DESSA System and Clever
Overview
This article provides guidance for connecting the DESSA System with Clever. It includes instructions for setting up Clever Rostering and Clever Single Sign-On (SSO). Districts may implement rostering, teacher SSO, student SSO, or any combination of these options to support your district’s needs.
Table of Contents
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Clever Changes for the 26-27 School Year
We are excited to offer Clever Rostering for the 2026–2027 school year.
To support this enhancement, districts will connect to the DESSA System through our Clever DESSA with Secure Sync app. For existing customers, this means an upgrade from our previous Clever SSO application to Secure Sync. New customers will be set up directly with the Secure Sync application during implementation.
The Clever DESSA with Secure Sync app supports both single sign-on (SSO) and automated rostering, providing a streamlined experience for students, educators, and administrators.
This upgrade will provide:
- Single sign-on access for both teachers and students
- Automated syncing of roster data from Clever to the DESSA System
- Reduced manual roster management and improved data accuracy
With Secure Sync, your Student Information System (SIS) data will automatically create and update
user roster information in the DESSA System. This eliminates uploading rosters via SFTP and
ensures your data stays current.
What’s Changing?
Before (SSO): Clever shared only basic profile information (name, email, and Clever ID) when
teacher users signed into the DESSA System. No roster data, no class information, no
demographics.
After (Secure Sync): Clever will share complete roster data including schools, classes, student and teacher enrollments, course information, and student demographics. Rosters are automatically
imported each morning and kept up to date as your SIS changes.
Clever Rostering
This guide walks you through each step: accepting the new connection, configuring exactly which
data to share, and verifying data quality before we go live.
Clever Invitation
Step 1: Accept the Secure Sync Invitation
You will receive an invitation to connect to our new Secure Sync application. You can accept
this invitation in one of two ways:
• Email Invitation: Click the link in the email you receive from Clever to accept the
connection request directly.
📌Important: Do not disconnect your existing DESSA Teacher or DESSA Student app until we confirm that the new Secure Sync connection is fully operational and all user accounts have been matched. We will coordinate the cutover date with you to ensure no disruption for students or teachers.
Sharing Data
Step 2: Configure Data Sharing Rules
After accepting the invitation, Clever will ask you to configure which data to share with DESSA
Secure Sync.
Choosing “Sharing”
From the sharing configuration screen, select “Share All Schools.” if all of your schools use the
DESSA System. If you want only some of your schools to be rostered in the DESSA System
select “Share by Rules” then create rules to only identify the participating schools. This
approach ensures you are not sharing data for schools or students who do not use the DESSA
System.
What Records are Shared
If you choose not to share all records, please configure your sharing rules to include the
following record types. Each record type maps to a specific part of the DESSA System’s
rostering system:
| Record Type | What to Share | How DESSA System Uses It |
| Schools | Select the specific schools. Do not share schools that will not use the DESSA System. If your entire district is using the DESSA System, you can select Share All Schools. | Each school becomes a site record in our system. Student and teacher accounts are organized under their school. |
| Sections | Share sections (classes) that will be used for assignment rules. | We use the section name, associated course and period to assign rating rules in the DESSA System. |
| Students | All students enrolled in the shared schools and sections. | We use their name, grade level, student ID, and demographic details. We identify students by student id, so accurate student ids are critical. If using the Self Report products, each student gets an account in the Student Portal. |
| Teachers | All teachers assigned to the shared schools and sections. Ensure every teacher has a district email address in the SIS. | Each teacher gets an account with access to their assigned students to rate. We identify teachers by email address, so accurate emails are critical. |
| Staff | School administrators, principals, counselors, and other staff who need access to the DESSA System dashboards and reports. | Share only staff who need application access via SSO. We identify staff by email address, so accurate emails are critical. |
| Courses | Courses are shared automatically along with sections. No additional configuration is needed. | Course names and numbers are used to apply assignment rules within the DESSA System. |
Step 3: Ensure Required Data Fields Are in Your SIS
The DESSA System relies on specific data fields from your SIS to provision accounts and build
rosters correctly. Please verify that the following fields are populated in your SIS for the users
being shared.
Student Data Fields
These fields are used to create student accounts, assign them to classes, and build
demographic profiles for reporting
| Field | Required | How DESSA System Uses IT |
| First and Last Name | Required | Used to create the student’s display name in the application. |
| Student Number (Student ID) |
Required | The primary identifier used to match and track each student across syncs. If a student’s number is missing, their account will not be created. |
| SIS ID (Alt Student ID) | Required | Primary identifier for matching student SSO. If a student’s SIS ID is missing, their SSO account may not be created. Some districts also use this identifier as their student id instead of student number. |
| Grade Level | Required | Determines which grade-level content and reports are available. If a student’s grade level is missing, their account will not be created. |
| Date of Birth | Required | Used for demographic reporting. The date of birth should be in your SIS in a standard date format. If a student’s DOB is missing, their account will not be created. |
| Gender | Required | Used for demographic reporting breakdowns. If a student’s gender is missing, their account will not be created. |
| Race | Required | Used for demographic reporting. Clever provides multiple race values. |
| State ID | Recommended | A secondary identifier helpful for cross-district or state-level reporting and matching. |
Teacher and Staff Data Fields
| Field | Required? | How DESSA System Uses It |
| First and Last Name | Required | Used for the teacher’s display name and account creation. |
| SIS ID / Staf f ID | Required | Primary identif ier for matching teacher SSO |
| Email Address | Required | Used for login and for matching teacher accounts during the initial migration. Every teacher must have an accurate district email in the SIS. |
| School (s) | Required | Determines which school(s) the teacher or staff member is associated with and what data they can access. |
| Title/Role | Required | Used to distinguish teachers from admins. |
Section (Class) Data Fields
Section data is what connects students and teachers into class rosters. These fields should be
populated in your SIS for each class being shared:
| Field | Required? | How DESSA System Uses It |
| Section Name | Required | Displayed as the class name in DESSA System. If your SIS does not provide a section name, Clever will generate one from the course name, teacher,and period. |
| School | Required | Associates the class with the correct school in our system. |
| Course | Required | Links the section to a course record, providing the course name and number for labeling and organization. |
| Enrolled Students | Required | The list of students assigned to this class. Each student-class pairing becomes an enrollment record. |
| Assigned Teachers | Required | The teacher(s) responsible for this class. Each teacher-class pairing becomes an enrollment record with a teacher role. |
| Period | Recommended | Helps distinguish between multiple sections of the same course (e.g., “Period 1” vs. “Period 3”). |
| SIS ID | Recommended | A unique section identifier from your SIS that helps with troubleshooting. |
Step 4: Enable Opt-In Demographic and Extension Fields
There are several important data fields which are not shared by default in Clever. These must
be explicitly turned on in your Field Access Advanced Settings, even if you have previously
configured the field access advanced setting to “Always share all fields requested by DESSA”.
Without these fields, DESSA System cannot generate complete demographic reports.
How to Enable These Fields
1. From your Clever District Admin Dashboard, click on the DESSA System Secure Sync
Application to open its configuration.
2. Click “Setting Tab.”
3. Scroll down to “Field Settings.”
4. Click “Advanced Settings.”
5. Select “Customize fields shared with DESSA System.”
6. Navigate through the field pages (Student Fields, Extension Fields) and move the fields
listed below into the “Share” column.
7. Click “Next” through the remaining pages and then “Save.”
Fields to Enable
The fields below provide critical demographic and program participation data for your reports.
Please enable all of them:
| Field to Enable | What It Contains | What DESSA System Uses It For |
| Hispanic or Latino Ethnicity | Recorded separately from race in your SIS. Shared as a Yes/No value through Clever. | |
| ELL Status | Whether the student is classified as an English Language Learner | English learner identification for Title III and state compliance reporting |
| FRL Status | Whether the student qualifies for Free or Reduced-Price Lunch | Economic disadvantage identification for Title I reporting |
| 504 Status | Whether the student has a Section 504 accommodation plan | Disability accommodation tracking for compliance reporting |
| Disability Status | The student’s disability classification, if applicable | Special education category reporting for federal and state submissions (SPED) |
| Gifted/Talented Status | Whether the student is identified as gifted or talented | Gifted program identification for state reporting |
📌Note: Some of these fields (504 Status, Disability Status, Gifted/Talented, and Home Language) require Clever API v3.1. If you do not see these options in your sharing settings, they may not yet be available for your district’s Clever configuration.
Verify Data
Step 5: Verify Data Quality Before Go-Live
Before we activate the Secure Sync connection, please verify the following items in your SIS
and Clever Dashboard. Clean data at the start prevents issues with account creation, missing
rosters, and incomplete reports.
SIS Data Checklist
☐ Every student has a unique student ID
☐ Every teacher and staff member has an accurate district email address
☐ Students have date of birth, grade level, gender, and race/ethnicity populated
☐ Hispanic or Latino ethnicity is recorded separately from race (Yes or No)
☐ Extension fields are populated for all applicable students
☐ Sections reflect the current academic term and are assigned to the correct school
☐ Each section has at least one teacher assigned
☐ Student enrollments in sections are current (withdrawn or inactive students removed)
☐ Course records exist and are linked to their respective sections
Clever Dashboard Checks
☐ Visit the Data Quality tab in your Clever Dashboard and resolve any warnings or errors
shown for the DESSA System connection
☐ Verify that the number of schools, students, teachers, and sections shown in Clever
matches what you expect from your SIS
☐ Confirm that extension fields (ELL, 504, FRL, etc.) are visible in the field access
configuration and moved to the “Share” column
Notify DESSA DI Team
Step 6: Coordinate the Migration Cutover
Once your sharing rules and data quality are confirmed, please notify us so we can finalize the
migration. Here is what the cutover process looks like:
1. Data Validation: We will pull data from the new Secure Sync connection and verify that
schools, classes, students, teachers, courses, and demographics are all coming through
correctly.
2. Confirmation: Once all data is flowing correctly, we activate the Secure Sync rostering.
Students and teachers will continue logging in the same way - no changes are required
on their end.
3. Cleanup: After confirming that everything is working, if you were using one of our old
non-SecureSync connections (DESSA Teacher or DESSA Student), they can be removed from your Clever Dashboard. Going forward, all rostering is managed automatically through DESSA Secure Sync.
Quick Reference: Complete Sharing Configuration
Use this summary when configuring your sharing rules in the Clever Dashboard:
| Setting | Recommended Configuration |
| Sharing Type | Share by Rules |
| Schools | Select only schools that will use DESSA System |
| Sections (Classes) | Filter by applicable grade levels and/or subjects; exclude electives, PE, and other non-relevant classes |
| Students | Automatically scoped to shared schools and sections |
| Teachers | Automatically scoped to shared schools and sections; ensure all have email addresses |
| Staff / District Admins | Share only staf f who need administrator access to DESSA System |
| Student Name Fields | Share first name, last name, and middle name |
| Student Identifiers | Share SIS ID, student number, and state ID |
| Student Email | Share — used as the login username |
| Student Grade Level | Share — required for grade-based content and reporting |
| Date of Birth | Enable in Field Access — required for demographics |
| Gender | Enable in Field Access — required for demographics |
| Race | Enable in Field Access — required for demographics |
| Hispanic/Latino Ethnicity | Enable in Field Access — required for demographics |
| ELL Status | Enable in Extension Fields — English learner reporting |
| FRL Status | Enable in Extension Fields — economic disadvantage reporting |
| 504 Status | Enable in Extension Fields — accommodation tracking (v3.1) |
| Disability Status | Enable in Extension Fields — special education category (v3.1) |
| Gifted/Talented | Enable in Extension Fields — gif ted program reporting (v3.1) |
| Home Language | Enable in Extension Fields — language services (v3.1) |
| District Username | Share if your district uses a specif ic username for SSO login |
| Contacts / Guardians | Not required by DESSA System — leave disabled unless otherwise discussed |
Estimated Timeline
| Phase | What Happens | Who Is Responsible |
| Day 1 | District accepts the Secure Sync invitation and configures sharing rules per this guide | District Clever Administrator |
| Days 1–2 | Your district validates incoming data, verifies record counts, and checks demographic field availability | Your district Rostering Team |
| Days 2–3 | Account matching is performed to link existing users to the new Secure Sync records | Your district Rostering Team |
| Day 3–4 | Go-live conf irmation; Secure Sync rostering is activated | Both parties |
| Day 5+ | Old Library/SSO connection removed; nightly automated sync begins | District Clever Administrator |
Clever SSO
The DESSA system supports Single Sign-On (SSO) for both teachers and students. Student SSO will only be used for students who will be completing the Student Self-Report (SSR).
The Data Integration Team will send your organization an invitation through Clever. Once you receive the invitation, please update your Clever sharing rules to include the teachers and/or students who will be using SSO.
After accepting the Clever invitation and updating your sharing settings, contact the Data Integration Team to complete the SSO configuration in DESSA.
Questions
Our Data Integration team is happy to walk you through any part of this process. We can also
schedule a screen-sharing session to configure your sharing rules together.
Email: datateam@apertureed.com
Clever District Support: https://support.clever.com