ParentSquare

08/26/2026

Quick reminder: Our live discussion with Attendance Works on building stronger family connections and supporting better attendance outcomes is tomorrow.

Don't miss the chance to join us 👉 https://bit.ly/4wX7yqI

08/26/2026

Your district probably didn’t plan to end up with five communication tools. So how did we get here?

It happens one adoption at a time...

A mass notification system here. A classroom messaging app there. Separate tools for websites, forms, payments—and suddenly, there are a lot more moving pieces for IT teams to manage and places for families to check.

After 16 years working inside school districts, including sitting in the CTO chair, our SVP of Product Joel Hames has seen what separates school-to-home communication that works from technology that creates more work.

In our recent blog, he breaks it down into five areas technology leaders should consider: reaching and engaging every family, reducing platform sprawl, getting specific about security and privacy, using AI to turn data into next steps, and implementing technology that respects IT teams’ time.

The considerations may be technical, but the payoff isn’t: helping schools and families stay connected.

Read Joel’s CTO (and parent) perspective:
https://bit.ly/4c9Nwkj

Joel Hames, SVP of Product at ParentSquare and former district technology leader, shares five markers of great school-to-home communication for K-12 CTOs.

08/25/2026

Sometimes a big change starts with a very familiar problem: a paper flyer sitting on the kitchen counter.

Tara White remembers standing in a store trying to recall what she needed to bring to her child’s kindergarten classroom. The information she needed was on a flyer—at home.

It was the kind of everyday moment that showed what Pearl River County School District wanted to change.

The district began by moving away from manually maintained email groups and paper communication.

Then came registration verification, attendance notices, health forms, permission slips, student communication, and eventually school payments.

Along the way, the district reached 100% contactability and found new ways to give staff time back and make things simpler for families.

What started with communication became something much bigger.

Read the full story→ https://bit.ly/4gvYqCa

See how Pearl River County School District reached 100% of families, saved an estimated $9,000 a year, and took school payments cashless with ParentSquare.

08/25/2026

Whether we look at attendance before, during, or after the pandemic, one thing hasn’t changed: family engagement has a powerful impact on whether a student shows up.

It’s also why the work of Attendance Works continues to matter.

In this clip, Hedy Chang shares her perspective on advancing student success by reducing chronic absence. And in our latest blog, Alexandra Meis reflects on what she’s learned from Hedy and Attendance Works—and why we’re proud to sponsor the 2026 Attendance Awareness Campaign.

Read Alexandra’s full perspective at the link in the comments below. Then, keep the conversation going on Aug. 27 at our upcoming webinar, Start Strong on Attendance: Partnering with Families to Stay Connected: https://bit.ly/4wX7yqI

08/24/2026

What happens when attendance outreach starts with “𝘞𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘰𝘥𝘢𝘺” instead of a warning letter?

Families respond.
Conversations begin.
And schools have a better opportunity to understand what’s keeping a student from class.

This recent EdCircuit article shares how three California districts are rethinking chronic absenteeism through stronger family connections, coordinated attendance teams, positive outreach, and communication that meets families where they are.

As California changes its approach to truancy, these districts offer an important reminder: meaningful attendance work starts with relationships.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4qJCcBt

CA law ends punitive truancy notices as Nuview, Ge**er and Mountain View school districts prove family engagement, not compliance, drives real attendance gains.

08/21/2026

What does a memorable ParentSquare rollout look like?

For some districts, it’s a billboard. For others, it’s a funny staff video, a launch party, yard signs, or even a little friendly competition around app downloads.

We gathered 9 real ideas from districts across the country to help inspire your own rollout.

Take what fits, make it your own, and help your community know exactly where to go when ParentSquare launches.🚀

Tap through a few of our favorites, then grab the full list (and our free Launch Kit) in the comments.👇

Shoutout to the districts who made this list happen: Kingsport City Schools, Brockton Public Schools, Richardson ISD, Barrow County School System, La Joya ISD, East Newton School District, and Charlotte County Public Schools—thank you for the inspiration! 💚

08/20/2026

Back-to-school season comes with plenty of questions from families. Now, finding answers on the school website can be as simple as asking. ✨

Our new AI Assistant for Smart Sites uses a district's own website content to answer questions from families, staff, and community members—including information found in PDFs and images. It also supports 190+ languages.

It's the newest addition to ParentSquare Intelligence, bringing practical AI into the tools schools and families already use.

See what's new—including another new capability, Conversation Starters 💬: https://bit.ly/4zqhXwJ

08/20/2026

Summer prep, simplified.

Whether you're refreshing your crisis plan or trying to get every family's contact info updated before day one, a little structure goes a long way.

We put together a back-to-school checklist covering the six steps every district communications team should hit this summer.

Tap through for the highlights, then grab the full guide (link in comments) 👇

08/19/2026

Nothing says back-to-school like a fresh box of crayons 🖍️

We put together free coloring sheets for your classroom or family to enjoy together during the first weeks back—no cost, just a fun little way to kick off the year.

Download, color, and share your masterpiece! Tag us and use , we'd love to see how your family or classroom gets started.

Download now: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Mtv0gBg0BuYQsHV1bwYvO1p_bcOyo3jx/view?usp=sharing

08/18/2026

It started with a mom, a slideshow, and a question.

Years ago, our founder, Anupama Vaid, was trying to keep up with her children’s school communication: classroom emails, newsletters, robocalls, paper forms, reminders.

She thought there had to be a better way.

Before writing a line of code, Anu created a slideshow of what that better experience could look like and brought it to her kids’ principal.

The response?

“Here are three teachers. Go build it.”

Those teachers helped shape the earliest version of ParentSquare. And that spirit of listening, learning, and building alongside schools is still part of who we are today.

What began right here in the Santa Barbara community now reaches more than 22 million students at 42,000+ schools across all 50 states.

But at the heart of it is the same idea that started it all: schools want families involved. Families want to be involved. Connecting the two should be easier.

As Anu told the Santa Barbara Independent, “It takes a village to raise a child. It’s that concept that we are bringing to reality.”

We’re grateful to the Santa Barbara community where our story began—and to every educator, administrator, and family who has helped shape what comes next. 💚

Read the full story → https://bit.ly/4xKkzDP

A local mom’s idea has grown into a nationwide platform for seamless campus communication.