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ALO Setup - Import

  • Updated

Importing Data into ALO

Imports will need to be processed through an SFTP server. A user account for the SFTP server must be set up for the person who will be facilitating the import. If the person facilitating the import does not yet have an SFTP user account, contact info@acadiencelearning.org for assistance.

 

General Information

When setting up your ALO account through an import, your school, class, staff and student information will need to be submitted at the same time. Each import will need to include the following 7 files:

  • Manifest
  • Schools
  • Classes
  • Students
  • Staff
  • Student Enrollments
  • Staff Enrollments

 

Imports into the ALO system will overwrite previous information for the current school year. If you perform subsequent imports after your initial account set-up, you will need to make sure that your import is complete (contains new and old information for the current year). 

 

**Important Notes**

If you are a returning site, make sure your account has been activated and rolled over to the new year before starting the import process.

Import Steps

  1. Set up your import files according to the Import File Instructions.
  2. Put the 7 required files in a folder and compress the folder (create a zip archive folder).
  3. Connect to the ALO SFTP server:
    • through a SFTP client such as WinSCP
    • using the command line interface in MacOS
  4. Submit your files.
  5. Check your email for error messages. Any errors that come up will need to be resolved before your import will be submitted.
  6. Your import is complete when you receive a confirmation email indicating that your import was successful.

 

Import File Instructions

Reminders

The ALO import process requires that you submit all 7 import files at one time (Manifest, Schools, Classes, Students, Staff, Student Enrollments, and Staff Enrollments).

 

When an import is processed it will COMPLETELY OVERRIDE ALL INFORMATION in your account. Imports processed after your initial import MUST BE COMPLETE AND UP TO DATE. Information that is not included in successive imports will result in the deletion of data.

 

Helpful Tips

  • File names, file headers and values (when listed) need to match exactly what is listed in the file requirement tables below.
  • You view sample (blank) files here.
  • If a record is present in one import (or in the system in general) and is missing from a subsequent import, the record will be deleted.
  • If data is imported and then changed manually within the ALO interface, a subsequent import will overwrite those changes.
  • Groups can be set up manually in ALO after an import. Future imports will not have an impact on groups.

A few notes about the “ID” columns:

  • The “ID” field in the Schools.csv and Classes.csv files should be the ID used in your SIS.
    • This should be a unique identifier that can be linked to other files that always stays constant in your system.
  • The “ID” field in the Students.csv file and the Staff.csv file is intended to be an internal SIS ID assigned to staff and students.
    • If you don’t have internal SIS IDs, you can make the “ID” field the same as the “Primary ID” field in both files.
    • Do not use a random number for the “ID” fields because it is the number used to update student and staff information in future imports.
  • The “Student ID” in the StudentEnrollments.csv file must match the “ID” field in the Students.csv file.
  • The “Staff ID” in the StaffEnrollments.csv file must match the “ID” field in the Staff.csv file.
  • The “ID” field in the StudentEnrollments.csv and StaffEnrollments.csv files just needs to be a unique number for each row (to identify a unique enrollment record). 
    • These numbers can just go in ascending order, 1, 2, 3 etc. They are not linked to other files or to subsequent imports.
  • For subsequent imports, records are matched using the “ID” fields, which are required and unique in every import file.

Requirements

  • Files have to be saved in the CSV format (.csv file extension)
  • Files have to be placed in a compressed folder (.zip folder)
  • Files must contain all required columns (Optional columns may be omitted or can be added with a mix of valid and empty values)
  • Required fields must contain valid, non-empty values
  • “ID” columns require unique values 
    • For the Students.csv file and the Staff.csv file, the “ID” field is intended to be an SIS internal ID. If you don’t have SIS internal IDs, you can make the “ID” field the same as the “Primary ID” field in both files.
  • Alphanumeric fields are limited to 256 characters

Required Import Files

**Note** File names, file headers and values (when listed) need to match exactly what is listed
in the requirements below.

 

Manifest.csv

The manifest file will contain exactly two columns with the headers ‘Property Name’ and ‘Value’, in that order. Under ‘Property Name’ the cell should list “Version”. Under ‘Value’ the cell should list “1.0”.

Column Constraints Description
Property Name Required Should list “Version”
Value Required Should be set to “1.0”.

 

Schools.csv

Column Constraints Description
ID Required, unique, alphanumeric Unique identifier of the school. This ID will be referenced in other import files and must be consistent across imports.
NCES ID Optional, unique, numeric National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) identifier for this school.
Name Required, unique, alphanumeric Name of the school

 

Classes.csv

Column Constraints Description
ID Required, unique, alphanumeric Unique identifier of the class. This ID will be referenced in other import files and must be consistent across imports.
School ID Required, alphanumeric ID of the school containing this class. This must match the ID of a school in the Schools.csv import file.
Name Required, alphanumeric

Name of the class

Class names must be unique within a school, although they may be duplicated in other schools within the district.

 

Students.csv

Column Constraints Description
ID

Required, unique, alphanumeric Unique identifier of the student. This ID will be referenced in other import files and must be consistent across imports.
Primary ID

Required, unique, alphanumeric Student’s unique Primary ID, usually a district issued ID.
Secondary ID

Optional, unique, alphanumeric Secondary ID for a student, sometimes a state issued ID or other ID that is different from the student’s Primary ID.
Last Name Required, alphanumeric The student’s last name
First Name Required, alphanumeric The student’s first name
Nickname Optional, alphanumeric A nickname for the student, useful to distinguish students who have the same name
Email Optional, unique, valid email The student’s email address
DOB Required, date The student’s date of birth, formatted mm/dd/yyyy
Grade Level Required, alphanumeric The current grade level in which the student is enrolled. Must be K or 1-6.
Teacher ID Optional, alphanumeric The ID of the student’s teacher of record. If
included, this value must match the ID of a teacher in the Staff.csv import file.
Gender Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• Female
• Male
• Nonbinary
Race/Ethnicity Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• American Indian/Alaskan Native
• Asian
• Black or African-American
• Hispanic or Latino
• Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander
• White non-Hispanic
• Two or more races
ELL Status Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• English Speaking/Fluent English Proficient
• ELL/LEP
Section 504 Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• Yes
• No
Special Education Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• Yes
• No
Special Education
Category		 Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• Autism
• Developmental Delay
• Deaf-Blindness
• Emotional Disturbance
• Hearing Impairment
• Intellectual Disability
• Multiple Disabilities
• Orthopedic Impairment
• Other Health Impairment
• Specific Learning Disability
• Speech or Language Impairment
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Visual Impairment Including Blindness
Title 1 Reading Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• Yes
• No
Title 1 Math Optional, alphanumeric Allowed values:
• Yes
• No

 

Staff.csv

Column Constraints Description
ID Required, unique, alphanumeric Unique identifier of the staff member. This ID will be referenced in other import files and must be consistent across imports.
Primary ID Required, unique,
alphanumeric		 The staff member’s Primary ID, usually a district-issued ID.
Secondary ID Optional, unique,
alphanumeric		 Secondary ID for a staff member, sometimes a state issued ID or other ID that is different from the staff member’s Primary ID.
Last Name Required, alphanumeric Last name of the staff member
First Name Required, alphanumeric First name of the staff member
Nickname Optional, alphanumeric Nickname for the staff member, useful to distinguish staff members who have the same name.
Email Required, unique, valid email Email address for the staff member. This will also be used for logging in.
Job Title Optional, alphanumeric The staff member’s job title. This is for display only, it will not be used to assign permissions.

 

StudentEnrollments.csv

Column Constraints Description
ID Required, unique, alphanumeric Unique ID for this enrollment record
Student ID Required, unique, alphanumeric ID of the user referenced by this enrollment record. This must match an ID value in either the Students.csv or Staff.csv file.
NOTE: This is not the student’s primary or secondary ID, it is the field called ID in the Students.csv file.
Class ID Required, unique,
alphanumeric		 ID of the class referenced by this enrollment record. This must match the ID of a class in the Classes.csv file. You may include multiple rows for a student in this file,
each with a different Class ID, in order to enroll a student in multiple classes.

 

StaffEnrollments.csv

Column Constraints Description
ID Required, unique,
alphanumeric		 Unique ID for this enrollment record
Staff ID Required, alphanumeric

ID of the staff member referenced by this enrollment record. This must match an ID value in the Staff.csv file.

NOTE: This is not the staff member’s primary or secondary ID, it
is the field called ID in the Staff.csv file.


You may include multiple rows for a staff member in this file. For example, you may enroll a staff member in any combination of
classes, schools, and at the district level, each with its own set of permissions determined by the value specified in the Role field. However, you can only enroll a staff member in a particular class, school, or district a single time.
**School ID Optional, alphanumeric ID of the school referenced by this enrollment record. If present, this must match the ID of a school in the Schools.csv file.
**Class ID Optional, alphanumeric ID of the class referenced by this enrollment record. If present, this must match the ID of a class in the Classes.csv file.
Role Required, alphanumeric Role is used to assign this staff member certain permissions to the specified class, school, or district.

**Note**School ID and Class ID are used to assign a staff member permissions to either a specific class, school, or the entire district, as follows:

  • To assign permissions at the district level, leave both School ID and Class ID empty.
  • To assign permissions at the school level, specify the School ID and leave Class ID empty.
  • To assign permissions to a specific class, specify the Class ID.
  • If both School ID and Class ID contain non-empty values, School ID will be ignored and permissions will be assigned at the class level.
  • Use multiple entries in this file to assign a staff member permissions for any combination of classes, schools, and the district. Different permissions (roles) may be used for each entry.




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