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Rockdale County board approves ParentSquare contract, district to launch new websites
Summary
The Rockdale County Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve a three‑year, $163,835 contract to move the district's Remind messaging into ParentSquare and heard that new district websites will launch next Thursday.
The Rockdale County Board of Education voted 7-0 to approve a three-year, $163,835 purchase of the ParentSquare communications platform, and the district announced it will launch redesigned district and school websites next Thursday, officials said.
Chief of strategy and innovation Mrs. Ball presented the contract and the website timeline, telling the board that ParentSquare will replace Remind as the district’s rostered two‑way messaging platform. "Remind will be going away, and the platform will be ParentSquare," Mrs. Ball said during the presentation.
The superintendent recommended the purchase to provide a single platform for calls, emails, posts and text messages and to add features the district said Remind did not offer, including automated attendance notices, a newsletter studio and automated language translation for families. Mrs. Ball said ParentSquare supports 30 languages and integrates directly with the district’s student information system.
The three‑year price the board approved totals $163,835 and is broken out in the district materials as $49,910 for year one, $54,250 for year two and $59,675 for year three. The presentation stated the contract will be paid from Title IV funds and that general counsel has approved the contract language.
Board member Justin Kenny moved to approve the purchase; Heather Duncan seconded. Chairwoman Jackson Litt called for the vote, and the motion passed 7-0.
Mrs. Ball told the board that ParentSquare will allow principals and the district to choose the timing of the Remind-to-ParentSquare transition and that the ParentSquare vendor will leave Remind active while the district staggers the change to minimize disruption. She said principals would be consulted to set a date for turning off Remind.
The board also heard that the district will launch 25 redesigned websites next Thursday. Mrs. Ball asked for patience during a short period of expected link or content fixes after the launch and thanked the technology staff and Michelle Kim for leading the multi-year effort.
Next steps are for administration to finalize the ParentSquare rollout schedule with school principals and begin implementation of the new websites, according to the presentation materials and remarks to the board.
