June 10: ParentSquare Launches to All School Staff & Parents

Beginning Monday, June 10, all Lakota schools will begin using a new, more unified school-to-home communication tool called ParentSquare. The platform, which was piloted at eight schools for the last month, will replace the current notification system for sending email, phone and text alerts to families and staff.

No action will be required to continue receiving important communications at the phone numbers and email addresses already verified via FinalForms (or for staff, added to our previous notification system). Users will also automatically benefit from ParentSquare’s more powerful translation features, which deliver most messages to you in your preferred language.

Staff and parents should be on the lookout for a communication on June 10 from their school(s) for the 2024-2025 school year. Parents and staff will be invited to log into ParentSquare to set notification preferences and also download the free app for on-the-go access to principal and district-level alerts in ONE place.In the meantime, please take a few minutes to watch this Getting Started with ParentSquare video for parents and guardians.

The shift to ParentSquare is a direct response to survey feedback that prioritized a more centralized tool for school-to-home communications. While the video goes into a wide range of features, Lakota will only be using posts and Smart Alerts at this time. We look forward to eventually using ParentSquare as a true hub that includes teacher and classroom communication in addition to other custom group messaging, direct messaging and tools like volunteer sign-ups and permission slips.

Staff & Parents at ParentSquare Pilot Schools

To get the most out of the platform and take advantage of options to customize your Lakota communications, parents and staff at any of the pilot schools - Liberty ECS, Cherokee, Endeavor, Union, Liberty Jr., Ridge Jr., Lakota East (main campus only) and Lakota West (main campus only) - are encouraged to take these steps: 

1. Log into your ParentSquare account via OneLogin to set your notification preferences for receiving school and district emails, text messages or app alerts instantly or via a daily digest. (Email and text default to "digest," while app notifications default to "instant.") Lakota will override these settings when sending an urgent, time-sensitive alert. You can also update the language preference that is automatically set based on Lakota’s records.
    
2. Download the free app (iOS or Android version) for on-the-go access to your principal and district-level alerts in ONE place. You can also search "LLSD ParentSquare" from your app store. Teachers will not be using ParentSquare to communicate classroom updates at this time. 
    
3. Review the contact information Lakota has on file for you. All updates must still be made through FinalForms via OneLogin. Staff will be able to add or edit their phone number within ParentSquare.
    
4. Help us make improvements. Complete our ParentSquare feedback form to share your experience with the new platform.