Board approves ParentSquare contract to unify family communications
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Summary
Rogers Public Schools voted to adopt ParentSquare, a district-wide communications platform the district recommends for multilingual messaging, direct messaging, event calendars and archival compliance; the board approved a three-year contract.
The Rogers School Board voted Jan. 20 to enter a three-year agreement with ParentSquare to provide districtwide parent and family communications.
District staff said the platform will consolidate multiple current tools and give families options for how they receive messages (text, email, voice call or digest), allow two-way messaging between teachers and families, support translated messages for the district'''s many home languages, and archive messages for compliance. "Parents will have the opportunity to personalize their app and they can set it to where they get instant notifications, or . . . put it in digest mode and receive all the notifications around 6 p.m.," said Joanna, the district staff member who led the vetting team.
The district tested ParentSquare in a limited sandbox for several weeks and compared it with two other platforms (Apogee and Blooms). A key deciding factor, staff told the board, was that ParentSquare can deliver messages via text or email even if families do not download the app; the platform also offers language translation and a student-facing StudentSquare interface.
Board members asked implementation questions, including cost and contract length. District staff said the pricing is an annual flat rate based on student count; the board approved a three-year contract to allow onboarding and training. The board motion to approve the contract was offered by Nathan and seconded by Amy; the vote was recorded as in favor and the motion passed.
Why this matters: District leaders said ParentSquare should reduce the communication burden on parents who now juggle multiple apps and improve translated messaging for families. The platform also archives messages and flags questionable words in student or staff messages, which administrators said will help safety monitoring and compliance.
Ending: Staff will begin onboarding and data uploads, provide training for teachers and families, and monitor uptake and effectiveness over the first year.
Votes at a glance - ParentSquare contract: motion by Nathan; second by Amy; outcome: approved (unanimous among board members present).
