Veracross & Other Digital Tools for Valley Christian Schools Parents

Here's an overview of the digital tools we use to support your student's education. Each section links to a more detailed article. As with any new tool, there's a bit of a learning curve, so please reach out with questions along the way.

Veracross: Your Student's Academic Record

Veracross is our student and parent information system. It covers grades, report cards, attendance, schedules, announcements, and tuition and billing.

Signing in

Sign in at portals.veracross.com/vcschools using the Welcome email from Veracross. For first-time setup, forgotten passwords, and sign-in errors, see Signing in to the Veracross Parent Portal.

Add the portal to your home screen

We recommend the portal over the Veracross app, which doesn't have everything the portal has. The portal works well in your phone's web browser, and you can add it to your home screen so it opens like an app:

  • iPhone (Safari): open the portal, tap the Share icon, then tap Add to Home Screen.
  • Android (Chrome): open the portal, tap the menu (three dots), then tap Add to Home screen or Install app.

A look at the Parent Portal home page

Veracross Parent Portal home page with numbered callouts

  1. Classes & Reports: grades, full class schedule, and attendance
  2. Daily Schedule: today's classes and where your student is right now
  3. Recent Updates: announcements from your student's teachers
  4. Assignments: upcoming and missing homework across all classes
  5. Update Household Profile: change family contact information
  6. Student Billing: view and pay tuition
  7. Email Preferences: choose which portal notifications you receive
  8. Canvas: go straight to Canvas
  9. Tech Helpdesk: contact tech support

Near the bottom of the home page, Parent Resources has folders of documents you may need during the year. You'll only see folders for the campus (or campuses) where you have a student enrolled.

Finding schedules, attendance, and report cards

Click Classes & Reports (1) to open your student's overview page, which lists their classes and schedule:

Veracross Student Overview page showing the Current Class Schedule link

  • Schedule: under Reports, click Current Class Schedule for the full term. For just today, use Daily Schedule (2).
  • Attendance: appears here once attendance has been recorded for the term.
  • Report cards: once grades are published at the end of a marking period, click the Reports tab next to your student's name on the home page.

Students sign in to Veracross with their school Google account. Parents, please use your own login rather than your student's.

Canvas: Assignments and Due Dates

Canvas is where teachers post assignments, due dates, and class resources. Parents can see all of their students in one login and get alerts for upcoming and missing work.

  • Parents sign in at vcschools.instructure.com with their own email address as the username. Your account is created once, when your family is new to VCS, and setup instructions are emailed to you. You don't need to set it up again each year.
  • Need help, or want to add access for extended family? Email helpdesk@vcschools.org.
  • Students sign in with their school Google account.

To find missing work and set up alerts, see Canvas Help for Parents.

Student Email

Starting in 4th grade, students have a school Google (Gmail) account with their school email address and assigned password.

Parental Controls for Student iPads (7th–12th Grade)

Securly: web filtering

Securly filters all web activity on student iPads, at school and at home. Parents can use the free Securly Home app to see online activity, set offline times, pause the Internet, and block or allow websites. Create your account at securly.com/parent-login using the same email address as your Veracross parent account. VCS doesn't manage Securly parent accounts, so for password resets use Securly's support links.

AppleTree: adding non-school apps

Middle and high school parents can add non-school apps, such as games, to their student's iPad at go.vcschools.org/appletree. For how it works, app limits, and restricting Messages, see the Valley Christian Parent Guide to iPads.

Questions?

If something isn't working as expected, email helpdesk@vcschools.org or submit a ticket at helpdesk.vcschools.org.