Families » Back to School Update

Back to School Update

Stay Tuned!
The Back to School (BTS) Update Forms will be available in Summer 2023
WELCOME RETURNING STUDENTS!

Welcome back students and parents of Arlington! We hope you are all having a safe end to the summer. As the school year is right around the corner, it is now time to complete the Back to School Update Form. This form is very important to your schools as it allows you to provide any necessary updates to important pieces of information like student address, contact information, and confirm health and district permissions

NOTE: Failure to complete the Returning Student Update form will result in not receiving important updates and communications from both your student’s school and the district as a whole.

You will be informed via email once the form is ready to complete. If your contact information has changed and has not been updated in our systems, please email your student’s school.

We look forward to welcoming all families back for this upcoming school year!

REQUIRED FOR ALL STUDENTS

Why is this Required for All Families to complete?
 
Each year, APS families are required to update and confirm their student’s data. These forms are intended for families with students who completed the 2022-2023 school year and will be returning to Arlington for another school year this September.
 
You will have the opportunity to verify important pieces of information associated with your child’s account like:
  • Student address* and contact addresses
  • Parent contact phone numbers and email addresses
  • Emergency contact names and phone numbers
  • Student medical records and allergy updates.
  • Photo and media permissions, district agreements, Home Language survey, and more.
    *In the event that you need to update your student’s address on file, you will be required to provide supporting residency verification documents (per APS District Policy). Your form is not complete until these documents are submitted. It is recommended to gather the required documents prior to filling out the form.
 
If you do not have the required documents at the time of filling out the form, you will still be able to submit. A member of the registration team will be in contact with you to obtain any missing documents.
 
Please click HERE for a list of acceptable address verification documents.
 
REMINDER: Families who have registered their children to start school in September do not need to complete any BTS forms this summer as you have already provided this information within your enrollment application.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR STUDENTS ENTERING GRADES 4, 7 AND 10

Families will be required to provide a most recent immunization health record, and a most recent physical examination record (completed within the last 12 months). Your form will not be complete until these documents are provided. If you do not have the required documents at the time of filling out the form, you will still be able to submit. A member of the registration team will be in contact with you.
 
To login to your parent portal account where you will have access to the Back to School Update Form, please follow the instructions under the “BACK TO SCHOOL UPDATE FORM” section.

BACK TO SCHOOL UPDATE FORM

Please Note: In order to access the Back to School Update form and verify/confirm your child’s information, you MUST have a parent portal account.

How to Log Into your Parent Portal Account and Access the BTS Form:

Visit https://aps.powerschool.com/public/ and enter your username and password to access the Parent Portal.

Steps to take once you have logged into the Parent Portal:

  1. Select the student you wish to review/update
  2. Select the Returning Student Update icon on the button of the left side menu.
  3. For Authentication, please fill in your student's date of birth (MM/DD/YYYY format) and
    click "Continue"
  4. Follow the instructions on the form to complete the Returning Student Update.

If you have multiple children within the school district:

If you have multiple children within the Arlington Public Schools district, you must complete the Back to School Update form for each child. Once you have completed updates and confirmation on one child’s form, go back to the homepage of the parent portal and complete the steps above once again. You will be able to switch to a different student by clicking on their name at the top banner or top tab of the parent portal. You will have the option to import certain form fields from the previously submitted record.

WHAT IF I NEED HELP? (FAQs)

Below we have provided some responses to some frequently asked questions.

What if I don’t have a parent account?

In order to access the BTS form, you must have a parent portal account. If you DO NOT have a parent portal account, one will be provided to you before the form launches.

You will need to have a valid email address on your student’s file in order to be contacted. If you have not provided an email address, please contact your child’s school.

If you have not received an email with login information by the time the form launches, please contact your child’s school and they will assist you in setting one up.

A list of all contact information for each school can be found on the main page of the parent portal account.

How many portal accounts can a family have?

There is no limit to the number of portal accounts a family may have. A single family member should not have more than one account, but accounts for additional family members can be provided upon request. Please contact your child's school for this.

Please Note: Only a single family member may complete the BTS form for a student.

What if I do not know my Parent Portal username/password?

On the parent portal main page, there is a link if you forgot your username/password. Click on the "Forgot username or password?"

    • If you forgot your password, please provide your parent username and parent email.
    • If you forgot your username, please provide your parent email address.
    • This will generate an email within minutes to your email account. This link is valid for 24 hours.

If you do not know your parent email address, or have issues with the forgot password link, please contact your child’s school. The main page of the parent portal displays your student’s school contact information.

What do I do if I have multiple children but they are not all showing on the parent portal?

If you have multiple children within the Arlington Public Schools district, each child must be connected to your parent portal account. If you need assistance connecting additional children to your parent portal, please contact your child’s school.

How do I see the form from my PowerSchool brand mobile app?

Unfortunately the mobile app does not connect to the PowerSchool Enrollment portal. In order to complete the BTS form, you must open the parent portal from a web browser and click on the Back to School Update icon. If your mobile device does have a browser, you can access the parent portal using the steps above but again not on your PowerSchool app.

What if I make a mistake?

If you would like to make a change prior to submitting the form, you can either navigate back to the page using the "Prev" and "Next" buttons or if you are on the Review page click on the underlined field.

Please Note: If you made a mistake and submitted the form, please contact Registration via email: [email protected]

I’m on the form and I’m having technical difficulties.

If you have any questions in regards to the form, please contact the registration office at [email protected].

For technical support, visit the PowerSchool Community help center or click “Contact Us” from any form page.

Please Note: If any other circumstances have changed, please contact your child’s school.