Henrico County Public Schools updates board on expanded ParentSquare use, privacy questions raised

Henrico County Public Schools officials briefed the school board on Monday about expanded use of ParentSquare, the district's communications platform, saying the system now supports secure document delivery, a StudentSquare group feature and a virtual phone that masks staff numbers while logging calls.

Eileen Cox, a communications official for Henrico County Public Schools, told the board the district piloted ParentSquare in January 2023 at 14 schools, launched full scale with the 2023–24 school year and later added features after the board approved a contract amendment. "We leverage all but one of the features currently available through ParentSquare," Cox said, adding that the district is not using ParentSquare Pay because it does not meet current meal-payment needs.

The update emphasized usage and access metrics. Cox said the district has sent nearly 75,000 posts and alerts this year and reported a 99.5% contactability rate across the division. She also said about 59% of parents have downloaded the ParentSquare mobile app, above a cited national benchmark of 44.74% but below the district target of 72% set in the Journey to 2030 strategic plan. "ParentSquare translates into more than 100 languages," Cox said, noting translation has expanded access for families.

Larry Willis, the district's website development and digital content manager, described technical features of the virtual phone. The system lets staff place calls through ParentSquare so their personal numbers are not shown; the platform creates an automatic call log and can record calls after an automated notice to the caller. "You're using the service, not the phone," Willis said, explaining the call is routed through the ParentSquare platform.

Cox said the district began using ParentSquare's secure document delivery in July 2024 to send items such as SOL reports, I-Ready assessments and free-and-reduced meal notifications to contacts with educational rights. She reported that, this year, the district has delivered roughly 144,666 secure documents through ParentSquare and estimated postage savings of $107,052.84 compared with paper mailings at the per-piece meter rate cited in the presentation; Cox said she would confirm final counts and calculations.

Board members praised the tool's convenience but asked detailed questions about privacy and access. Mrs. Adkins asked whether parental opt-out of recording ends the call; Cox replied that opting out stops the recording but does not end the call. Adkins followed up on whether parents can access recordings; Cox and Willis said teachers can access call records and that staff would confirm whether and how a parent receives a link to a recording.

Mrs. Kinsella asked about message fatigue given the high volume of messages. Cox said families can choose a daily digest rather than immediate notifications and that principals are coordinating message timing across grades and feeder patterns to reduce duplicate outreach. Cox also said the district plans focus groups over the summer and into the next school year to gather feedback and to inform communications planning through 2027.

The presentation noted staff adoption: Cox said 72% of teachers are actively posting and 84% use direct messaging; she added that 1,581 staff members have signed up for the virtual phone feature. Board members offered positive user feedback — several called ParentSquare "10 out of 10" for simplifying parent-teacher communication — and flagged future topics for focus groups, including limits on student-to-parent messaging and how recordings are stored and shared.

Next steps: communications staff will run focus groups, provide speaking points to staff about handling parent questions on recordings, and confirm whether parents receive links to recordings and how secure-document click-through data are tracked. The board thanked the presenters and the exchange concluded without a formal vote.