Coming Soon: New look for SD-STARS
SD-STARS is getting a new look! In late December, SD-STARS users will notice some changes that are the result of an update to our portal software called Blender. The SD-STARS team realizes that technology changes are often difficult for users to navigate, so we’ve worked hard to make sure the new version of the site looks and feels very similar to the current version. This coming change brings with it some exciting new functionality, which will enhance the user experience. If you have any questions about this new version of SD-STARS, please contact STARSHelp@state.sd.us.
Front page updated
Mobile friendly design
Report categories organized alphabetically
New resources for special education
The SD-STARS and Special Education teams at the department are working together to set up a special education “community” within SD-STARS. Communities is a new feature that gives users a place to collaborate as well as get access to additional resources.
District STARS Account Managers will be able to grant users a new permission called Special education Director. Users with this permission as well as those with superintendent permissions will have access to the Special education Community. An exciting feature of the Special education community is secure access to a district’s special education PDF reports. Users will be able to securely access these reports, including District APR, Indicator 8, and State Personnel Development Grant reports.
Special education will be our first “community” within SD-STARS, but it will likely not be our last.
More changes to come
SD-STARS offline during upgrade
During the upgrade, SD-STARS will be down. This will be after business hours during a night in mid-December. The exact time/date is still being determined, but a notice will be posted within SD-STARS in a timely fashion. Once the site is back online, the department will need a few days to finalize all the changes and make the necessary updates. During this time users can access SD-STARS, the Reports menu, and the Accountability Report Card, but some of the features may not work as normally expected. All work on the upgrade should be done by the end of December.
The SD-STARS team hopes that users are as excited about the upgrade as we are. During this improvement to SD-STARS, contact STARSHelp@state.sd.us if you have any questions or concerns.