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Quickstart Guide

Get your ACE school operational in Zion in just 15 minutes. This guide walks you through the complete setup process from account creation to your first Goal Check.
New to Zion? This quickstart is designed for school administrators setting up Zion for the first time. If you’re a supervisor or monitor, your administrator will invite you - skip to Daily Goal Check Workflow.

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Prerequisites

Before you begin, have ready:
  • School information (name, location, contact details)
  • School logo (optional, PNG/JPG, max 2MB)
  • List of learning centres (classrooms)
  • List of teaching staff (names and emails for supervisors/monitors)
  • Student roster (names, grades, learning centre assignments)
Pro Tip: Have your student data in a CSV file? You can bulk import students later to save time.

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Step 1: Create Your Account

1

Sign Up

Visit zionapp.co/sign-up and create your administrator account with your email and password.
2

Verify Email

Check your inbox for the verification email from Clerk and click the verification link.
3

Create Organization

Upon first login, you’ll be prompted to create your school organization. Enter your school name and submit.
Time Required: 2 minutes

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Step 2: Complete School Onboarding

Zion’s guided onboarding wizard will walk you through four essential setup steps. You’ll be automatically redirected to /onboarding after creating your organization.

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School Profile

1

Enter School Details

  • School name (auto-filled from organization)
  • Location (city and country)
  • Contact email and phone number
  • Time zone (e.g., “Africa/Kampala”)
2

Upload Logo (Optional)

Click “Upload Logo” and select your school logo. This will appear in reports and navigation.
3

Save and Continue

Click “Save & Continue” to proceed to academic terms.

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Academic Terms

1

Create First Term

Click “Add Term” and enter:
  • Term name (e.g., “Term 1 2025”)
  • Start date (e.g., October 1, 2025)
  • End date (e.g., December 20, 2025)
2

Mark as Active

Check “Set as active term” to indicate this is your current term. Goal Check data will be tracked within this term.
3

Add More Terms (Optional)

You can add all your terms now or add them later. Click “Save & Continue” when ready.

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Learning Centres

1

Create Learning Centres

Add each classroom/learning centre:
  • Centre name (e.g., “Faith Centre”, “Grace Centre”, “Hope Centre”)
  • Description (optional)
  • Capacity (optional, e.g., 25 students)
2

Add Multiple Centres

Click “Add Another Centre” to create additional centres. Most ACE schools have 3-10 learning centres.
3

Save and Continue

Click “Save & Continue” when all centres are added.

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Invite Teaching Staff

1

Invite Supervisors

For each supervisor:
  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Role: Select “Supervisor”
  • Assigned centres: Select which learning centres they supervise
2

Invite Monitors

For each monitor:
  • Full name
  • Email address
  • Role: Select “Monitor”
  • Assigned centres: Select which centres they assist in
3

Send Invitations

Click “Send Invitations” and staff will receive email invitations with instructions to set their passwords and access Zion.
4

Complete Onboarding

Click “Complete Setup” to finish onboarding. You’ll be redirected to your administrator dashboard.
Time Required: 10 minutes

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Step 3: Add Students

Now that your school structure is ready, add your student roster.

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Option A: Add Students Individually

1

Navigate to Students

Click “Students” in the sidebar navigation.
2

Click Add Student

Click the “Add Student” button in the top right.
3

Fill Student Form

Enter student information:
  • Full name
  • Student ID (optional, your internal ID)
  • Date of birth
  • Grade level (1-12)
  • Assigned learning centre
  • Parent email and phone (optional)
4

Save Student

Click “Save” to add the student to your roster.
1

Download CSV Template

On the Students page, click “Import CSV” and then “Download Template” to get the correct CSV format.
2

Fill CSV File

Open the template in Excel and fill in student data with columns:
  • name (required)
  • student_id (optional)
  • dob (format: YYYY-MM-DD)
  • grade (1-12)
  • centre (exact learning centre name)
  • parent_email (optional)
  • parent_phone (optional)
3

Upload CSV

Click “Import CSV”, select your file, and click “Upload”. Zion will validate your data and show any errors.
4

Confirm Import

Review the validation results. If all rows are valid, click “Confirm Import” to create all students at once.
Time Required: 3-5 minutes (individual) or 2 minutes + prep time (CSV)

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Step 4: Assign PACEs to Students

Students need PACE assignments before you can set daily goals. Zion includes the complete ACE PACE catalog (144 PACEs, 1001-1144).
1

Open Student Detail

Click any student from the Students list to view their detail page.
2

Click Assign PACE

In the “Current PACEs” section, click “Assign PACE” or “Manage PACEs”.
3

Select PACEs

A modal opens with the PACE catalog. Select 4-5 PACEs across different subjects for the student:
  • Example: Math 1005, English 1015, Science 1025, Social Studies 1035
4

Save Assignments

Click “Save” and the PACEs will appear in the student’s profile.
5

Repeat for All Students

Repeat this process for all students. Each student can have individualized PACE assignments based on their progression.
Time Saver: Most students in the same grade level will have similar PACE assignments. Assign PACEs to one student, then use their assignments as a reference for others.
Time Required: 5-10 minutes for 20-30 students

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Step 5: Set Your First Daily Goals

You’re ready to use Zion’s Goal Check feature! Let’s set today’s goals.
1

Navigate to Goal Check

Click “Goal Check” in the sidebar, then click “Set Goals”.
2

Select Today's Date

The date picker defaults to today. Confirm the date is correct.
3

Enter Goal Pages

For each student and PACE, enter:
  • Goal start page (e.g., 15)
  • Goal end page (e.g., 20)
  • Total pages auto-calculates (6 pages in this example)
4

Use Quick Templates (Optional)

Click “Copy Previous Day” to pre-fill goals from yesterday, or use standard templates:
  • Grades 1-4: 5 pages per day
  • Grades 5-8: 8 pages per day
  • Grades 9-12: 10 pages per day
5

Goals Auto-Save

As you type, goals auto-save. No “Submit All” button needed. Navigate away when done.
Time Required: 5 minutes for 20 students (vs. hours of manual compilation!)

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Step 6: View Your Dashboard

1

Navigate to Dashboard

Click “Dashboard” in the sidebar to see your school’s real-time status.
2

Explore Dashboard Sections

  • Today’s Snapshot: Total students, completion %, at-risk count
  • Weekly Trends: 7-day completion rate chart
  • Centre Performance: Which centres are performing well
  • Quick Actions: Shortcuts to Goal Check, Students, Reports
3

Mark Progress (End of Day)

When students complete their goals, navigate to “Goal Check” → “Mark Progress” and enter actual pages completed for each student.

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Next Steps

Daily Workflow

Learn the morning-to-evening Goal Check workflow for supervisors and monitors

Generate Reports

Create daily centre reports and weekly school reports in seconds

Administrator Guide

Explore the complete administrator handbook for advanced features

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Need Help?

Watch Video Tutorial

See Zion in action with our step-by-step video guide

Contact Support

Get help from our team - we’re here for you

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You’re All Set!

Congratulations! Your school is now operational in Zion. You’ve completed:
  • School profile and academic terms configured
  • Learning centres created
  • Teaching staff invited
  • Student roster added with PACE assignments
  • First daily goals set
  • Dashboard showing real-time intelligence
The magic begins now: Tomorrow morning, set goals in 5 minutes. At end of day, mark progress in 5 minutes. Generate daily and weekly reports in under 30 seconds. Reclaim 10+ hours per week!