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Board approves switch to ParentSquare for family communications, citing improved translation and two-way features
Summary
The Board voted to adopt ParentSquare in place of BrightArrow for district family communications, expecting better two-way communication, language translation and user preference controls.
District communications staff described a planned move from the district’s current platform, BrightArrow, to ParentSquare, a communications platform the district said offers two-way messaging, automatic translation into family languages and expanded preference controls for families. “Some of the features that we hoped were going to help us have effective communication are not working the way that we hoped they would,” the presenter said.
Staff described ParentSquare’s features: one-way and two-way communications, automatic translation into families’ preferred languages, secure document sharing, and parent-level preference options such as receiving every notification or a daily summary. Staff noted some districts using ParentSquare report reliable translations; current platform translations have produced errors in less-common languages this year. The board asked about urgent message capabilities and staff confirmed that ParentSquare includes a mechanism to supersede the news feed for urgent communications.
Board members voted by roll call to approve the resolution to adopt ParentSquare as the district’s communications platform. The motion carried unanimously.
