✨ This feature is currently in Beta Testing. You may not have some of the features shown below right now, but reach out if you'd like to get access!
What are Flex Periods?
Schools call flex periods by a variety of names... advisory, "Eagle Time," Power Hour, W.I.N. (What I Need) Time and more.
Regardless of the name, the intent is the same:
Teachers have flexible rosters and can offer a variety of activities or academic supports for students.
Students can schedule where they want to go for activities or seek specific supports based on their needs.
✨Available to purchase separately from Hall Pass.
Want to unlock this feature?
Click the button to get pricing details for your school.
Setting Up Flex Periods
In order for teachers and students to be able to schedule Flex Period options, SmartPass admins must first configure the available periods.
Begin by navigating to the Flex tab.
Click on 'Flex Periods' to see an overview of all Flex Period Information
Click on the “+ New Flex Period” Button to create a new Flex Period for your campus
In the pop-up window, set the parameters for your school's Flex period including the period name (don't forget to be specific for your school) and schedule for the periods.
In this example, a school is creating their Before School Clubs Flex Period to occur Monday thru Thursday:
Adjusting Flex Period Settings
Once you have the Flex Period created, you’ll want to open the Flex Period details to adjust settings for the new period and make sure they fit your campus’ needs.
Visibility
With this setting, you can ensure that only the students who should have access to this specific Flex Period can see it. While teachers can make specific activities’ visibility more restrictive, they cannot make the activity more visible from these settings on the period level.
Visibility Types
“Show Flex Period for all students”: students will be able to sign up for all activities teachers don’t change visibility on.
“Show Flex Period for certain students”: you will be able to select specific students or student groups that have access to this Flex Period and associated activities. Check out this article for how to create Student Groups you can use for this setting.
“Hide Flex Period for all students”: students will not be able to sign up for activities on their own and teachers will have to sign them up.
Student Sign-Up Window
Configuring this setting determines the earliest and latest times that students can sign up for activities that occur during this Flex Period's sessions.
Since you are creating the time-frame “window” in which students are able to sign up for each day’s activity session, the earliest and latest settings do impact each other.
You’ll want to make sure that you are configuring your Flex Period’s Sign-Up Window to match your campus expectations for when students select their activity for each Flex Period.
Creating Flex Activities
Once you configure the available Flex Periods, teachers will need to schedule their teacher-specific activities that will occur during the available times. Activities can be set to occur during all or only some of the available Flex Periods throughout the week, or on custom dates and times, depending upon your needs and offerings.
To learn more about how to configure teacher-created Flex activities, check out this detailed guide for teachers.
FAQ
My students and teachers cannot find Flex on their mobile app. Why?
The calendar page and selection of Flex events is not available on the mobile app. If students have tablets we suggest they use the website instead. IT can push a bookmark to help with this.
Can I create Flex Activities for my teachers?
Yes, Admins can create activities for teachers and associate the correct teacher to each activity. Teachers then have full control over their associated activities.
Do all activities have to occur within a Flex Period?
No, you can create custom scheduled activities that occur outside of Flex Periods.
Can I edit the schedule for a Flex Period?
No, editing the days and times a Flex Period is scheduled for is not currently possible.