Implementing a districtwide communication platform streamlines school-home communications and provides many other unexpected benefits to districts, educators, and families.
In a recent EdTech Digest article, John Karstetter, communications specialist at Carrollton-Farmers Branch ISD and ParentSquare customer, discussed how valuable having a school-home communication platform has been for his district—especially when the pandemic hit in March 2020.
Here are four of the unexpected benefits of implementing a districtwide communication platform that Karstetter outlined in the article:
1. Easy management of contact information.
The built-in contact data management system complements the district’s student information system (SIS), where all student records and parent information are cataloged. Within the communications platform, parents can securely verify their contact information, ensuring records are always up-to-date.
2. Language translation.
The district serves families that speak 55 different languages, and ParentSquare translates messages to families in all of those languages. This ensures equitable communications that every family will be able to access and understand.
3. All stakeholders benefit from the platform.
ParentSquare isn’t just for parents—students and teachers also have a safe and secure app for two-way communication through the platform. When piloting the app, 93% of students interacted with teacher and principal messages, meaning they saw important communications and engaged with these posts.
4. Easy appointment-setting.
Teachers can create meeting time slots based on their availability, so parents can easily self-schedule a convenient time to get together. This feature provides a simple way to schedule conferences and send reminders to parents.
For these reasons and more, implementing a districtwide communications platform is beneficial to all stakeholders in the district. ParentSquare helps streamline school-home communications and ensures all messages are accessible, accurate, and equitable for all families.
Read more about the unexpected benefits of a districtwide communication platform in the EdTech Digest article: Four Unexpected Benefits from Our Districtwide Communication Platform.
