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Central SD 13J touts ParentSquare rollout; district reports higher family contactability and staff time savings
Summary
District staff described ParentSquare, a new district-wide communications platform, saying it has increased family engagement, translated messages into many languages, and reduced mailing costs by enabling secure document delivery.
District staff presented an overview of ParentSquare, the district's new unified school-to-home communications platform, and said early metrics show high levels of family contactability and administrative time and cost savings.
A district staff member who presented ParentSquare said the platform offers posts, direct messages and alerts and can translate content into more than 20 languages. The presenter said a snapshot of one school's activity shows 99.5% of families are contactable through ParentSquare and estimated that roughly 86% of families interact with posts and messages.
The presenter described a secure-document feature that the district used to distribute required nutrition-services mailings. The presenter said the department previously would have spent about $2,651.76 on postage and envelopes; using ParentSquare's secure send reduced postage costs to $34.80 for that distribution, according to the presenter. The presenter also said the platform provides volunteer sign-ups, RSVP tracking and weekly summary data for district staff.
Board members and at least one parent speaker praised the platform as easier to use and helpful for timely teacher communication. The presenter noted that some families still require paper mailings and said ParentSquare identifies families who did not receive communications so staff can send print copies.
The presenter encouraged board members and community members to join the district's ParentSquare community; a QR code and website link were provided for sign-up during the report. No formal action was taken on the item; it was presented as a standing report.
