The Valley Central School District has adopted a new communications tool for the 2024-25 school year. ParentSquare will be used as its primary mass notification system, replacing SchoolMessenger effective Jan. 2025.
From mass emails, texts and phone calls, ParentSquare is a unified communications platform that allows parents/guardians to access vital information – how and when they want it — and stay connected with their child’s school and teachers.
Parents and guardians will receive an email from ParentSquare on Jan. 28 with instructions to activate their account using the contact information on file with the district in SchoolTool. You can also activate your account by visiting parentsquare.com or via the ParentSquare app, which is a free download for iOS and Android users. Scan the QR code to download the app on our ParentSquare page.
Parents who do not activate their account will still receive text, email and phone notifications but will not be able to implement all of ParentSquare’s unique features. When a parent/guardian account is activated, users will be able to:
- Manage communication settings and notification preferences*
- Communicate in your preferred language
- Respond to automated absent/tardy texts and emails with the click of a button to send your child’s school your note excusing their absence or tardy. This means you won’t have to remember to send in a paper note to school with your child.
*One of the many benefits of creating a ParentSquare account is the ability to manage your notification settings. Users can set their preferences to either Instant or Digest for email, text messages, and the app. Users who designate “Instant” for their preferences will receive a notification the minute a message is sent. Users who choose “Digest” will receive one daily notification at 6 p.m. containing all messages sent that day from all schools in which they have children enrolled, including district messages. Urgent alerts will always be received in real time, regardless of a user’s notification preferences.
Community members who are not parents or employees of Valley Central School District can sign up for weather-related alerts on our Community Group Sign Up page.
For more information, please visit our ParentSquare web page.