We're so excited to officially welcome you to Flint! This checklist covers the five steps that get your school ready before students arrive. Each step has a short video or a link to the full instructions.
You'll find every setting below in the sidebar under Admin → Settings. People, Moderation and Curricula and Structure are listed under your term's name.
This video walks through the whole setup from start to finish. Watch it first, then use the steps below as your checklist.
We recommend connecting your student information system (SIS) or learning management system (LMS). Flint then brings in your people, classes and enrollments for you, so teachers open Flint to their real class lists. Setting up the connection can take some time on your district's side. In the meantime, you can add people yourself so they can start using Flint right away.
This video starts at the part that shows how to connect.
- Go to SIS and LMS and follow the steps to import your people, classes and enrollments.
- During the import, turn on Automatically keep [your term's name] in sync, then select Turn on automatic sync. Flint then checks for roster changes twice a day while that term is your school's active term.
If you leave automatic sync off, Flint won't pick up roster changes on its own. Select Re-import whenever you want to bring them in. Step-by-step import guide
This video starts at the part that shows how to add people by email address or with a spreadsheet.
- Go to People and select Add people.
- Type or paste email addresses, or select Upload CSV to add people from a spreadsheet. Then select Next.
- Check each person's role and select Add.
- Select Save at the top of the People page, then select Save again to confirm.
You're ready for step 3 once your teachers and students appear on the People page with the right roles.
Moderation is how Flint tells you when a student's message needs an adult to step in. Finish this step before students start using Flint.
Moderators must have signed into Flint at least once and have a Teacher or Admin role. People you've invited who haven't signed in yet won't show up in the list. Counselors and support staff can be moderators too, as long as they have one of those roles.
- Go to Moderation.
- In Moderation guidelines, tell Sparky where to send a student who needs help. For example: "For safety concerns, suggest calling the school counselor at (123) 456-7890."
- Select Add moderator and choose the person who should get email alerts. We suggest adding at least two moderators, so alerts still reach someone when one person is away.
- Choose which grade levels each moderator covers. Flint won't let you save until every grade level has a moderator.
- Check Alert frequency, then select Save. Alerts about self-harm are always sent right away.
Moderation is set up once every grade level has a moderator. Moderation in Flint
When Sparky knows the standards your school teaches, teachers get activities that match them.
- Go to Curricula and Structure and select Import.
- Upload your curriculum documents, then select Add. Flint reads each document and suggests the standards it finds.
- When Flint has finished reading, select the document's entry in the Standards column.
- Review the suggested standards and select Publish on the ones you want teachers to use.
- Select Save at the top of the page.
Teachers can use your standards once you've published and saved them.
Check that these settings match how your school wants to use Flint.
Settings you can change
- Sparky customizations
- Mission and background: tell Sparky about your school. Learn more
- Grade-level prompts: choose how Sparky talks to students in each grade. Learn more
- Access
- Limit access hours: choose the days and times students can use your school in Flint. Teachers and admins aren't affected. Learn more
- Allowed IP ranges: let students use your school in Flint only from your school's internet network. Your IT team can tell you which IP ranges to enter. Teachers and admins can still use Flint from anywhere. Learn more
- AI policy: select Import, add your school's AI policy document, then select Add and Save. Sparky can refer to the policy in chats once Flint has finished reading the document.
Settings the Flint team handles
- Personal chats: Flint can stop students in certain grades from starting their own chats with Sparky. Class chats and activities still work for them. This setting isn't on your settings page, so tell your Customer Success contact which grades to restrict.
- Claimed domains: under Access, check that your school's email domains are listed correctly. People with these email domains can't create separate free Flint schools. Contact support if the list needs changing.
Once these settings match your school, setup is complete and your school is ready for teachers and students.
Get your teachers started
Set up a meeting with our Customer Success team to plan training for your teachers. Until then, share these resources so teachers can start learning Flint right away:
An overview of Flint
A video tour of how teachers use Flint.
Flint 101
A free course with five lessons covering chats, activities and using Flint in class. Teachers finish with a quiz and a certificate. Start Flint 101
Need help?
Reach out to your Customer Success contact, or in the sidebar open Learn more about Flint → Help to reach our team. You can also email support@flintk12.com.