- Help
- Getting Started
Using Spark as an Admin
Admins of Small Schools
You're the admin or founding teacher of a small microschool, tutoring program, or other alternative education program?
Follow these simple steps to set up your Spark school and get started strong!
➡️ Click on the links in each step to see Help Docs for more information!
1. Create a Session
Spark uses Sessions to organize your school year. Things like assignments, reports, and classrooms are grouped by, so this is your first step!
→ Go to Scheduling → Sessions and click + Add Session. ➡️
2. Set Up Enrollment
You can collect student applications, enroll students in the platform, and even create billing accounts all from one place.
→ Go to Enrollment, create your program, and share the application link. ➡️
3. Use Communications
→ Build a Contact List and create email templates to keep everyone in the loop. ➡️
4. Create Forms
Need more info from families?
→ Use the Forms feature to ask questions, gather documents, or follow up after enrollment. ➡️
5. Add Students and Guardians
You can add people through the People section, or bring them in automatically from applications.
→ Give them access to their Student ➡️ or Guardian Portal ➡️, and send invites!
6. Set Up Billing
→ Link to online payments.
→ Create billing accounts for families.
→ Add installment plans or schedule invoices.
→ You're ready to receive payments! 💸 ➡️
7. Build Your Classrooms
→ Create Classrooms and Subjects to organize students and assignments. ➡️
8. Set Attendance Schedules
→ Set the days and times your school meets so you can track attendance. ➡️
9. Set Up Your Gradebook
→ Go to the Grades tab to create your gradebook. ➡️
🎉 Now you're ready to:
- Add assignments
- Plan school events
- Let students start using their portals!
Need help? Follow the Help Doc links for more tips.
Admins of Large Schools
Have several staff members helping you out? Follow these steps to get your Spark school and running.
Most of these steps can be done in any order — feel free to adjust to fit your workflow!
Don't hesitate to reach out to the Spark team with questions or to schedule a training session for you, or onboarding sessions for your staff!
ℹ️ Click on the links in each step to see Help Docs for more information!
1. Create a Session
→ Go to Scheduling → Sessions and click + Add Session. Sessions can be organized within Academic Years or Programs. ➡️
2. Add Your Staff
→ Go to People → Staff to add staff and give them portal access.
→ Set their permission levels to decide what they can do in Spark.
→ Email staff the Getting Started for Staff checklist (below) to help them get going in their Spark portal. ➡️
3. Create Classrooms
→ Set up your school structure with Classrooms.
→ Assign staff as teachers — you can roster students later. ➡️
4. Set Up Enrollment
→ Go to Enrollment, create your program, and share it.
- You can roster accepted students to classrooms automatically.
- Students and guardians can be added to the platform through their application, and billing accounts can be created too! ➡️
5. Use Communications
→ Start building your school’s contact list.
→ Create email templates or use the SMS Center to share news with interested families, supporters, or staff. ➡️
6. Create Forms
Need more info from families?
→ Use the Forms feature to ask questions, gather documents, or follow up after enrollment. ➡️
7. Add Students and Guardians
→ Create them from enrollment applications or directly in the People section.
→ You can import in bulk or add one-by-one.
→ Give them portal access and send invites.
→ Roster students in classrooms — either manually or automatically via Enrollment.
8. Set Up Billing
→ Link to online payments.
→ Create billing accounts for families.
→ Add installment plans or schedule invoices.
→ You're ready to start collecting payments! 🎉 ➡️
Need help? Follow the Help Doc links for more tips.