HELPFUL GUIDES

• Getting Started Guide English
• Getting Started Guide Spanish
• Getting Started with ParentSquare English
• Getting Started with ParentSquare Spanish
• Introduction Slides to ParentSquare English
• Introduction Slides to ParentSquare Spanish

To ensure messages from known addresses or domains like ParentSquare don't get moved to your junk email folder, add them to your “Safe Senders” list. This process is often referred to as “Whitelisting”.

• Spam Filters: Email providers have filters to protect you from unwanted emails, often called “spam.” Sometimes, though, these filters can be too strict and block emails you want to receive.
• Whitelisting: When you whitelist an email domain, you’re telling your email service that emails from that domain are safe and should always go directly to your inbox, not the spam folder.

Follow the instructions below for the email service you use. 

Hotmail

1. Log in and click the “Settings” icon at the upper right-hand corner of the page. 
2. Choose “More Mail Settings” option. 
3. Under “Preventing junk email” section, 
4. click “Domain to mark as safe”. 
5. Click “Safe senders”.
6. In the “Sender or domain to mark as safe” field, enter  @parentsquare.com   and click “Add to list”

Additionally, this issue may occur due to conflicts with the junk email filter settings. We recommend changing the level of your junk email filtering through Settings (the dial flower image)> Options > Mail > Junk email > Filters and reporting.

Note:

• Standard does the typical amount of email filtering. Any message that the filter determines is junk is sent to your Junk Email folder.
• Exclusive is very restrictive. It only trusts new messages that come from members of your Safe Senders list and your Safe mailing list. It also trusts alerts that you have signed up for and service announcements. All other messages are put in the Junk Email folder.

Outlook Desktop (Windows/Mac)

1. Open Outlook and go to the Home tab.
2. Click on Junk > Junk E-mail Options.
3. In the Junk E-mail Options window, go to the Safe Senders tab.
4. Click on Add.
5. Enter @parentsquare.com in the field and click OK.
6. Ensure that the box for "Also trust e-mail from my Contacts" is checked, and click OK to save your changes.

Outlook Web App (OWA) and Hotmail

1. Log in to your Outlook Web App or Hotmail (via a browser).
2. Click on the Settings gear icon in the top right corner.
3. Select View all Outlook settings at the bottom.
4. Go to Mail > Junk email.
5. Under Safe senders and domains, click Add.
6. Type @parentsquare.com and hit Enter.
7. Click Save.

Gmail

1. Log in to your Gmail account.
2. Click on the Settings gear icon and select See all settings.
3. Go to the Filters and Blocked Addresses tab.
4. Scroll down and click on Create a new filter.
5. In the From field, type @parentsquare.com.
6. Click on Create filter.
7. In the next window, check the box that says Never send it to Spam.
8. Click Create filter.

Yahoo Mail

1. Log in to Yahoo Mail.
2. Click on the Settings gear icon and select More Settings.
3. Go to Filters and click on Add new filters.
4. Name the filter (e.g., "ParentSquare").
5. In the From field, type @parentsquare.com.
6. Choose the folder where you want these emails to be delivered (usually Inbox).
7. Click Save.

Apple Mail (iCloud)

1. Open the iCloud Mail in a browser.
2. Click on the Settings gear icon in the sidebar and choose Rules.
3. Click Add a Rule.
4. In the If a message is from field, select ends with and type @parentsquare.com.
5. In the Then field, select Move to Inbox.
6. Click Done.

Thunderbird

1. Open Thunderbird.
2. Go to Tools > Message Filters.
3. Click on New to create a new filter.
4. Name the filter (e.g., "ParentSquare").
5. Set the condition to From contains @parentsquare.com.
6. Set the action to Move Message to and select Inbox (or a specific folder).
7. Click OK to save the filter.

 

IP Addresses Used by ParentSquare

• ParentSquare uses the following IP addresses to send email to users. Your organization may need these IP addresses to add to a whitelist, configure a firewall or troubleshoot delivery issues. 149.72.167.40
• 149.72.219.152
• 159.183.202.245
• 168.245.36.196
• 198.37.152.244

Parents should be seeing all of their children in one ParentSquare account and should be receiving notifications.

ParentSquare gets data from the schools. Most schools put their data in a Student Information System (SIS) such as Aeries or PowerSchool. ParentSquare syncs nightly with the SIS. Changes to parent names and contact information should be made in the SIS. ParentSquare will show those changes after the nightly sync. 

• Data tip: Parents/guardians can share an email or phone number. Children using StudentSquare should use their own email and/or phone number if they have one.
• Sign in tip: Parents can sign into ParentSquare on a computer web browser using their email or cell phone number. You can be on your computer and sign in with your cell phone number!
• Notifications tip: Add the following to your contacts to prevent calls and emails from being marked as spam or junk:
  • • the school phone number.
    • the numbers 60710, 66458, 87366 & 36794 (Add them as additional phone numbers. These are the numbers that ParentSquare texts will come from.)
    • for email, see Safe Senders Settings for ParentSquare.

Parents

If you can't sign into ParentSquare with your email or phone number, please contact your child's school. 

If you can sign in, please follow these steps:

1. Check your email and phone number in ParentSquare. Click on your name in the top right and click My Account. If corrections need to be made, please contact your child's school with the correct information.
2. Check your Notification Preferences on My Account page. Are your notification preferences on?
3. Check your spam folder for emails from donotreply@parentsquare.com.
4. Add the domain ParentSquare.com or the email address donotreply@parentsquare.com to the safe senders list in your email client (Gmail, Yahoo, aol, etc.) You can search online how to do this. If using Gmail:
   • Go to Settings.
   • At the bottom of the pane, click Mail.
   • In the left pane, select Mail > Accounts > Block or allow.
   • Under Blocked Senders, select the address or domain you want to unblock, and then select.
5. Text the word START to 66458. This will resume text messaging to your phone.

 

Admin

If a parent reports that they aren't receiving notifications, you can follow these steps.

1. Check Admin > Parents (under Data Assistant is left sidebar.) Search for the parent's name. If the parent is not there, or if the parent is there but their information is wrong, you will need to update your SIS (Aeries, PowerSchool, etc). Please check ParentSquare the following day for the correction.
2. If the parent is listed with correct information, please click on their name to view their account page. Are there any warnings or errors flagged on their account page? If you get an error message that you can't fix, please contact ParentSquare Support with the parent's contact information and their error message.
3. Check the parent's notification settings. Turn on any notifications that might be off.
4. Check the delivery statistics of a post that went out to the whole school yesterday or earlier. (Delivery stats are still updating for posts sent today.) Search for the parent's name and view the status.
5. Ask the parent to add the parentsquare.com domain or donotreply@parentsquare.com to their email client's safe senders list. If their email status indicates "Spam Report" and the parent has verified that the address is correct and are no longer marking notifications as spam, navigate to their account page to resume sending emails to that address.
6. Ask the parent to send a text to the number 66458 with the message START. This will resume text messaging if they have blocked text messaging on their phone. 

Related Help Articles:

• Notification Settings
• View Delivery Statistics for a Post

See https://parentsquare.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360058859971-How-to-Confirm-Your-Contact-Information#h_01HATHYPZ7SBVB0ZE7NKM1ZT1M

In order to keep your contact information up-to-date, your school may need you to verify your information.  

To update your student/family-guardian contact information, please email your school registrar with the updated contact information:

• Grades TK-5: Jennie Franks 
• Grades 6-12: Gay Bits
• ALE: Jamie Zundel
• SWA: Christine Amundson

Article in Spanish: Puede ir aquí para acceder al artículo de ayuda en español.

• FAQ
• Troubleshooting

Contact Verifications at Your School

ParentSquare works with your school to keep contact information accurate. You can view, confirm or suggest corrections to your contact information. If you are both a staff member and parent, you can combine accounts.

What You Need to Do

• Sign In: Sign in to ParentSquare (on web browser or mobile app.)  
• Confirm: You may be asked to confirm your contact information. Follow the instructions, and to confirm, a verification code will be sent that is valid for 10 minutes. 
   

 

How to Confirm Your Contact Information

Confirm Using Web Browser

1. Log in to your main ParentSquare account.
2. If you have unverified contact information, you will see one or more contact cards under, "Action Required: Confirm Your Account Information".
3. Confirm Email and/or Phone. Click:
   • Confirm Email or Phone:  A verification code will be sent to the email or phone number. Enter verification code to confirm.
   • Edit Email or Phone:  Correct your email and/or phone number. A verification code will be sent to your corrected email or phone number. Enter verification code to confirm.
   • Skip For Now: You will be able to verify or correct your contact information the next time you sign in. (You'll continue to receive notifications.)
4. Confirm Child(ren). Click Confirm or Not My Child for each child.
5. Confirm your name and school affiliations. Click Yes, Merge This Contact or No, Keep Separate.  
   
   
    
6. A pop-up window will ask you to confirm by clicking Yes, I'm positive. 
7. If you clicked Skip For Now on any information on a contact card, you will not see the choice, "Yes, Merge This Contact", and must select Skip For Now or This is Not Me.
   
   
    
8. Your school will be notified of corrections in order to update their student information system. After school updates information, it will show in your account. Depending on your school’s settings, you may see the corrected email or phone number immediately in your account or the following day.

 

Confirm Using Mobile App

1. Log in to your main ParentSquare account.
2. If you have unverified contact information, you will see one or more contact cards under, "Action Required" and "Confirm Your Account Info"
3. Tap arrow to the right of Email, Phone, and Child to confirm or edit.
   
   
    
4. Select Confirm, Edit or Skip For Now. Repeat for phone number. 
   • Verify Email or Phone: Tap Confirm. A verification code will be sent to the email or phone number. Enter verification code to confirm.
   • Correction to Email or Phone: Tap Edit and enter correct email and/or phone number. A verification code will be sent to your corrected email or phone number. Enter verification code to confirm.
   • Skip For Now: You will be able to verify or correct your contact information the next time you sign in. (You'll continue to receive notifications.)
5. Confirm Child(ren): Tap Confirm or I am not associated with this child for each child.
6. Tap Yes, Merge This Contact or No, Keep Separate.
   Note: If you selected Skip For Now on any information on a contact card, you will not see the choice, "Yes, Merge This Contact", and must select Skip For Now or No, Keep Separate. 
   
   
    
7. Your school is notified of corrections in order to update their student information system. After school updates information, it will show in your account. Depending on your school’s settings, you may see the corrected email or phone number immediately in your account, or the following day.

 

 

FAQ

Q: How do I combine existing accounts? 

• If you receive an invitation email or text, this may mean that you have more than one account. Open the invitation and click the link Sign in to Combine Existing Account. You can also combine accounts later in My Account settings.
  
  
   

 

Q: Can I still log in using the same email or phone number as before?

Yes, you can log in using the same information as before.

 

 

Q: Will I be sent through this process every time I log in?

No, after you complete the verification process, nothing else is needed unless your contact information changes.

 

 

Q: Can users share an email and/or phone number?

Yes, family members can share an email or phone number and yet have different accounts. However, if one account is a staff account, they can only be accessed with staff email/phone.

 

 

Q: How does a user sign in when they share an email or phone number with another user?

If you are using the same email/phone AND password or Google Sign In, when you sign in you will select your own name. 

 

 

Q: Can parents have more than one email or phone number?

Each contact (staff or parent record) has only one email and phone associated with it. A parent account can have multiple contacts, with multiple emails and phone numbers if they have different emails/phones for each child in the school database or across districts. Staff who are also parents can have multiple emails/phones. 

After verifying your contacts, you can set your preferred order of contacts in which to receive notifications. 

 

 

Q: How does a staff user sign in that is also a parent?

Staff will need to sign in using their staff contact information. If they enter their (shared) parent contact information they will get this message, "The email/phone you entered is linked to a staff account but is not your staff email/phone. Please use your staff email/phone.”

 

 

Q: Can I add my own email and phone number?

You are ONLY allowed to add an email or phone if none exists. Otherwise you can only edit existing emails/phones.

 

 

Q: How can I confirm my contact information if I skipped it when I signed in?

1. The next time you sign out and then sign in again, you'll be asked to verify your contact information. 
2. OR, when you are signed in to ParentSquare, click on your name in the upper right and select My Account. Go to the yellow box, Missing kids, schools or contact info? and select Confirm Contact Info.
   
   
    
3.  Follow the steps above to confirm.

 

 

Q: How do I verify a landline phone number?

ParentSquare doesn't manage landlines, so there is no need to verify. If asked to verify the phone number, click, Skip for Now. 

 

 

 

Troubleshooting Tips

Q: I never received my verification code by email or text, can I have it resent?

For security purposes, email and text verification codes are only valid for 10 minutes after they are requested. If you need another code, click Resend Code. If you request a new code, the previous code(s) will still be valid for those 10 minutes.

If you are still unable to receive the verification, try these notification troubleshooting tips.

 

 

Q: What happens if a parent or guardian accidentally rejects their child (clicks Not My Child) during verification?

If you're a parent or guardian, please contact your school.

 

 

How to contact your school. 

If you've tried all the above troubleshooting tips and still have questions, please contact your school. 

1. Click ? icon next to your name, then select Contact School.
   
   
    
2. On the mobile app, tap the three bars at top left, then tap Help. 

• Can I access communications for more than one of my students from the same account?

  Yes. The first time that you log into the app or web portal, all of your students should automatically be listed in the upper left corner. If you don’t see them, please contact your school office. 

• Can I change the email and/or cell phone number on my account?

  If you wish to change your contact information, please contact your school to update the information in Skyward.  Skyward syncs nightly with ParentSquare to update information.

• English is not my first language. How can I receive content in my native language?

  You can customize your language settings by going to "My Account" and clicking "Change This" under language settings. From there, you can choose any language that you prefer from the drop-down menu, and you’ll start to receive content in that language. 

• How do I change my password?

  Please go to parentsquare.com and on the login page, click "Forgot Password." Put in your email or phone number, and you’ll be sent a link to reset your password. 

• How do I sign up or opt-in to receive messages and notifications?

  You don’t have to take any action to receive emails, texts or phone calls. Our student information system syncs contact information directly with ParentSquare. If you want to utilize the app, simply download it from the app store and follow the prompts.

• I am getting too many messages through ParentSquare. Is it possible to receive fewer notifications?

  You can customize your notification settings by going to your homepage and clicking on your name in the top right corner and selecting "My Account" from the drop-down menu. On your account page, you find your notification settings in the top right corner and click "Change This" to customize your notifications. If you are receiving too many notifications, try changing to "digest" setting, meaning you’ll only receive one condensed message in the evening, around 6 p.m.

• Is it possible to contact my child's teacher directly and privately?

  You can contact your child's teacher privately by using the direct messaging tool. On the home page, click on "Messaging" in the left sidebar. From there, you can send a direct message to your child's teacher that only you and the teacher can see. 

• My email is correct in ParentSquare. Why am I not receiving emails?

  Please check your spam to see if any ParentSquare messages ended up there and mark them as "Not Spam." Also add donotreply@parentsquare.com to your email contacts so your server recognizes our messages. If you still aren’t receiving emails, please contact your school office. 

• What are the message/alert/notification categories, and what do they mean?

  You can choose to receive messages via email, text, voice and/or the app. While you can opt out of any of these methods of communication, please note that the district has the discretion to override opt-outs for messages and alerts deemed urgent or important, including health and safety situations and attendance. 

Tips for Parents & Guardians

1. Activate your account 

• Click the link in your activation email/text, or sign up on parentsquare.com or via the ParentSquare app.

2. Download App

• It's easy to stay in the loop with the ParentSquare app. Download it now for iOS or Android devices.

3. Set Preferences

• Click your name in the top right to set your notification and language preferences.

4. Get Photos & Files

• Click 'Photos & Files' in sidebar to access pictures, forms, and documents that have been shared with you.

5. Appreciate Posts

• Click 'Appreciate' in your email/app or website to thank a teacher or staff member for a post.

6. Comment or Reply

• Click 'Comment' in app or website to privately ask a question about the post that your teacher or school sent.

7. Participate

• Click 'Sign Ups & RSVPs' in the sidebar to see available opportunities. Click bell on top to check your commitments.

8. Join a Group

• Click 'Groups' in the sidebar to join a group or committee at your school to participate or stay up to date.

9. Find People

• Click 'Directory' in the sidebar to find contact information for school staff.

10. Get in Touch

• Click 'Messages' in the sidebar to privately get in touch with staff and teachers.