Schools Mapping

Learn about school mapping for initial setup and district data changes

In this article

Requirements

Create schools mapping

Delete schools mapping

Usage scenarios

1. First-time schools mapping

2. New schools have been added to the SIS

3. School was updated in SIS

4. Schools were deactivated in the SIS (Schools with missing data)

5. Schools need to be removed from the sync process

6. The data source is being changed. A new SIS is used

7. Few data sources are used

8. Multiple schools need to be merged into one 

School mapping is a crucial step in setting up the initial configuration and is necessary when making changes to the organization (district) data. It involves connecting schools from a data source (such as SIS, IdM, etc.) to a school entity in the GG4L School Passport. When import is performed, the value received in the mapped school field will be assigned to the corresponding school field in School Passport. A school from a data source can be mapped to a newly-created school in GG4L, or to an already-existing school.

Requirements

District Admin permissions are required.

Create school mappings

To create school mappings:

1. On the Home page, select an import app.
2. Click ⚙️ Settings on the top right.
3. Go to the Schools Mapping tab.
   

4. To map school to a new one:

   • Manually turn on the Create New GG4L School toggle next to the schools you want to select. By default, the name of the GG4L schools matches with the names of the corresponding schools in the SIS. However, you can change the school name if needed.
   • Automatically select all schools, by clicking the Auto Mapping button on the top left.
5. To map school to an existing one, choose the name of the existing school in the GG4L School list.
6. Click Save.

Once a school is mapped and saved, all attributes related to that school are imported into School Passport once during the initial sync.

Additionally, schools can be filtered using the filters at the top:

• Existing: schools that are already mapped into the system.
• Missing: schools that are NOT mapped into the system.
• Schools with missing data: schools that have been removed or deleted from the SIS. 

Delete school mappings

To delete school mappings:

1. On the Home page, select an import app.
2. Click ⚙️ Settings on the top right.
3. Go to the Schools Mapping tab.
4. Find the relevant mappings and click Delete next to them.
5. Click Save.
6. Go to the application page and click Run Import.

Once schools mapping is deleted, the system will no longer sync data for the removed schools. Updates or changes to these schools in the data source/SIS won't reflect in School Passport after the next import.

You need to delete schools mappings from School Passport when:

• Schools were removed from the SIS
• Schools need to be removed from sync

Usage scenarios for schools mapping

These scenarios help to understand when to map schools: during initial setup, when new schools are added to the SIS, or when data sources change. 

1. First-time schools mapping

You should set up schools mapping the first time during activating Import application. During setup, go to the Schools Mapping step, and you will see the list of schools existing in SIS that were not yet mapped. Map schools and continue. Please note that this step is very important during the application setup because without school mapping, school data will not be pulled into the system, and you cannot run import.

If no one school was mapped, a warning notification will appear on the application page. To review unmapped schools, click ⚙️ Settings > Schools Mapping > Missing tab. Create mappings for them and save your settings.  

2. New schools were added to the SIS 

If new schools are added to your data source/SIS, it is important to map them. For example, new schools may be added during the summer, such as summer schools. 

To review new unmapped schools, click ⚙️ Settings > Schools Mapping > Missing tab. These schools require mapping, as their data has not been pulled yet. Create mappings for them and save your settings.

3. School was updated in SIS

Once a school is mapped and saved, all attributes related to that school are imported into School Passport once during the initial sync. If any changes are made to the school attributes in the SIS (such as the School Name or School Number) afterward, they will not be reflected in School Passport. To get these changes, delete this school from the Administration page, re-import it, and map this school again. Note: Some school attributes (such as School Name, School Number, SIS ID, location, and contact information) can be updated directly from the School Passport Administration page.

4. Schools were deactivated in the SIS (Schools with missing data)

If school data or the whole school were deactivated/archived in the SIS, the system cannot pull and import data except basic details about the school (e.g., School Name). This result in to an issue with school mapping, which will be notified with a warning message on the application page.

To review removed schools, click ⚙️ Settings > Schools Mapping > Schools with missing data tab. 

To resolve the issue:

• (Recommended) Delete school mapping for schools with missed data. To do so, click "link" in the warning message or go to Schools with missing data tab. There, find the relevant mappings and click Delete next to them. If deleted, this issue will no longer appear during the next sync.
• Mark it as resolved. To do so, click "mark" in the warning message. In this case, the warning message will be closed but the issue will still remain unresolved. However, during the next sync, you will encounter the same warning message again.

5. Schools need to be removed from the sync process

If data from certain schools no longer needs to be imported, you can easily exclude them from the synchronization process by deleting schools mappings for them. With the next data sync, the deleted schools will not be reflected.

6. The data source is being changed. A new SIS is used

When you move the schools' data to a new SIS (change data source) you should remap schools. This ensures you only update schools data without creating them from scratch. For example, if you switched from Skyward to PowerSchool, you should add the PowerSchool application to School Passport, and then map the PowerSchool schools to the existing ones. 

When remapping:

• If the school names are the same in both systems, click Auto Mapping to match them automatically.
• If the names are different, select the needed school from the dropdown list while mapping or create a completely new school during mapping.

7. Few data sources are used

If you're using two different sources of data, each storing some data, the process is similar to the previous one. You should activate both data sources (Import applications) in Shcool Passport, and then map the data from both SISes into one school in School Passport.

8. Multiple schools need to be merged into one 

If you need to associate data from the different schools into one in School Passport, you should create an appropriate mapping for them. To do so, on the Schools Mapping tab for the schools in SIS you want to merge select the same name in GG4L School. After the next import, data from these schools in SIS will be pulled into one school in School Passport.

To map data from multiple SIS schools to a new one in School Passport:

1. Create a mapping for the one SIS school and enter a name for GG4L School where you want to merge SIS schools.
2. Map the rest of the schools from SIS into a newly created GG4L school.