Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Communications Parent Engagement topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District staff recommend ParentSquare for school‑to‑home communications; board tables approval for two weeks
Summary
Gilbert Public Schools staff proposed ParentSquare as a single, district‑wide platform for school‑to‑home communications and family engagement, highlighting translation, two‑way messaging and administrator oversight.
District leaders recommended adoption of ParentSquare as a single, district‑wide communication platform to replace multiple current tools and to improve translation, accessibility and administrator oversight.
Dawn (presenter identified in session) told the governing board on June 10 that a stakeholder review group — including teachers, principals, parents and coaches — reviewed vendor options and unanimously recommended ParentSquare. The presenter said ParentSquare supports automated translation into parent languages, role‑based access for counselors and coaches, two‑way messaging with administrator visibility, and built‑in sign‑up and form features that could replace tools like SignUpGenius and ad‑hoc teacher apps.
Why it matters: the district has about 31,000 students and more than 42,000 parent/guardian contacts; staff argued a single platform would reduce barriers to family engagement, provide accessibility for parents with visual impairments and centralize communications for emergency notifications. The presenter said the recommendation would replace the district’s existing mass‑notification tool and reduce duplication of smaller, school‑level paid tools.
Costs, rollout and questions
Staff presented a year‑one and ongoing cost estimate and proposed a pilot in the second quarter of the school year at a representative set of campuses; full district rollout would follow a successful pilot and training. The presenter estimated a pro‑rated year‑one cost and an ongoing annual increase (the staff slide showed an ongoing incremental cost of about $84,000 after offsetting some current spending), and said the vendor would provide deployment support to the district.
Board members probed integration, data access and alternatives. Several trustees asked whether the district could use other platforms (Board members referenced School Status Connect and SchoolStatus and free tools such as ClassDojo). Staff explained that vendor choice hinged on enterprise‑level integration with Infinite Campus, nightly contact updates, FOIA‑accessible message archives and accessibility features that many free tools do not offer. The presenter said the district would maintain emergency text capability even for parents who opted out of general notifications.
Outcome: After discussion, the board voted to table the action to approve ParentSquare and asked staff to present follow‑up information at the next meeting in two weeks. The motion to table passed.
Ending: Staff said they will follow up with additional vendor comparisons, integration detail and rollout timing; the board will revisit the ParentSquare item at its next regular meeting.
