How to Choose the Right School Communication App for Your School Community: Guiding Considerations

Introduction

With rising parent expectations and stakeholder pressure to get it right, you are up for a challenging task.

Should you go with the known actors rooted in the school communication space with mass notifications and e-blasts, or try out a newcomer like School Signals, which has entered the market with fresh eyes and is ready to tackle 360-communication and parent engagement?

This guide is not a bullet-point feature comparison between different school software systems and apps. While these comparisons are helpful in understanding where the software/app belongs in the school software space, they are also more of a marketing strategy rather than an accurate description of how any given app solves your communication needs. Instead, I will guide you through several key parameters to encourage you to stay true to your vision and needs for school communication and parent engagement.

Apps, Apps Everywhere

The good news is that you have many school communication apps to choose from. The not-so-great news is that the number of available school apps may make your head dizzy even after one internet search session. You will see similarities and differences, varying visual appeal, selling marketing messaging, and promises of communication efficiency.

Each communication app has its own set of features that overlap and differentiate. Some companies may have many SIS systems behind them that may pique your interest. Some companies emphasize one-way message delivery, others K12 parent-teacher messaging, and some student data-based parent communication.

While considering these factors and what’s important to you, don’t lose your standards on parameters that should be shared between all communication systems and apps in the market. Standards such as the smoothness of onboarding, data loading times, usability, notifications delivery, and access to customer support are non-negotiables for a software product. Technology solutions should work for you, and if an app acts choppy or does not have the features you need, the chances are that there is another app more suitable for your needs.

Standards such as the smoothness of onboarding, data loading times, usability, notifications delivery, and access to customer support are non-negotiables for a software product.

Look for answers to the following questions when evaluating an app, and be sure to request enough time to try out the app yourself with fellow school admins and teachers before signing up.

How is the Parent Experience?

Parents will be the key users of the system, yet their voice is seldom heard when a school selects a communication system. However, your school’s communication and engagement strategy won’t work if you cannot get parents on board – figuratively and literally. Reach out to a few key PTA members and active parent volunteers who are invested in your school’s mission. They can be system testers during the free trial and early setup stages.

• Is parent onboarding easy for the system? How many steps do parents need to take?
• Can parents be automatically added to relevant classrooms and groups, or do parents need to enter an invitation code each time?
• Is the app readily available for download in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store?
• Do parents easily understand the platform’s purpose, without relying on help articles or needing to reach the school?

How is the School Admin’s Experience with Onboarding?

As a school administrator, learning a new system should not be a headache-inducing experience. Look for elegance and ease-of-use, and allow yourself to ask:

• Can I sync the school’s SIS data for faster onboarding?
• Are the user interfaces intuitive?
• Do the data fields match how my school enters and processes information?
• Is the system quick to learn and pleasant to use?
• Is customer support readily available to support the onboarding and answer questions?

Is the School Communication Mobile App Actually Easy to Use?

Most school communication platforms sync with a mobile app or run their entire system on the app. Evaluate the importance of “the school communication/messaging app” in your communication strategy. Will parents be expected to use the app? What about admins and teachers? And, what if your stakeholders don’t want to download the app and prefer an office experience on their laptops?

• Does the mobile app support all functions, or is it a silo with limited features?
• Can school administrators perform all actions using the app?
• Is there a function that can only be done in the app and not on desktop? (This can be limiting, too.)
• Is the mobile app mandatory, or can you use the system without the app, too?

Are You Learning Quickly or Struggling When Using the System? 

 If you feel a process in the platform or app is just too complicated, it is, and not because you are not a quick learner.

It is a trend to say that the systems are easy to use, when the reality can be a far cry. Trust your gut. Learning a system shouldn’t be overly complicated, but an exciting process where you feel you are building your user skills fast. All systems and apps should be designed to respect the user. If you feel a process in the platform or app is just too complicated, it is, and not because you are not a quick learner. Look into:

• Do I understand the purpose of the feature?
• Can I effortlessly locate the key action of the page/feature?
• Does the system have most of the communication and engagement features I need?
• Can I easily create content or add communication without relying on help articles or videos?
• If I leave the page, can I find it easily?
• Can I remove or delete content easily?
• Can I edit or modify content easily?
• Can I find my notification settings and adjust them in a reasonable amount of time?
• Does the system utilize AI to help me create communication, translate communication, and monitor communications to ensure that they meet my community’s standards?

Can the Company Clearly Demonstrate Its Solutions That Are Important To You?

Ask for in-person demonstrations so that you can see for yourself whether the offered solutions meet your actual needs.

Write down your list of critical school communication features you need and request that companies answer how to meet them. Ask for in-person demonstrations so that you can see for yourself whether the offered solutions meet your actual needs. Technology and software companies tend to stretch reality by saying that you can do this or that, when the solution they may offer is a workaround.

As an example, we at School Signals offer custom online form creation, where you can request parents to answer various questions. You can also create these online forms for PTA groups and Board centers. If we were to get a question, “Do you offer board voting?”, it would be misleading to state that we do based on our use of online forms that “in theory” could be utilized for voting with their fill-only-once rule that we have in place. In our case, the answer would be no, or only for informal social voting, not for official purposes. I strongly encourage any school looking for technology solutions to request a clear demonstration of the features they need.

Another thing: Unless you truly know the company and their practices, “currently under works” or “currently in pipeline” are statements to buy time from critical customers rather than promises of deliverables that you should trust. Even the best-intending companies may falter and exceed expected timelines. Buy and evaluate only what you can see.

Are you comparing Apples to Apples or Apples and Oranges?

We’ve all seen those matrix lists (and yes, at School Signals, we’ve also created some to understand our market position in the school communication software landscape). Company One does A, B, C, whereas Company Two does A, B, C, and D. Therefore, is Company Two the better choice automatically? Not considering price (which typically plays a factor), make sure the features you are comparing are comparable. For instance, what does it mean that the company offers “e-blast” or “mass notifications”? Two companies may offer the feature A (e-blasts) in very different ways – find out the differences and how you’d prefer your messages to get delivered. In this case, you deserve to know how users’ notification preferences are respected, deliveries are measured, privacy laws are followed, and how the company delivers its promise.

Can You Evaluate The Free School Communication Apps?

Is free too good to be true, or are free products valid options? Many companies in the school communication space offer a free version or a free plan of their software or app. Be mindful of limits in free plans, such as capped contacts or a lack of tools. Will the free app create another siloed communication, or can it be used for the entire school community? Ask questions on how far you can take the free use of the app before hitting a price wall that you likely should expect.

Additionally, consider for whom the app is “free”? If the app is free for the school, will parents need to pay for something? Is this ethical for your school? If the app is free for parents, what is the price for the school? If the app is free for everyone, how does the company make money – would they advertise in the app, or sell the user data?

What Is the Best School Communication App for Your Needs?

Determining which K12 school app to go with is a big decision. Pinpoint your actual needs, request clear answers and demonstrations, and ensure you can understand and use the system before buying it. Consider all stakeholders: parents, teachers, school administrators, office staff, PTA members, and board members. Would they be motivated to use the school communication/engagement system and find value in it?

School Signals offers free 30-day trials, and you can invite stakeholders to check out and test the system. You can use demo schools to evaluate the platform, set up your real school, and start testing the system immediately. We welcome your critical questions and look forward to meeting the next-generation school communication needs. Connect here.