Overview
This article helps boarding schools prepare for their Orah Go-Live.
By this stage, you should already understand how boarding works in Orah and have assigned the correct users and roles. This guide focuses on making sure your setup is ready for real-world use before staff begin using Orah day-to-day.
You don’t need to complete every task perfectly. The goal is to ensure that core boarding workflows are live, reliable, and understood by staff.
What “Go-Live” Means in Orah
A boarding school is considered ready to go live when:
Staff can successfully run roll calls
Students are being signed in and out using Orah
Boarding houses, locations, and roles reflect real operations
Staff know what to do during daily boarding routines
Additional products (such as Student Care or Emergency Rolls) can be layered on after Go-Live.
1. Confirm Your Boarding Structure
Before Go-Live, review your boarding structure and confirm it reflects how your school operates in reality.
Check that:
All boarding houses are created correctly
Students are assigned to the correct houses
House Parents are associated with the houses they supervise
If your school uses SIS-managed data, confirm that this structure is syncing correctly.
A clear boarding structure is the foundation for roll calls, permissions, and reporting.
2. Review Locations Used for Boarding
Locations play a key role in roll calls, passes, and emergency workflows.
Before Go-Live, confirm that:
All key boarding locations are created
Locations reflect where students can realistically be
Default locations make sense for roll calls
Examples of common locations:
Boarding houses or dorms
Dining areas
Common spaces
Approved off-campus locations (if applicable)
3. Set Up and Test Roll Calls
Roll calls are the core workflow for boarding schools in Orah.
Before Go-Live:
Ensure daily and evening roll calls are created
Confirm roll call times match boarding routines
Assign the correct staff to run roll calls
Test at least one roll call before Go-Live to confirm:
Students appear as expected
Staff can complete the roll call
Exceptions are visible and understandable
If roll calls work smoothly, Go-Live is usually successful.
4. Review Passes and Student Movement
Passes and sign-in/sign-out workflows must reflect how students move on and off campus.
Before Go-Live:
Review standard passes (e.g. leave, exeats)
Review any event-based passes (if used)
Confirm approval workflows are correct
Check notification settings
Ensure staff understand:
When a pass is required
How sign-in and sign-out works
How student movement is tracked
5. Confirm Users and Access
Double-check that staff have the correct access before Go-Live.
Confirm that:
Boarding Admins can manage boarding workflows
House Parents can run roll calls and manage sign-in/sign-out
Users can see the students they are responsible for
Make any final role adjustments under Staff > Roles if needed.
Most access issues during Go-Live are caused by role misconfiguration.
6. Prepare Staff for Day One
Staff do not need to be experts before Go-Live, but they should understand the basics.
Before Go-Live:
Identify who will run roll calls
Confirm staff know how to sign students in and out
Decide how questions will be handled during the first few days
Many schools find it helpful to:
Walk staff through a sample roll call
Share short, role-specific guidance
Keep the first few days simple
7. Plan Your First Week
The first week of Go-Live is about building confidence, not perfection.
Recommended approach:
Monitor roll calls closely
Expect questions and small adjustments
Review data daily to catch issues early
Make configuration changes as needed
It’s normal to refine:
Locations
Pass rules
Staff access
8. Optional: Prepare Additional Modules
If your school is using additional Orah modules, you may choose to prepare these before or shortly after Go-Live.
Examples:
Student Care / Nurture – wellbeing and mood checks
Emergency Rolls – emergency preparedness
Connect – communication workflows
These modules build on your core boarding setup and can be introduced once staff are comfortable with daily boarding routines.
Go-Live Readiness Checklist
You are ready to go live when:
✔ Boarding houses and student assignments are correct
✔ Locations reflect real boarding environments
✔ Roll calls have been tested successfully
✔ Staff can sign students in and out
✔ Roles and access are correct
✔ Staff know what to do on day one
If all of the above are true, you are ready to proceed.
What’s Next
Once your school is live, focus on refining workflows and supporting staff as they build confidence using Orah.
Next recommended articles:
First Week Best Practices
Troubleshooting Common Boarding Issues