Communicating with Students and Families

Families, students, and teachers all benefit when strong communication channels exist around school and classroom events.

Methods abound for achieving this purpose:

E-mail: 

1. Gmail Group. Your student's school email addresses are available as class reports in Infinite Campus. From the Index menu in Infinite Campus Tools, there is a Parent E-mail Report by Section and a Student E-mail Report by Section. These can be saved as Excel, Text, PDF or other formats from which you can copy/paste. From here you can create a Gmail Group by class. (Gmail>Contacts>New Group...paste your class e-mail list in...)
2. School Messenger. This web-based app is built into Infinite Campus and is largely used by administrative support staff to communicate with families. It is though available to teachers as well both for e-mails and texts based on IC class lists. School Messenger allows you to send an e-mail to all of your students and/or their parents without copying/pasting any addresses. (Here is the more detailed version of the directions.) The Communications Department also has some tips and guidelines for when to use phone calls, texts, and e-mails.
   
   • Using the Campus Tools version of IC: CHOOSE: User Communication>School Messenger. You'll be creating a New Broadcast, then constructing the e-mail that you'd like to send. You'll then decide which of your classes you want to receive that e-mail.

Texting

1. Google Voice. You can set up a Google Voice number from which you can call and/or text your students and their parents. This can be both app-based or web-based and is free and independent from your personal cell phone number.
2. School Messenger. This web-based app is built into Infinite Campus and is largely used by administrative support staff to communicate with families. It is though available to teachers as well both for e-mails and texts based on IC class lists. School Messenger allows you to send an e-mail to all of your students and/or their parents without copying/pasting any addresses. (Here is the more detailed version of the directions.) The Communications Department also has some tips and guidelines for when to use phone calls, texts, and e-mails.
   
   • Using the Campus Tools version of IC: CHOOSE: User Communication>School Messenger. You'll be creating a New Broadcast, then constructing the e-mail that you'd like to send. You'll then decide which of your classes you want to receive that e-mail.
3. Remind. This is a third-party site that has parents/students opting in to class texts.

Blog

Blogger is a Google App that allows you to create a blog for parents and students to access.

Infinite Campus

Each building has both instructional support staff and non-instructional support staff related to Infinite Campus. You can find out who your building's contacts are here.

1. Access Log. Generate this report to find out when, if, and how often families and students are accessing IC. This can give you a heads-up as to who may need support to access this resource.

In order to generate this report:

• Using the Campus Tools version of IC: CHOOSE: Instruction>Reports>Portal Usage
• Using the Campus Instruction Beta version of IC: CHOOSE: Reports (Roster)>Select a Report>Portal Usage

2. Family Contact Information. You can generate a list of contact information for your classes making it easier to contact parents by phone/text (maybe to invite them to conferences!)

• Using the Campus Instruction Beta version of IC: CHOOSE: Roster>Report Options>Show guardian contact info