Frees-Up Access: It frees up the resources of the web server you are using so that other staff
can have unfettered access to their important information.
Chapter
5
Forms Overview
As mentioned in the previous chapter, all information regarding a student is input into Forms. There are
three basic category types that forms can fall into. They are: Demographic Forms, Program Forms and
Tracker Forms. This chapter is going to briefly look at these different types of forms.
Demographic Form(s)
Program Forms
Tracker Forms
Saving and Time Outs
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WHAT ARE DEMOGRAPHIC FORMS?
Demographic forms hold demographic (grade, school, address, etc.) data on either Students or Staff.
Examples of the demographic forms include the Administrative Data Form (Administrative Data Form),
the Enrollment Form and the Staff Contact page. (Below is a screen shot from the Administrative Data Form for
Massachusetts. The Administrative Data Form on your site may look different.)
Data is entered into forms via fields. There are three main types of fields: Fill In, Drop List and Date.
• Fill In fields are fields with a text box and you type in the values or select them from a lookup.
• Drop List fields are fields that contain a drop-down list . You will select the value that you
want to enter in the field from the drop-down list.
• Date fields are fields whose values are dates. You can either type in the date or click on the
Calendar icon and select the date from the calendar. Dates are in a MM/DD/YYYY format
(i.e., Month Month/Day Day/Year Year Year Year).
Helpful Hint: If demographic data has been imported from your Student Information System
(SIS) via iShare, you will see the message below on the top of the Administrative Data Form
and this data may appear as gray text on the Administrative Data Form indicating that the field
is not editable. Any changes to this data must be done through the SIS.
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WHAT ARE SOME EXAMPLES OF PROGRAM FORMS?
SEMS Tracker has the ability to not only track your Special Education population but if purchased for the
district, SEMS Tracker can be used to any special population. Just like with Special Education, programs
created in SEMS Tracker program specific forms that we provide. Specialized programs are programs
that come with program specific forms. Examples of these programs are Special Education, 504 and ELL
and SST. All other programs come with more generic forms that include a planning form and a
monitoring form. In the next few pages, you will see a sample Special Education form (the IEP), an
Accommodation Plan for 504 and the Intervention Plan.
SPECIAL PECIAL EDUCATION DUCATION – THE
INDIVIDUALIZED NDIVIDUALIZED EDUCATION DUCATION PR R OGRAM (IEP)
(Below is a screen shot from the IEP for Massachusetts. The IEP on your site may look different.)
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504 – THE
ACCOMMODATION CCOM MODATION PLAN LAN
30

INTERVENTION NTERVENTION PLAN LAN
This is a general form that comes will all non-specialized programs.
TRACKER FORMS?
WHAT ARE
Tracker Forms are located at the bottom of the forms manager under the heading of Other Forms and
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Reports and they go across all programs. Tracker Forms include the Communications Log, the Meeting
Attendance form and Meeting Summaries, Specialist Evaluations, File Attachments, the Related Services
Log and Professional Notes. The Medicaid Log is also under Other Forms but this form is only for
Special Education. The Event Log is also considered a Tracker Form but it is accessed directly through
the Student List.
All Tracker Forms are considered “multi-browse” meaning that entries are saved in a list. When you
access the forms you will see the “browse list” and from there, depending upon your security rights, you
can add a new entry , read/edit an existing entry and/or delete an entry .
If you have security permissions, you can restrict an item (or read an item that is restricted). Restricted
means that access to an entry is limited to only users with Restrict access. Entries on these lists may be
locked. Locking simply makes the entry read only – they can still be accessed, but they cannot be edited
unless they are unlocked.
These browse lists can be printed . They can also be exported . Remember that these lists will
grow as the student moves through the district. Exporting the data will enable you to filter and sort it if
needed.
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On most Tracker Forms, once you click on the Add icon, you will be brought to a data entry screen. With
the exception of the file attachment form, all of the other Tracker Forms have a similar format.
The upper half of the form is for the date and other pertinent information. The columns listed on the
browse list will give you a good idea of what fields are on the upper half of the form.
The lower half is for comments, notes, etc. With the exception of the Event Log, nothing you type in the
lower half will appear on the browse list.
You will need to save the entry once and then if you go back into you will see the Print icon which enables
you to print individual entries.
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HOW DO I SAVE?
As you may have noticed from most of the form screen shots, rarely will you see a Save button on any
SEMS Tracker screen. In general, saving is done through navigation ( Anytime you want to save the
page you are working on, simply click on any of the tabs across top of the page. This includes that tab of
the page you are currently working on. Saving will also take place if you navigate to the Student List or
Forms Manager. There are however, a few things which can interfere with saving:
SEMS Tracker Time-Out: This is the time of inactivity allowed within SEMS Tracker. In the
context of a web program, inactivity refers to server activity. Since with a web program, the
page that you are working is downloaded on to your local machine all of that typing that you
are doing is activity on your local machine but not on the server. If there has been no server
activity, your session will time-out. This means that you will be automatically logged-out of
the program.
Your time-out is set by your SEMS Tracker Administrator which is usually 60 minutes. If you
do not click-on a tab across the top of the page or either the student list or form manager
icons, you will be automatically logged-out of SEMS Tracker. When you go back to the
screen and try to click-on a tab or icon, type text, or move your mouse, you will be brought to
the login screen and the following message will appear:
Your login has timed-out.
The last time you went to a page was [date / time]
Please login again.
ISP (Internet Service Provider) Time-Out: If you should suddenly lose your Internet
connection, the only information that would not be saved is the information that you have
changed on the page you are currently working on.
Electrical Outage: If your electricity goes out when you are using SEMS Tracker and you
have been saving periodically, the only information that would not be saved is the information
that you have changed on the page you are currently working on.
A good rule of thumb is to save often (every ten or so minutes).
CAN I WORK ON THE SAME FORM AS SOMEONE ELSE?
Users can work on the same student’s record and even the same form but they cannot work on the same
page at the same time. This is called Simultaneous Data Entry.
If you go into a page that someone else is working on you will see a red warning message at the top of
the screen and the page itself will be read only which will prevent you from overwriting any of their work.
(see screen shot below) Simply click on a different page to continue to work.
34

Chapter
6
Using SEMS Tracker
This chapter is for anyone who is going to be using the program to input and/or review student data. The
following items will be covered in this chapter:
Getting around the Student List
Forms Manager
Data Entry
Adding Students
Moving Students
Changing the Status of a Student
35

THE STUDENT LIST
The student list is your base of operations within SEMS Tracker. It is from the Student List where you will
access student records and depending upon security rights, add students, move students and/or change
the status of students. When you log into the program you will be looking at your default student list.
In SEMSNet, the default student list used to be your active Special Education students. However,
because SEMS Tracker, if purchased for the district, enables you to manager students in all special
populations, your student list may not display Special Education. It may display 504, ELL, Gifted and
Talented, etc. (Because the look of the student list does not vary with the different programs, this document is just going to
show the Special Education program.)
You will be viewing all of your Active students in your Primary Program. Depending upon the access
you have been given by the SEMS Tracker administrator in your district, you may see some or all of the
students in your district. The SEMS Tracker administrator will have also set your program access and
your school access.
For purposes of this document, the Student List has been divided into four sections:
The Drop-Downs
The Menu
Search
Body of the List
Each of these sections will be described in the following pages.
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CHANGING HANGING WHICH HICH STUDENTS TUDENTS YOU OU ARE VIEWING IEWING IN THE LIST IST
The drop-downs at the top dictate which students you are viewing in the list. In order to view a different
group of students or a different subset of students, all you need to do is change one or more of the dropdowns.
The Program and School drop-downs may not show all programs and/or schools as access to
these items are determined by security.
Program: Depending upon your security settings and whether or not the district has purchased
SEMS Tracker for the district, you may see more that just Special Education in the drop-down.
Selecting another program, will bring you to the Active student list for that program.
Status: Use the status drop-down to change the view of the students in the list. There are five
different statuses found within SEMS Tracker:
o Active – These are students who are actively receiving services, interventions,
accommodations, etc.
o Referral – These are students who have been referred to the given but they are not yet
active. Whenever you manually add a student to the system, they will be added as a
referred student to whichever program you added them into.
o Withdrawn – These are students who were active in a program but have left either the
program and/or the school.
o Not Eligible – These are students who were referred to a program but were found not
eligible for that program. This status is used primarily with programs where there is an
eligibility process such as Special Education.
o Pending – Pending is a new status category which enables you to work on next year’s
IEP without affecting the child’s current IEP. Making a student pending copies that
student’s records into a holding bin called pending, their active record remains but it is
read only except for the progress report. All editing will take place in the pending version
of the student. Pending students will appear in gray text on the Active student list. This
status is only available in Special Education.
All will display all of your students and to right of the student list before the icons, you will
see a new category called Status. This will show the status of the student (A = active, R =
referred, W = withdrawn, N = not eligible and P = pending).
School: Depending upon your security settings, you may not see all of the schools in your
district. But if you do have the ability to see more than one school, use the drop-down to subset
this list by school.
Review: Use this drop-down to subset the list by who is up-to-date on their Reviews and Re-
Evals.
o Current – will display those students whose IEP Review and Three-Year Reevaluation
dates are current.
o Past Review – will display students whose Review is past due.
o Past Due Re-Evals – will display students whose Reevaluation is past due.
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THE HE MENU ENU
The menu on the left is divided up into six different options. The menu is available on all list screens and
the Forms Manager.
Students – Clicking on this will bring you back to the Student List.
Management Reports – Enables you to use our reporting features which include over 100 predeveloped
reports as well as the ability to create your own reports.
Administration – Enables primarily Administrators of the system to access some of the
management tools and set preferences for the system. Access to most of these options are
granted by security and most users of the system may not have security privileges to access
most of the items on this menu.
o District Preferences – Access is granted by security and is where Administrators can
exert some controls over the system
o Schools – Access is granted by security and opens up the school list
o Staff – Users will see just their contact information by clicking on this
o Role-Based Security – Enables Administrators to create security roles.
o Program Flow – Displays the Program Flow chart for your district.
o Goals and Objectives – Displays the Goals and Objectives database.
o Exports – Enables you to export data out of the program
o My Messages – Enables you to access your incoming messages and messages you
have sent (if you do not have any incoming messages, you will not see this menu item)
iShare – Shares information with your student information system.
Help – Displays the Help menu
o User Guides – Contains links to all of the manuals
o Knowledgebase – Contains Frequently Ask Questions
o Update History – Displays all of the updates that Eutactics has done to the program
Logout – Enables you to log out of the program securely.
SEARCHING EARCHING THE LIST IST
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There are a number of different ways to search the student list: Using the search tool, the Advanced
Search and the VCR buttons.
The Search tool can be found under the menu to the left of the screen. You can search for a
student by entering their entire last name or first name or just the first few letters. Also you can
search by either State or Local ID. You can also search all of the programs. (Note: You will only
see students which you have been given access to.)
Advanced Search: The advanced search page can be displayed by clicking on the icon which
looks like a blue funnel (located in the middle of the VCR buttons). You can search for a
subset of your available students based upon the criteria you select. Note: Your screen may be a little
different from the one below (this is the one used for
Massachusetts).
Another very important feature of the Advanced Search screen is that, if you have security access
to do so, you can search for students outside of your regular access settings. Let’s suppose that
you work in a Middle School. Because you only have access to the students in the middle
school, you will not be able to see students who are coming up from the Elementary school. By
entering the student’s Local ID or Student ID number (either number if the student has more than
one) and clicking on the Search button, SEMS Tracker will display the information of that student
39

egardless of whether that student is located in your school building. This feature provides an
easy way to temporarily access any student within the district – as long as you have the student’s
ID Number and the permission to search all students which is a security setting.
Going through page by page: Sometimes people want to search the list the old fashioned way
by looking page by page. Below the Search button to the left you will see a set of numbers such
as, 1-15 of 151. The first two numbers indicate that you are viewing students 1-15 of the total list
of 151 students. SEMS Tracker always displays students in groups of 15. Below the set of
numbers you will see 5 icons, 4 which look like VCR buttons. These VCR buttons will help you
view additional pages in the Student List.
o First Page – will display the first page in the Student list.
o Prior Page – will display the prior page in the Student list.
o Next Page – will display the next page in the Student list.
o Last Page – will display the last page in the Student list.
THE HE BODY ODY OF THE STUDENT TUDENT LIST IST
The body of the list is made up of six columns containing important information about each student. The
list can be sorted by any of the columns with a blue heading. If you select ALL from the Program and/or
Status drop-downs, you will see extra columns for Program and/or Status. Like the other columns in the
list, you can sort by these columns as well.
• Student Name
• School
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• Grade
• Contact
• Last Edit
• Icons (Note: You may not see all of these on your screen due to your security.):
Go to Forms Manager is where you can edit and print the SEMS Tracker forms for
a student.
Change Student Status (only appears if you have been given access) is used for changing
a student’s status to Active, Withdrawn, Referred, Not Eligible or Pending. Also you use
the Change Student Status icon to refer the student to another program. On the list
above, if you were to change Babs Bunny’s status from Active to Withdrawn, you would
complete any associated items displayed that are part of the withdrawal process, and her
information would disappear from the Active Student List and instantly appear in the
Withdrawn Student List.
Delete Student (only appears if you have been given access) is used to delete a student
record. When you click on this icon, a message will appear asking you to confirm. You
can click on the Delete button to confirm or click on the arrow to go back to the student
list. Note: In almost all cases, students who are no longer eligible for Special Education
services should have their status changed to Withdrawn. Students who are in other
programs may be deleted from the system but it is not recommended.
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THE HE EVENT VENT LOG OG
iKeep Student Records (only appears if you have been given access) will only appear if a
student has records saved in iKeep. Once you click on the icon a list of archived records
will appear for the student.
Incoming Messages (only appears if you have been given access) will only appear if a
student has an incoming message. If you delete all of the messages regarding the
student, the icon will no longer appear.
Go to the Event Log to see a history of a student’s intervention “milestones” during
their career in your district.
The Event Log is a Tracker Form but unlike other Tracker Forms, it is accessible through the Student List,
not the Forms Manager, and the Event Log is open to all users of the system.
The Event Log is your “one stop” source to see a student’s special population milestones during their time
in your district. These milestones can include entry into and dismissal from programs, re-evaluations,
eligibility changes, school suspensions, prolonged absence, etc. Any change in a student’s status (i.e.,
making a Referred student Active, an Active student Withdrawn, a Referred student Not Eligible, and/or
an Active student Pending) will automatically trigger an entry into the event log, as will when a student is
referred to a program. Other entries (i.e., disability changes, prolonged absences, or school suspensions,
etc) are left to the discretion of the school district and your Administration should let you know what other
“milestones” will be entered into the event log.
To manually add an entry in the Event Log, click on the add icon and then fill out the form. The new
event will be added to the list.
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