ParentSquare Communication Platform for Staff

If you are a staff member, you should already be recognized in ParentSquare!   

ACTION:

• Go to www.parentsquare.com/signin. You can also install the ParentSquare app and follow the prompts.

• Use Google single sign-on.  Make sure you are logged into your MGSD school email account, not your personal account.

It is likely that you have two separate accounts: a parent account with a personal email
and a staff account with your school email. You may combine your accounts together if
you wish.  Note: Staff must log in with the email or phone number associated with their staff account to properly combine accounts.

ACTION:

• Log in to your main ParentSquare account.
• Click your name in upper right and select My Account.
• Click Combine with another account.

 

• If there are any accounts matching your verified email(s) or phone(s), a page with recommended users will appear.
  • Click Combine Accounts, confirm any additional contacts on the account, and click Combine Accounts.
  • If you do not see the account you want to combine, click combine another account.
• Log in to your other ParentSquare account.
• Select name to use on your account and click Combine Accounts.
• Your accounts are now combined. The next time you login to ParentSquare, you will have access to both your staff and parents accounts at one time.

** Login to ParentSquare to Read More ** 

Do you have a co-teacher or teacher assistant that you want to add to your class? Adding class staff will allow them to post to your class and receive notifications of class posts. Watch the video, a quick animation (click "Log In to Read More" at the bottom) or follow the step-by-step directions below.

ACTION:

• From Admin, select Classes under Data Assistant.

  
   

• Click action menu (three dots) next to the class and choose Edit Class or Manage Class Staff. 

  
   

• Edit Class gives you the option to edit the class Name and then Save.

  
  
   
• Manage Class Staff allows you to add other Teachers, Room Parents, or Assistants. Click Add Row, fill out details and click Save.

• Note: The member must already be in the school directory.
  
  

  Note: Class staff will only receive class posts that are sent to their user role. If you add a staff user as a co-teacher, don't forget to send all of your class posts to Staff and Parents so that both your co-teacher and families receive it.

** LOGIN TO Parentsquare to READ MORE **

Groups are a great way to send to targeted communication to subsets of students and/or parents such as after-school athletic teams or clubs. Once a group is created, Admin and the Group Owner are able to send communication to this group. Teachers can create groups at their own school and they can include any student in their school.

ACTION:

• Determine Which Kind of Group You Would Like to Create

  Static Group (Most common) includes members you add or is a self enrollment group. You will build your group by selecting students or users, entering contacts, uploading a CSV file, or by allowing self-enrollment as in a public group.

  Auto-Update Group automatically updates with new members who meet conditions and removes members who do not. You will build your group based on specific fields (grade level, language, zip code).

  Community Group (if enabled at your school) is a self enrollment group open to anyone outside your school. Your group will be added to your Community Groups page.

** LOGIN TO READ MORE **

For teachers and staff, direct messages are a quick and easy way to communicate with a parent/guardian or a small group of parents or students (grades 7-12). Read below to send your first direct message today! 

Note: Parents can only send direct messages to other parents at the school if an administrator has enabled "Parent to Parent Messaging" in Add Ons > Direct Messages.  MGSD is not turning this feature on at this time.

ACTION:

1.  From Home, select Messages in left sidebar.

2.  Select New Message.

3.  Use Quick Select Recipients OR type in the name(s) of your recipient(s) in Recipients.

4.  Complete the Message field.

If you have two or more people in a direct message you will have the choice to send a Private Message or a Group Message.

• Private Message (one-to-one): a separate conversation will be created for each participant, like BCC. Each participant will only see messages from you.
• Group Message: there will be one conversation for all participants. Each participant will see messages from everybody else.
• Add any photos or attachments to your message using the camera and paperclip icons below the message field.

5. When you're done formatting, click Send.



Translations:
Type your message in the language you have set for ParentSquare. ParentSquare will automatically translate your message into the preferred languages of your recipients and vice-versa.
 



The recipients will be notified via their preferred method: email, text, and/or app notification. 

Example email notification:

Example text notification:

Users should not respond directly to the notification. Instead they should click View or Reply in the email or click the link in the text message which will take them to ParentSquare to reply.

Note: Messages will not be delivered if they reply to the donotreply@parentsquare.com email. 

Users must be registered and signed into ParentSquare to reply.

** Login to Parentsquare to Read More **

ParentSquare simplifies the process of scheduling appointments, including parent-teacher conferences and other events.

For more detailed information, sign into ParentSquare and click the links below:

Q: How do I edit an appointment or conference post?

Q: How do I change appointment or conference times and descriptions?

Q: How do I schedule appointments or conferences for two blocks of times per day, for example before school and after school?

Q: How do I add parents for a specific time?

Q: How do I schedule priority time slots?

Q: How do I set up an appointment or conference for only part of my class?

Q: How do I close the appointment/conference sign up so parents can no longer sign up?

ParentSquare allows users to customize their notifications based on notification type and select their preferred delivery method for each school. Yes, you can have different settings for each school you are attached to and the district!

You can choose between "instant" and "digest" notifications or choose to turn off notifications altogether (excluding emergency alerts and notices). The "instant" setting will send all posts notifications in real-time. The “digest” setting sends direct messages, alerts, and time-sensitive posts instantly, but sends all non-time sensitive posts at the end of the day, reducing the number of notifications you receive daily. (We recommend the “digest” setting”.)

ACTION:

• If you are using the web browser: On your home page, click your name and select "My Account." Then, select "Customize your settings" under Notification Settings.

• If you are using the mobile app: From your home screen, click the triple bar in the top left corner. Click on "Account," then "Preferences," then "Notification Settings."

** LOGIN TO READ MORE **

To find answers on your own, you can also go to our help articles. To do this from the web, log into ParentSquare, click on the ? symbol at the top right side of the page and click on "Help Articles." To do this from your app, click the triple bar in the top left corner, and then click on the "Help" button to access "Help Topics."

You can also click here to go directly to the help articles for parents and students.

**FOR PERSONAL ASSISTANCE OR TROUBLESHOOTING, PLEASE REACH OUT TO YOUR SCHOOL/District.**

Your ParentSquare administrator will contact our Support Team to escalate any issues that they are unable to resolve.  In Mooresville Graded School District, you can reach out to Tanae Sump-McLean via email at tmclean@mgsd.k12.nc.us or phone at 704-658-2643.

Thank you!