Osceola leaders cite broad ParentSquare adoption, prepare Nov. 20 choice fair to retain scholarship families
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Summary
Communications and enrollment leads reported rapid ParentSquare adoption—98% contactability and 819,342 direct messages since Aug. 1—and described outreach to families with Family Empowerment (PEP) scholarships ahead of a Nov. 20 Choice Fair.
District communications and enrollment staff told the School District of Osceola County board on Oct. 28 that ParentSquare rollout has dramatically increased the district’s ability to reach families.
Dana Schafer, the district’s communications lead, reported that "in 5 months, we have reached 98% contact ability for our parents," and that to date 76% of parents are interacting with ParentSquare. Schafer gave specific adoption figures: 84% of parents have opted to receive emails, 95% have opted to receive texts, and 41% of parents have downloaded the ParentSquare SDOC app. She also said the district has sent 32,372 posts and 819,342 direct messages since Aug. 1.
Why it matters: district officials said improved communications support engagement KPIs (for example, response times on Let’s Talk) and outreach related to enrollment. Dr. Penalosa (enrollment lead) and Dana Schafer described targeted marketing ahead of the Nov. 20 Choice Fair intended to engage families using Family Empowerment Scholarships (PEP). The district set a target that scholarship‑recipient families should not exceed 13.5% of total enrollment and said it will use personalized mailings and program promotions to try to retain or recapture families considering private scholarships or home education.
During the workshop Dr. Allen added a practical note for families using scholarships: "we are a vendor for the Family Empowerment Scholarships. If students want to take a course, just a course with the school district, they can do that and Step Up will, we will bill Step Up directly and Step Up will pay the school district directly." The district said it will continue to advertise opportunities—single courses, dual enrollment, CTE and extracurricular options—to scholarship families.
The communications team also outlined a social media schedule of regular content (weekly superintendent messages, classroom spotlights, attendance messaging and other themed posts) and said community relations is working with six schools targeted for communication support this year.