William Penn School District

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Teacher & Staff Training

2025-2026

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WPSD Communications

ParentSquare Overview

One Central Tool

2-Way Parent Engagement

Quick Translations

Text, Email, App, Voice

www.parentsquare.com

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

ParentSquare Basics

www.parentsquare.com

Info in ParentSquare

• Data from e-School is fed into ParentSquare. This includes parent, teacher, and staff information.
• The data syncs overnight.
• Data flows from e-School into Parentsquare - but not in the other direction.
• Changes in information need to be updated in e-School.

�School Views

• You will see the page for the school that you are in.
• If you are assigned to multiple buildings, you will see all your schools in the top left corner (toggle).

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

ParentSquare Basics

www.parentsquare.com

Permissions

• There are different levels of permissions in ParentSquare - and they are continuing to be updated.
• Different levels of permissions give different access to what you can view and what you are allowed to do.
• If you need changes to permissions, there is Help Desk info at the end of this presentation. These changes will be coordinated with the principals and District administration, as needed.

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www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Download the free mobile app for Android or iOS.

Access it from a computer at: www.parentsquare.com

Sign Up @ www.parentsquare.com/signin today!

Account Activation

www.parentsquare.com

Use your @wpsd.k12.pa.us address.

Create a password.

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

My Account Settings

www.parentsquare.com

1. My Account

Settings

• Notifications, Language, & Office Hours

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New This Year

www.parentsquare.com

For those who are both staff and parents: Unmerged Accounts

• Log in�You can log in to more than one ParentSquare account on the same device. A "Switch Account" option will appear once you’re signed in to multiple accounts.
• Switch account: �After logging in, you’ll be able to quickly switch between your accounts using a menu option. You’ll always see which account you’re currently using, along with its primary role and associated school(s). The exact location of this option may vary slightly depending on whether you’re using the web or mobile app.
• Add another account: �To add another account, follow the prompts to sign in to another account. Once authenticated, that account will be added to your account switcher.
• Log out: �You can log out of all accounts at once by using the "Log out" button.

Links:

• FAQs
• Watch Video

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www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

New This Year

www.parentsquare.com

Know when your message was read (for staff only)

When you send a 1:1 direct message, you’ll now see if it was read. That way, you’re never left guessing.

Truly silent outside your office hours

You’ve always been able to set office hours — but soon, we will silence notifications outside those times. Before, we just showed them a warning. Now, your downtime will be respected. Learn More

Improved translations powered by Google Gemini

We will soon upgrade our translation engine from Google Translate to Google Gemini. That means families get more accurate, natural-sounding translations, helping you reach them more effectively — especially in languages with regional or informal variation. Learn More

Coming Soon:

Get a unique text message thread for every message

Messages you send (DMs, class, group posts) will soon use separate 10-digit phone numbers, not one shared 5-digit short code. That means it is easier to track texting and save contacts — just like Remind. Learn More

Multiple Ways to Communicate with Families

www.parentsquare.com

Mobile-Friendly and Familiar Website

Native iOS and Android Apps

Text Notifications

Email and Push Notifications

[Lincoln] Justin Williams, was absent from 1st Period today, Oct 25.�Call 555-622-3634 x 1011 or click�http://psqr.io/ZNeCYi2YH to excuse.

[Lincoln] First meeting this Friday http://psqr.io/ANeCRTi6

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

ParentSquare Website Overview

www.parentsquare.com

• Main News Feed
• Navigation
• Toggle Views

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Communicate in ParentSquare: Posts

www.parentsquare.com

Post Overview

Choose When to Contact Parents

IMPORTANT!

Select “Send instantly” for information that families need to receive right away.

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Posts

www.parentsquare.com

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Posts: Newsletters Using StudioEditor

www.parentsquare.com

A new, user-friendly tool to design and create visually appealing newsletters, announcements, and other communications within ParentSquare. Any user with posting permission can create a post using Studio Editor.

About

FAQs

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Communicate in ParentSquare: Direct Messages

www.parentsquare.com

Good for one-on-one or

small group communication

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Additional ParentSquare Uses

www.parentsquare.com

Attendance

Alerts

Daily attendance is taken in e-School.

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Data syncs with ParentSquare.

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Messages are generated from ParentSquare and sent to parents.

Sent by the District or Principal

Can send via email, text, post, and phone call (text to voice and can record voice as well).

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Smart Alert - quick message that doesn’t need to go on the feed. Important information, but not an emergency.

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Emergency Alert - snow or other weather alert, school closure, building-level or district-level emergency notification

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Best Practices

www.parentsquare.com

Train Your Audience: When will you post? Monday Morning Updates? Wednesday Check-in? Friday Recap? Train families when to expect a summary of important updates.

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Don’t Spam: Think about the flow of information. You don’t want to be too “noisy” where your posts get tuned out. Be strategic. You can make posts without sending notifications - parents can check your classroom feeds to see updates as well.

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Insert Images: You may want to attach items to your message, but also include a jpg (or screenshot) of your message. Like social media, you want to get your message right in front of your audience. Also, click on your image and drag the corner to make your image bigger. If you post an image, include a message, call to action, or description so parents know exactly what you want them to know or do.

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Best Practices

www.parentsquare.com

One-Step at a Time:�ParentSquare offers a lot of features for teachers, but it can be overwhelming to try to learn everything at once. Posting a message is a great first step. Start with one task and build from there.

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Timing:

Schedule all Posts to Parents to arrive between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. to respect time boundaries

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Notification Options:

Make sure that you select “Send instantly” for messages that need to reach families immediately. The default is “Send at user preferred time”.

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ParentSquare 3-Minute Overview Video

www.parentsquare.com

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Additional Training & Resources

www.parentsquare.com

Drop-in Training Sessions on Teams (Link)

• Weds, August 27 @ 12 p.m. - 1 p.m.

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• Tues, September 2 @ 9 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m. - 2 p.m.
• Weds, September 3 @ 1 p.m. - 2 p.m.
• Thurs, September 4 @ 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
• Weds, 9/10 @ 11:30 a.m. - 12:30 a.m.
• Weds, 9/17 @ 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.
• Weds, 9/24 @ 3 p.m. - 4 p.m.

Info page on website:

https://williampennsd.org/parentsquare/

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ParentSquare Resources:

https://parentsquare.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

Getting Started - Teachers

Teacher Training 101

www.parentsquare.com • 888-496-3168

Additional Training & Resources

www.parentsquare.com

Email Support

webcontent@wpsd.k12.pa.us

�ParentSquare Form

Submit a request for help here.