ParentSquare

Honestly as a technically challenged parent this app scared me. After exploring the easy to use app, and using the readily useful communication tools my comfort level eased quite a bit. The videos seemed slow and do get stuck making viewing a lesson difficult, but none the less I’m still impressed. Actually I was struggling a bit with my son on the subject of learning in school. Despite the COVID-19 crisis I feel like I’m developing a much closer relationship with my son as far as discussing what he’s actually learned and where he needs help. I also feel much closer to his teacher giving me the satisfaction of actively being apart of the education being presented to my child. This has been a very positive experience for not just my son, but the entire family! My two year old can now participate in educational activities with his brother instead of racing out to the curb every morning to wait for the big yellow Twinkie that he doesn’t get to ride.

I use this as a teacher. Prior to switching over to PS I have used Remind and Class Dojo. I liked both applications for what each brought to the table. Although I did favor Remind a bit more for its usability. At one point my district tried to get us to use Sangha and I refused. It was a terrible and unfriendly program. This year they introduced PS and I have officially closed my Remind account and moved over to PS. Whether I’m using the app or on my laptop it has the best of all messaging apps. My word count is larger, I can post videos, pictures, links, etc. I can schedule messages. Sending private group messages are much easier than on Remind. I like the “forms/permission” option. My parents said it was super easy to sign a permission slip. And best of all? I don’t have to hope that all my parents will join the app. It’s connected to our student rosters so I know that almost every parent will receive my messages.

As a teacher, PS has been a great tool for communicating with my families. I know there are many ways to use it. I sometimes find it complicated to figure things out. For instance, if you go to add ons it says you can easily create groups by adding students, but it doesn’t explain how to get started. This is just one example, it’s also confusing to see results from forms or polls and hard to figure out which will be useful for the info you want. I would like to be able to share photos easier in messages. I found that simple in ClassDojo. Lastly, when I’m looking at messages it scrolls way too fast and I can’t easily get to that part I want to read. Or it’s in a little tiny box and I can barely read or respond. Also, info/Posts often get lost. I’d like to be able to ( and for parents to as well) title and search messages. I know I’ve focused on the negatives here, the app has a lot of wonderful features and has been a great communication tool.

I have tried several parent/teacher communication tools in my elementary and ParentSquare is by far the best. Having one common place for parents to receive notifications, reminders and the happenings of their child’s classroom has been priceless. It is a tremendous help for parents to see what things are happening in their child’s class and it creates a climate of transparency and trust for my entire school. My entire school is signed up and every teacher uses it several times a week. I also love how it integrates and syncs with my SIS / PowerSchool. It makes getting started and signing up parents very easy. I’ve also been trying out the forms and permission form for things like field trip permission and we love it. Probably the best part of being with ParentSquare so far has been the amazing customer service. Everyone has been so nice and helpful.

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I appreciate having a platform for school communications in one place. However, it’s hard to find info or to search for posts. If there is a new comment/update to a post there’s no way to know other than searching for the post and to open the comments. It would be helpful if the post went to the top if there was new activity/comments or an indicator for “new comment”. I’d like to be able to tap on a profile to see their info (who their child is, their contact info or posting activity etc). Posting a photo within a comment would be helpful too (now you have to create a whole new post to add a photo). Also, posting a link within a comment doesn’t seem as straightforward either (you have to leave the app for the website). It’s a simple app that could be more useful with a few more functionalities. Please make improvements!