Tempe Elementary Board approves ParentSquare pilot for district two‑way communications

The Tempe Elementary School District Governing Board voted to approve an agreement with ParentSquare to run a multi‑school pilot of a districtwide two‑way communications platform.

Superintendent Dr. James Driscoll introduced the item and district communications staff presented the proposal, stressing alignment with governing board policy GBEF (staff use of digital communications). The district currently has multiple teacher‑ and school‑level messaging platforms in use; staff said that lack of centralized access creates gaps for crisis messaging and records requests.

Communications staff said ParentSquare met district requirements in a vendor comparison, including translation, phone/text/email delivery, calendar and form features, and the ability to assign district super‑users with access to school‑level communication. Staff proposed onboarding and training in January with a pilot of up to three schools, collecting feedback from parents, teachers and principals during the pilot and returning to the board with findings in June.

Financial and operational notes from the presentation: the vendor quoted roughly $45,000 (district‑level quote) with an estimated baseline of about $4.50 per student; an optional payment/merchant feature would increase the per‑student estimate to about $6. Staff suggested the platform could consolidate other services (Blackboard mass notifications and district DocuSign usage) and possibly create net savings, but final budget effects will be evaluated during the pilot. Staff also said ParentSquare retains records (presenter cited a seven‑year retention need for district records) and supports ADA compliance and automated attendance notifications via nightly sync with the student information system. The district also noted Tempe Union High School District is implementing ParentSquare, a potential convenience for families with students in both districts.

Board members asked about access for families without phone or internet, volunteer access, guardrails for inappropriate messages, the timeline for data retention, and the potential to eliminate duplicate platforms. Communications staff said accommodations (paper copies) would remain available for families without digital access, and that the district would develop best‑practice guidance and administrative controls for use and moderation during the pilot.

The board approved the agreement on voice vote. District communications staff will onboard ParentSquare at pilot sites in January and return to the governing board with an evaluation and recommendation in June.