ParentSquare

Stay Connected with ParentSquare

Santa Fe ISD uses ParentSquare as our primary platform for school communication. Families receive messages through email, app, voice, or text, helping everyone stay informed and involved.

An account is automatically created for each parent or guardian using the contact information in our student information system. We encourage you to activate your account to download the free mobile app, set your language preferences, and choose how and when you’d like to receive messages.

What you can do with ParentSquare:

Receive updates from your school via email, app, or text notification
Choose to get posts as they’re shared or bundled in a daily digest
View posts, photos, calendars, and important announcements
Communicate in your preferred language with automatic translation
Comment on school posts and stay engaged with your school community
Send direct messages to teachers and staff
Participate in group conversations with other families
Sign up for conferences and school events
Fill out forms, sign permission slips, make payments, and view report cards—all in one place

Parents—Getting Started Video

All district and school, grade level, and classroom information will now be sent to your computer or phone via email and/or text. For even more convenience, download the ParentSquare app (available for free for iOS and Android devices).

Getting Started

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How is my communication managed?

You can receive communication from the District, school, and classroom by email, text, phone call, app, or the ParentSquare website. We have set the ParentSquare default to instant, which means you will receive a notification when SFISD staff post new information in ParentSquare.

You can change your notification preferences, including your preferred language of communication, on your ParentSquare account page. Some families and students may prefer to set their notifications to digest, so they can receive all messages from the student's school in one notification at 6 p.m., rather than instantly. See the Frequently Asked Questions below for directions.

ParentSquare FAQs

How do I activate my ParentSquare account?

How do I change or reset my password?

Reset Password on WEB BROWSER

Sign out of your ParentSquare account (click your name and select Sign Out.)
From the sign in page, http://www.parentsquare.com/signin, click Forgot Password under the password field.
Enter the Email or Phone Number associated with your ParentSquare account and click Go.
If you entered your mobile phone number you'll receive directions via text.
If you entered your email address you'll receive an email. Click Reset your password. Follow the instructions to create a new password.
If you enter an email address or phone number that is not associated with your ParentSquare account, you will be taken to a form to provide information to your school to add you. This may take a day or so. Please follow up with your school.

Reset Password on the APP

If you are SIGNED IN to the app:

Tap the menu (three bars) at top left.
Select Account.
Select Change Password.
Check your email or text messages for the verification code. Enter the six digit code into Reset Password Code and tap Verify.
Follow the instructions to enter a new password.

If you are SIGNED OUT of the app:

From the Sign In screen, enter your email or phone number associated with your ParentSquare account.
Click Continue.
Click Forgot Password.
Check your email (if you used an email address) or text messages (if you used a phone number) for the verification code. Enter the six digit code into Reset Password Code and tap Verify.
Enter a new password, tap Change Password.

Confirmation shows password successfully changed.

How do I update my email address or phone number?

ParentSquare syncs contact information directly from the school student information system, Skyward, which is managed, updated and controlled by administrators at your school. Contact information changes must be made in Skyward before they appear in ParentSquare.

If you need to update your contact information contact your campus registrar. Verify that each of your children have the same email address and mobile phone number listed for you.

When the contact information has been updated in SKyward, ParentSquare will reflect the updated contact information the following day, after the overnight sync.

How do I opt-in to receive messages and notifications?

You can customize your post notifications based on type and delivery method.

Instant: sends all post notifications in real-time.
Digest: sends all posts for the day in one single digest at the end of the day (recommended.)

Posts sent as immediate, as well as direct messages and alerts, will still be delivered instantly. For more on notification settings or to watch a video, click here.

What is the difference between posts, alerts, and messages in ParentSquare?

When a parent logs into ParentSquare, they can view their children. Parents will see all children associated with their ParentSquare account, even if their child is at another school site or district (if all schools/districts use ParentSquare).

Children:

In the upper left, see a quick view of your children, with grade level and school.

Posts:

From Home, select Posts in the left sidebar. Here you can view all the posts that pertain to your student(s).

Messages:

From Home, select Messages in the left sidebar. Here you can view any messages from teachers or staff.

Parents can send a message to a teacher or staff member if they have a question. Click New Message to start your message. For more, see View, Send or Reply to a Direct Message.

Note: This feature is optional and may be turned off by your school administration.

Classes:

Select a student from the top left. Here you'll see the Classes section which allows parents to view their child's classes.

How do I view, send, or reply to direct messages?

When you sign in to ParentSquare, your main feed shows Posts. Another way to communicate is by Messages (also called Direct Messages), meant for communicating with one or a few individuals. ParentSquare allows parents to send a message to a teacher or school staff member. Some schools allow parents to message other parents.

You will receive a notification from your child's school when a message is sent to you. You can choose how you want to receive notifications: by text, email and/or app notification. You do not have to be logged in or have a registered account to receive notifications. However, when you are logged in to ParentSquare, you can view messages for each of your children's schools within one account.

View Messages

View Messages Using Web Browser

Check school name at top left and if you need to switch schools, click Switch School and select the school.
From Home, select Messages on the left.
The middle column displays active conversations. It displays name(s) and the beginning of the message. Click a message to see the entire message. Use the scroll bar to see the full conversation. New and unread message threads are at the top of your feed.
Click the "i" to see other members in a group conversation.
Click the printer to print the conversation.
Click the trash can to delete the entire conversation. Note: this deletes it from your account only, and not for the other members of the conversation.

View Messages Using Mobile App

Check school name at top and if you need to switch schools, tap menu icon (three bars) at top left, select Schools, then specific school.
Tap Messages icon at the bottom.
The most recent message received in a conversation, and the name(s) of the people in the conversation are displayed. Tap the message to see the entire conversation.
Tap the "i" to see more information, including a list of all people in the conversation and any photos or attachments.

Send a Message

Send a Message Using a Web Browser

If you are messaging a teacher, be sure you are viewing the appropriate school. To switch schools, click Switch School at top left and select the school.
From Home, select Messages in left sidebar.

Click New Message then select Direct Message or Group Conversation.

Direct Message	Create a separate conversation for each recipient. Like BCCs in email, each person sees only messages from you.
Group Conversation	Create one conversation for everyone. Like CCs in email, each person sees messages from others in the group.

Search by name, or click Add by Quick Select to see a list of recipients.

To add recipients in the Recipients field, enter the first 3 or more letters of the recipient's name (or their child's name) and select the intended recipient. Add additional recipients as needed.
Type your Message.
(Optional) Click paper clip icon to attach a photo or file or the microphone icon to record a voice clip.
Click Send. Message will be sent immediately.

Send a Message Using the Mobile App

Check school name at top and if you need to switch schools, tap menu icon (three bars) at top left, select Schools, then specific school.
Tap Messages at the bottom.
Tap the + (plus icon) at top.

Select Direct Message or Group Conversation.

Direct Message	Create a separate conversation for each recipient. Like BCCs in email, each person sees only messages from you.
Group Conversation	Create one conversation for everyone. Like CCs in email, each person sees messages from others in the group.

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Tap on the name(s) in the quick select list, then tap Add at the top.
Type your message in the New Message field.
Tap the paper clip to attach photos or files.
Tap Send. Message will be sent immediately.

React to a Message

React to a Message You Receive – with an Emoji!

Let others know you received their message with a simple emoji reaction. When you receive a Direct Message you can react with an emoji (thumbs up, heart and smile) - and you can use more than one. This works on private and group messages. For more, see the help article or watch a video here.

In a web browser, select a message, then click the reaction icon and choose an emoji.
Select a reaction: thumbs up, heart or smile. Repeat to add more than one.

Mobile App:

In the mobile app, tap on a message to view, then tap the reaction icon. Note: If you don't see the reaction icon, long press on the message.
Select a reaction: thumbs up, heart or smile. Repeat to add more than one.

Reply to a Message

Reply to a Message Received via Email

When you see this message, "You can also reply to this email," you can reply in your email program. You do not need to sign in to ParentSquare to reply.
If "Reply via Email" has been disabled, you will need to click View or Reply button to respond.
Note: Do not click "Reply" in your email client software; it will be sent to "donotreply@parentsqare.com" (and not seen by anyone).

Reply to a Message Received via Text

You can reply by SMS when you receive a message without logging in to ParentSquare
If your school has disabled the “Reply by SMS” option, you will need to click on the link in the text message to reply. Note: do not reply directly to the text; you will receive an error message that says “Could not send message”.

Reply to a Message Received via App Notification

Tap the app notification to open the ParentSquare app. Follow the instructions above, View Messages Using Mobile App, to locate the conversation and respond.