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Shawnee Heights plans ParentSquare rollout to replace Remind; staff trainings scheduled for next school year
Summary
District staff recommended adopting ParentSquare as a unified communications platform after a parent and staff survey; the district plans in-person staff training at the start of 2025'26 and will run Remind alongside ParentSquare through the fall athletic season to avoid disruption.
Shawnee Heights USD 450 staff told the board they will transition from Remind to ParentSquare for district, building and classroom communications and will phase in training and family supports next school year.
Miss Kinch, district staff member leading the communications evaluation, said she conducted parent and staff surveys and compared communication platforms before recommending ParentSquare. "ParentSquare is a unified communication system," Kinch said. "It can combine teacher, building and district messages into one platform and is customizable by user type."
Implementation and timeline: staff will prepare onboarding and training materials over the summer. Staff training and rollout will begin at the start of the 2025'26 school year with in-person sessions by building. Remind will run in parallel with ParentSquare through the end of the fall athletic season so coaches and others who already use Remind are not disrupted.
Features and supports: ParentSquare includes messaging, alerts, forms and sign-ups in one app; administrators said the platform allows role-based access so different staff (for example, kindergarten teachers vs. counselors) see appropriate tools. Families will receive notifications about the rollout and optional in-person family training sessions will be offered.
Why it matters: district staff said the goal is consistency and reduced message fatigue by providing a single place for parents and staff to find communications. Board members asked whether school newsletters will be sent through ParentSquare; Kinch said that will happen in phases with the goal of moving all district communications into the system.
Next steps: staff will finalize training materials, schedule in-person training at each building in August and communicate the transition timeline and help resources to families before the new school year.
