Ali Schulz
Editor-in-Chief
In an effort to move towards a unified communication platform, the high school is requiring the use of the app StudentSquare for all communication between district adults and students.
ParentSquare, the version of StudentSquare, was adopted by the district about two years ago. “By moving to a unified platform, parents are able to get all school information from one source,” athletic director Chris Johnson said.
Since then, ParentSquare has become the district’s preferred method to send communication to parents. Due to its effectiveness, the district decided to move towards utilizing StudentSquare as well.
According to the ParentSquare website, it is “passionate about better connecting schools with families [through StudentSquare] to improve student outcomes and school success.”
StudentSquare not only offers communication with district teachers and coaches but includes other features as well.
These features include mass notifications to send out alerts that keep students informed. It also includes “easy group management, and a centralized hub for events and messages,” Webster Groves School District director of communications Derek Duncan said.
Duncan added, “StudentSquare is designed to be user-friendly” and is “simple for students and staff to navigate.”
Another reason the school is switching to StudentSquare is for safety reasons. GroupMe does not allow for district administration over texting chains, while on Student Square, “Administrators will have oversight on school-wide communications and public posts,” Duncan said.
However, for those worried about intrusion on chats, Duncan added, “private group chats among students and staff will remain confidential unless flagged for inappropriate content or violations of school policies.”
While Webster is new to requiring StudentSquare, Johnson said multiple districts around the country use the platform, so he is confident that it will be successful.
“We’re [the district] excited to see how it will streamline interactions and improve the overall student experience,” Duncan said.
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Ali Schulz- Junior EditorThis will be Ali Schulz’s second year on ECHO Staff. She also made several contributions while taking journalism class her freshman year. She was opinion/news editor her first year on staff |
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