This is a quick start for staff on pickup duty. Dismissals isn't a roll, so don't use a roll you've built for a pickup spot.
Before anyone arrives
Orah prepares today's dismissal automatically early each morning, so it's ready and waiting as Not Started. Every student starts in Awaiting Transport, with their transport and pickup spot for today already filled in.
In the left sidebar, open Location (or Attendance), then Dismissals. You can also tap today's dismissal on My Schedule (website or staff app).
Open Dismissal Events, then today's dismissal. The header shows the schedule name, date, time and status.
If you're allowed to start it, tap Activate Dismissal (on a phone the button just says Activate). On the website you'll see "Dismissal activated successfully", and the status changes to In Progress.
When you activate
Students move to the starting column for their transport option (see Starting Status).
Any one-day changes for today are locked in.
From now on, changes to someone's weekly plan won't affect today. To change today, edit the student on today's board.
There's no second "start" step and no "finish" button (see When you're finished below).
The live board
You can switch between a list and a board view. The columns are:
Column | What it means |
Awaiting Transport | Transport isn't ready yet. For a car line, this usually means the parent isn't here yet. |
Ready for Release | Send the student to their dismissal location. |
Released from Class | The student is heading to, or waiting at, the pickup spot. (People often call this "awaiting dismissal".) |
Dismissed | The student has left school grounds. For a picked-up student, this is the sign-out. |
Not Required: students marked Not Required (for example, absent all day on a pass) are grouped separately, so they don't look like they're still waiting in the car line. They can't be moved.
Regular, Alternate and Total tabs: above the board you'll see tabs with counts: Regular Dismissal Students, Alternate Dismissal Students (students on an early or late pass or activity) and Total Dismissal Students. If a student seems to be missing, check the other tab first.
Reading a student card
If today's transport is different from the student's usual plan, the card shows today's transport with a Today tag, and the usual one crossed out (for example "(Mon default)").
On a computer, cards also show how long the student has been in their current column.
A Dismissal note flag on the photo means there's a note to read (see Dismissal notes).
Finding students
You can search by name, sort by first name, last name or last updated, and filter by location, transport, status, SIS group or tag.
Filter to your station. You can filter by location or transport so the science wing team only sees the science wing. The filter only changes what you see, though. You can still dismiss a student who was meant to leave from another spot, as long as you're allowed to view or start that dismissal. If a student turns up at the wrong spot, dismiss them where they actually left, so the list can clear.
Moving students
On a computer, drag cards between columns. In the list view, click the pencil on a row to open the student's record, then change the status with the dropdown under their name.
On a phone, swipe a student right to move them forward, or left to move them back. You can also tap the three dots on a student and pick a status.
Most students can only be moved once the dismissal is In Progress. The exception is students on an early or late pass, who can be moved before then.
Picked up students can't just be dragged to Dismissed. Orah opens the student's record so you can record who collected them (and get a signature, if your school requires one). See Scanning pickup QR codes and confirming pickups.
Self Dismissal and bus students can go straight to Dismissed. If they have a dismissal note, you'll be asked to confirm it first.
Made a mistake? You can reverse a dismissal. Orah asks "Reverse dismissal for [name]?" and moves them back. The original dismissal stays on record.
Changing today's transport for one student
Open the student and click the pencil next to their transport. Pick the new option and Save (on the phone, pick it from the list and tap Apply). The card then shows the new transport with a Today tag.
When you're finished
Make sure every student who left is marked Dismissed. Anyone still in an earlier column wasn't signed out.
There's no "end dismissal" button. Just leave the board. At midnight (school time), any dismissal still In Progress is automatically marked Completed. Nobody is notified when this happens. A dismissal that was never activated stays Not Started as a record of that day.
Why marking "Dismissed" matters
When a student is marked Dismissed, Orah also checks them into your school's default Home location, and can end any pass they're on. This keeps your live location data accurate if there's an emergency later. A tick on a roll doesn't do this. (Your school needs a default Home location set up for it to work.)
Seeing every dismissal at once
All Dismissals board: one board showing every dismissal for the day. Open it with Open All Dismissal Board on the Dismissal Events page, or from the All Dismissals tile on My Schedule (website and staff app). It opens on the Total tab. Use Back to Schedule to return.
Alternate Dismissals Board: one board per pass type or activity, showing every student leaving early or late because of it, across all schedules. Open it from My Schedule. Transport Arrival isn't available on this board.
Looking back
Student Records shows who left, the pickup person, the dismissal location, the dismissal event, and the reason for any change. You can filter it and export it as a CSV or a Transport Manifest.
History, on every student record, is the best place to answer "who changed this, and why?". It lists every status move and transport change in order, with the time and who did it: a staff member, a parent, or System (an automatic change, such as a pass changing the student's transport, which names the pass).
Student Plan Changes (for staff with View & Edit any dismissal event) lists every plan change, with the student, the change, who made it, when, which date it affects, and which dismissal. Use Show changes by to sort by Affected day or Changed at. You can filter by dismissal, SIS group or tag.
