Tree of Life Christian Prep School

Administrative Tools Help


TLC Prep Staff Support


Administrative Tools Help Center

Quickly find the correct school system, learn how it is intended
to be used, and solve common access problems. The page automatically
adjusts for desktop computers, tablets, and mobile phones.


Start Here

Before Opening an Administrative Tool

TLC Prep uses a combination of protected staff systems and
intentionally public parent, volunteer, alumni, and survey pages.


✓

Use Your TLC Prep Account

Staff dashboards and administrative controls should normally
be opened while signed into your TLC Prep Google account.
If Google selects a personal account, switch accounts first.


↗

Some Pages Are Public

Parent forms, volunteer sign-ups, published surveys, and
other respondent pages may intentionally work without a
TLC Prep account.


◇

Protect Administrative Links

When helping parents or community members, share only the
public/respondent link intended for them — never a management
or administrative link.


Quick Access

Which Tool Do I Need?

Select the system that matches the task you need to complete.
Each tool also has a detailed help guide farther down the page.


🚌


Staff + Parent


Field Trip Authorization

Create permission forms, publish trips for parents,
monitor signatures, and print completed authorizations.


📅


Staff Only


Substitute Scheduler

Schedule substitute coverage, manage assignments,
review work history, and access payroll-related reporting.


📋


Administrative


Feedback & Reporting

Review submissions, assign cases, update records,
and document administrative follow-up.


🎓


Staff Only


Alumni Event Planner

Create and manage alumni events, review RSVP lists,
print attendance information, and export registration data.


🤝


Staff + Public


Volunteer Management

Manage volunteer opportunities and requirements,
review sign-ups, and track office approval/status information.


📊


Staff Builder


TLC Survey Builder

Build and manage surveys while keeping the Survey Builder
itself restricted to authorized TLC Prep staff.


👩‍🏫


Staff Only


Parent-Teacher Conferences

View conference schedules, manage bookings,
send reminders, and access administrative conference controls.


Step-by-Step Help

Administrative Tool Guides

Tap or click a guide to open it. Only the information you need
is shown, which keeps this page much easier to navigate on a phone.


1


Field Trip Authorization Dashboard


Use this system whenever a teacher or administrator needs to
create, distribute, monitor, or print an official TLC Prep
field trip authorization form.


Typical Workflow

  1. Open the Staff Dashboard.
  2. Create the field trip.
  3. Review the information before publishing.
  4. Provide the parent authorization link.
  5. Monitor parent submissions.
  6. Print completed information when needed.


Access & Sharing

  • Staff controls require TLC Prep access.
  • The parent form is intentionally public.
  • Give parents only the public form link.
  • Staff may test using the public link.


Parent Cannot Open Form

  • Verify the public link.
  • Do not send the staff/admin URL.
  • Test in an incognito window.
  • Confirm the trip is published.


Staff Cannot Open Dashboard

  • Check the TLC Prep Google account.
  • Try the direct dashboard.
  • Try private/incognito browsing.
  • Save the exact error message.


2


Substitute Scheduler

Use the Substitute Scheduler to create and maintain substitute
assignments and review coverage and payroll-related history.

Typical Workflow
  1. Open the scheduler with your TLC Prep account.
  2. Create the substitute assignment.
  3. Select substitute and class information.
  4. Confirm the working time.
  5. Edit actual hours when needed.
  6. Review payroll/history reporting.

Payroll & Editing
Select the appropriate FTE/PTE or payroll classification.
Correct actual start/end times when necessary rather than
creating a second assignment for the same work.

Sign-In Problems
  • Check the selected Google account.
  • Refresh and sign in again if necessary.
  • Use incognito if Google chooses the wrong account.
  • Avoid duplicate assignments.


3


Feedback & Reporting Admin Portal
Use this portal to review and manage feedback or reporting
submissions requiring school follow-up.

Typical Workflow
  1. Review new submissions.
  2. Assign a case when appropriate.
  3. Update its status.
  4. Document relevant follow-up.
  5. Resolve it when action is complete.
Protect Case Information
Reporting records may contain information that is not
intended for general staff distribution. Access only
information necessary for your role.

Access Problems
  • Use a TLC Prep Google account.
  • Confirm your account has appropriate access.
  • Do not use a personal Google account.
  • Save the exact error message.


4


Alumni Event Planner
Use this application for TLC Prep alumni events and their
associated RSVP and attendance records.
Typical Workflow
  1. Create or edit the event.
  2. Review public information.
  3. Open registrations.
  4. Monitor RSVP totals.
  5. Print or export attendance information.
  6. Close RSVPs when appropriate.
RSVP Records
Update or cancel an existing RSVP when appropriate rather
than creating an unnecessary second registration.

Before Publishing
  • Verify title and date.
  • Verify time and location.
  • Review RSVP instructions.
  • Confirm it is ready for public viewing.


5


Volunteer Management
Use Volunteer Management to maintain volunteer opportunities,
requirements, sign-ups, and office approval/status information.
Typical Workflow
  1. Create/edit an opportunity.
  2. Set requirements.
  3. Add approved instructions or links.
  4. Review sign-ups.
  5. Update requirement and approval statuses.
Sensitive Documents
Background checks, medical forms, and other sensitive
documents are handled by the school office. The application
records their status rather than storing the documents.

Public vs. Administrative
  • Volunteer sign-up is public.
  • Management is staff-only.
  • Send volunteers the public link.
  • Never send the admin.html URL.


6


TLC Survey Builder
The TLC Survey Builder allows authorized staff to create and
manage surveys while finished surveys may be distributed publicly
to their intended audience by link.
Normal Workflow
  1. Open the Survey Builder.
  2. Upload/prepare questions.
  3. Review detected questions.
  4. Configure settings and audience.
  5. Set results access.
  6. Create the Google Form.
  7. Test the respondent link.
Anonymous/Public Surveys
Most TLC surveys should allow anyone with the respondent
link to participate without requiring a Google account.
Always test the final link in incognito.

Survey Management
  • Check for existing surveys first.
  • Edit an existing live Form rather than duplicating it.
  • Use its response spreadsheet for detailed results.
  • Verify closing dates when applicable.
Audience vs. Results Access
The people completing a survey are not necessarily the
people who should see its results. Configure the two
permissions separately.


Important:
The Survey Builder remains a TLC Prep staff tool even when
a published survey is open to anyone with its respondent link.


7


Parent-Teacher Conference Dashboards
The conference system provides separate Teacher and
Administrator dashboards for managing conference bookings.
Teacher Dashboard
  • View your conference schedule.
  • Review bookings.
  • Send reminders.
  • Review Calendar / Meet information.
Administrator Dashboard
  • Manage teachers.
  • Monitor school-wide bookings.
  • Use administrative controls.
  • Assist staff with scheduling problems.
Calendar / Meet Problems
  • Verify the TLC Prep account.
  • Confirm the booking exists first.
  • Refresh Google Calendar.
  • Record the teacher and conference date.


Troubleshooting

Try These Steps First

Most problems can be narrowed down quickly by checking your
Google account, browser session, link type, and exact error message.

“Access Denied” or Permission Error
  1. Check which Google account is signed in.
  2. Switch to your TLC Prep account.
  3. Reload the tool.
  4. Try private/incognito browsing.
Wrong Google Account Keeps Opening
  1. Open an incognito/private window.
  2. Sign into only your TLC Prep account.
  3. Return to the Staff Portal.
  4. Open the tool again.
Parent/Public User Cannot Open Something
  1. Confirm the public/respondent link.
  2. Test it while signed out.
  3. Do not substitute an admin URL.
  4. Verify the form or survey is open.
A Button Appears to Do Nothing
  1. Wait a few seconds.
  2. Check for a blocked pop-up.
  3. Refresh and try once more.
  4. Avoid repeated clicks.
The Page Looks Out of Date
  1. Refresh normally.
  2. Try a hard refresh.
  3. Test in incognito.
  4. Use the Staff Portal link.
Error Appears After Saving
  1. Do not immediately recreate the record.
  2. Refresh and see whether it saved.
  3. Record the exact error.
  4. Take a screenshot if necessary.


Important:
If an administrative tool has a problem, avoid creating a separate
spreadsheet, duplicate form, or replacement record unless instructed
to do so. Keeping information in the established system prevents
conflicting copies.


Administrative Access & Data Safety

TLC Prep systems include both protected administrative tools
and intentionally public forms. Keep that distinction clear
whenever links or information are shared.

  • Do not share administrative or management links publicly.
  • Use public/respondent links for parents, students,
    volunteers, and community members.
  • Never enter your TLC Prep password anywhere other than
    Google’s normal sign-in process.
  • Do not upload sensitive volunteer documents into the
    Volunteer Management application.
  • Be careful when screenshots contain student, family,
    case, or contact information.
  • Sign out of school accounts on shared or public computers.


Need More Help?

What to Include When Reporting a Problem

These details make it much easier to reproduce and correct
an issue without several rounds of follow-up questions.

1. Name the tool.
Example: Substitute Scheduler, Survey Builder, or Field Trip Authorization.
2. Describe what you were doing.
Include the button or action you selected.
3. Describe what happened instead.
Include the exact wording of any error.
4. Include a screenshot.
Avoid showing unnecessary private information.
5. Include date and approximate time.
This can help identify authentication or server problems.
6. State the device/browser.
Example: school laptop with Chrome or iPhone with Safari.
7. State which TLC account was used.
Never provide the password.
8. Say what troubleshooting you tried.
For example: refresh, incognito, or changing Google accounts.


Tree of Life Christian Preparatory School

Administrative Tools Help Center · Use the TLC Staff Portal
for the current official links to school administrative systems.

Tree of Life Christian Prep School
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