1. Engaging families. Creating communities.

2. Welcome to SchoolCNXT Data is imported from your SIS
SchoolCNXT is a family engagement platform that brings equity to your family engagement efforts by overcoming the barriers of language, adult literacy, and access, thereby allowing all families the opportunity to engage.
Data is imported from your SIS
Post information to families of any group
Track school- and class-level data
Collect RSVP and check-in information
Participate in two-way messaging with any individual or group
We import data from your SIS, including family structure (which students are connected to which parents/guardians), parent contact information, and class structure. This means that your staff do not need to set up their own class groups – that is done for them!
You can post news and events to any group(s) at the school, grade, or class level.
Typically when you send out an or send home fliers, you have no idea who gets them! Here, you’ll be able to see who has viewed and liked your posts! You will also be able to track how and how often the staff in your school are using SchoolCNXT.
If you post an event, parents will be able to RSVP ahead of time and can digitally check-in to the event when they arrive! This is great for large events where you may not have face time with every parent, but still want to know who attends!
Two-way messaging can be initiated by any user and provides an opportunity for deep and meaningful communication and relationship building.

3. SchoolCNXT Admin Features
Approve school-wide news and events*
Can post school news without approval*
Re-send invites to all users*
Add users and user contacts*
Access Analytics Portal*
Post emergency alerts*
Access Message Moderation
Most schools will choose to assign one or two Admin Deputies to the system. This allows someone else to have access to some of the administrative features to take some of it off of the hands of the principal. This is frequently an AP or someone in a Parent Coordinator-type role. This is usually also your SchoolCNXT Coordinator or point person. The Admin Deputy has access to all of the features that you have as the SchoolCNXT Admin, but cannot post emergency alerts or access message moderation, which you will see soon.
*also allowed by Admin Deputies

4. Posts v. Messages Posts (News, Events, Alerts): Messages:
Replace fliers, mass s
Send to groups
Include images, attachments, audio recordings
Embed a video
Parents read and “like”
Messages:
Two-way communication
Replace notes and s
Send to individual users or groups
Initiated by any user
Include an image
Most of your communication in SchoolCNXT will fall in one of these two categories: posts, or messages. Let’s take a look at the main differences between the two.
Posts
Posts are meant to replace mass s, fliers, and other mass communications you may currently use. They also give staff the platform to share information they may not have before, such as strategies they are working on, exciting lessons, or celebrating successes. They are one-way communication and are an opportunity for you and your staff to share information with your groups. You can send them to any existing group or groups (classes, extracurricular groups, targeted academic groups, etc). You can include a cover image and additional images, PDF attachments, or audio recordings. Please note that while the body of the post can be translated and read aloud, the content of an attachment cannot. You can also embed a video into your post. Parents can read and ”like” your posts but cannot comment on them directly.
Messages
This is our two-way communication component and it is made to replace notes and s you previously sent. You can message an individual, multiple individuals, a few individual, or a group. You can even message an image! Messages can be initiated by any user, so a staff member can message a parent or they can start a conversation with the staff member. But don’t worry! If they message you outside of school hours, they will receive a note from us thanking them for being involved, but reminding them that your work day is done and you may not respond until the next day.

5. Account Invitations & Activations
Staff:
Principal communication before invitations
Resources provided by SchoolCNXT
Invitations via (shown to the right) or printed invitation
App download recommended
Attend staff orientation
Parents and Guardians:
Communicate with families before
invitations are sent out
Receive invitations digitally or by printed
invitation letter
Analytics accessible to administrators
Re-send invitations periodically
Members of your school community will receive invitations to SchoolCNXT. Before invitations are sent, it is important that communication is sent out letting staff and guardians know what to expect! That way, when they receive an invitation, they will know that it is coming from the school and has your support. Downloadable letters to both staff and guardians are provided on the resources section of the SchoolCNXT website. Staff will be invited by SchoolCNXT via to their district-issued address. SchoolCNXT Admins and Admin Deputies can also print invitation letters for staff members to put in their mailboxes. We highly recommend that staff download the mobile app to make communication as simple as possible. Then, you can offer your staff brief orientations that are also available on our resources page.
Guardian invitations are sent digitally – by and/or text message depending on what contact information is provided by your school’s SIS – by SchoolCNXT at the beginning of the school year. You can then re-invite digitally or by printed invitation letter as frequently as you would like. We recommend sending home invitation letters within the first two weeks of school. You can access activation analytics to help you determine when invitations need to be sent out.

6. Let’s take a look at SchoolCNXT!

7. Posting News: Mobile App
Tap “Add News”
News can be created on the web browser or mobile app. Let’s take a look at how to create news from the mobile app.
To create a news item from your mobile device, tap Add News on the top of your screen.

8. Posting News: Mobile App
Add an image, title, and content
Add a cover image. One of the great things about posting news from your phone is that you have access to your camera and the pictures you’ve taken. Tap on the camera icon. Decide whether you want to take a photo now or choose one from your library. While this is optional, it is extremely recommended. Add a title to your news item. Then, type the content of your news item.

9. Posting News: Mobile App
Attach additional images or audio messages (optional)
You can then select to add additional images to your news item. To do so, select Attach Images and tap on those which you would like to be include. If you would like to add an audio recording, select Record a Message. You can then choose to use your microphone or have the system call you to record a message. If you want all recipients to hear this audio recording, leave it set to All Languages. If this recording is only intended for speakers of a specific language, tap change language and select which language users you want to hear your recording. You can add as many recordings as you would like. Tap Next.

10. Posting News: Mobile App
Select recipient group(s)
To publish the news item to a specific role type, tap on the tag icon
Select the group or groups you’d like to receive this news item. You may find that some recipient groups require approval. You can also filter to a specific role type (guardians, staff, students, etc) by tapping on the tag icon. Tap Next.

11. Posting News: Mobile App
Set publish and expiration dates
If you would like this post to be published at a later date, select a publish date in the future; otherwise, your recipients will see it immediately. Set an expiration date.

12. Posting News: Mobile App
Add reminders (optional)
If you’d like to send out reminders related to this post in the future, select reminders, and then tap the plus sign. Set the content and publish date for the reminder. Tap Save, and go back to the Publish screen.

13. Posting News: Mobile App
Tap Preview
Review information and tap Publish
After all of your information is set, tap Preview. You will then be able to review the cover image, title, content, attachments, and dates of your post. Once you have ensured that everything is how you want it, tap Publish!

14. Posting News: Web App
All of that can also be done from the web app. On your feed, tap the green plus sign and click “News”. Then, enter the same information here. When publishing news via the web app, you can also select to add PDFs. Please note that the content of these PDFs cannot be translated.

15. Posting Events: Mobile App
Follow the steps to post news
Set event details:
Time
Location
Check-In details
Assign points
First, tap Post Event. Then, follow the same steps you took to post news. After choosing your recipients, you will be prompted to add event details. This includes a date and time and location for the event. The location will be linked to a map, so make sure it is a street address! It will default to your school’s address, but can be changed if you are encourage families to attend an event in the community. You can also choose to track attendance at the time of the event. This can be done by geo-location (as families arrive at the address listed and tap Check-In on the app, they will be marked as in attendance). It can also be done by code (you assign a code that you announce at the event, so when users type it in, they are marked as checked-in). Lastly, you can assign points to an event tin incentivize attendance. Tap Next.

16. Posting Events: Web Browser
All of that can also be done from the web app. On your feed, tap the green plus sign and click “Event”. Then, enter the same information here. When publishing news via the web app, you can also select to add PDFs.

17. Posting Alerts: Mobile App
Follow the steps to post news
No images or attachments
May only be sent to the school group
Expiration defaults to two days
Alerts will appear highlighted in red
Alerts are to be reserved for emergencies and can therefore only be published by SchoolCNXT Admins. Tap Add Alert. Then, add a title and content, as you would to post news. No pictures can be added to alerts. When choosing recipients, you can only choose to send them to the entire school. When the alert is published, it will have a different icon and will appear in the color red to draw guardians’ attention to it.

18. Posting Alerts: Web App
All of that can also be done from the web app. On your feed, tap the green plus sign and click “Alert”. Then, enter the same information here.

19. Messaging: Mobile App
Find the person you want to message in the directory
If you don’t know the name of the person you are trying to message, you can find them in the directory. Tap on the magnifying glass icon on the bottom of the screen.

20. Messaging: Mobile App
Search through your students, your students’ guardians, or your staff
If you don’t know the name of the person you are trying to message, you can find them in the directory. Tap on the magnifying glass icon on the bottom of the screen. Staff will see three sections: My Students/Guardians, My Students’ Guardians, and Staff. You as an admin, will simply have a Staff section, then can tap the magnifying lens to search for or scroll through others.

21. Messaging: Mobile App Search by a student
Find the student in the directory
Tap Message Family
If you don’t know the parent’s name and are searching by the student, you can either scroll through your students or type in their name in the search bar at the top of the directory. Then, tap Message Family.

22. Messaging: Mobile App Select guardian(s)
You will then be shown all of the contacts related to the student. Tap the names of the guardian or guardians you wish to message. Tap Next.

23. Messaging: Mobile App Send message
Your message thread with that user will appear. Type your message and tap Send. You can tap the picture icon to the left of your text to add a picture from your camera or camera roll.

24. Messaging: Mobile App Search by staff Search by guardians
You can do the same thing by going to the My Students’ Guardians and Staff sections of the directory. In these cases, when you tap on somebody’s name, you will only have the option to send a message to that one individual.

25. Messaging: Mobile App Search by name
Lastly, if you know the name of the person you wish to message, you can go to your messages by tapping the speech bubble icon on the bottom of your screen. Then, tap the pencil and paper icon in the top right-hand corner. Search for a user by name, then tap the name when it appears. You can also search for a group to message. As a reminder, messaging a group will behave like group texting in that all participants will receive responses. Tap Next. Type and send your message.

26. Messaging: Web App Respond to existing message thread
Click on Messages in the menu bar on the left. It will default to the My Messages tab. From there, you can respond to an existing message thread by selecting the thread from the list on the left. Type your message and press Send. You can also add a picture by clicking on the camera icon.

27. Messaging: Web App Begin new message thread
You can also begin a new message thread. Click on the green New Conversation button. Click +Add Participants. You can then select whether you want to message a User or a Group. Click on as many recipients as you want. As a reminder, messaging a group or a group of users will behave like group texting in that all participants will receive responses. You will see your recipients move to the right-hand side of the screen. Click Add Participants. Type and send your message.

28. Message Moderation: Web App
Access via web only
Any user can flag a message if they find it abusive, offensive, or inappropriate. In that case, it will go to the SchoolCNXT Administrator for review. This can only be accessed via the web app by going to Flagged Messages underneath Messages on the left hand menu bar. Click the name of the conversation you would like to review.

29. Message Moderation: Web App
Select conversation
The specific message that was flagged will be highlighted red. Check the box to the right of it, then choose to delete the message if you deem the content to be unacceptable, or clear the flag if you determine it is acceptable. If you need to save the conversation for your records, you can click the printer icon in the top right-hand corner to download it.

30. Groups: Web Browser View Member Activity
See when members last logged in
You and your staff can add to, edit, and view your groups from the web browser or mobile app. However, some features such as editing permissions, sending invitations, and viewing member activity have to be done from the web browser.
The flag icon indicates that you are the owner of that group.
Let’s look at some features to access for groups of which you are the owner. It is important for your staff to know that they can do this so that they can manage their groups on their own.
View Member Activity: hover over the gear icon to the right of group and select “View Member Activity”. This will let you see your students and when each of their guardians have last logged in. If there is no date, they have not yet activated their accounts.

31. Groups: Web Browser Re-send invites Digital and/or printed
While you can invite the entire school, staff members may want to resend invitations to their individual class(es). As always, sending or printing invitations will only affect those who have not yet activated their accounts. To do so, follow the directions below:
Click on the Groups tab in the menu bar on the left.
Hover over the group that you manage and/or own.
Hover over the gear icon to the right.
Click on Print Invitation Letters, then select the role for which you would like to print invitations. Selecting Guardians will allow you to print invitations for any guardians who are members of the group themselves. Selecting Students’ Guardians will allow you to print invitation letters for the guardians of the students who are members of the group.
A PDF of invitation letters will pop-up in a new tab. You can then print out these invitation letters to be distributed at an event or sent home.
Click on Send /SMS Invitations to automatically sent digital invitations. Depending on the contact information available for the user, an or text message invitation will be sent. If there is no contact information present, no invitation will be sent.

32. Directory: Inviting the School
Invite all users in the school
As a SchoolCNXT Admin, you have the ability to invite all users in the school of a given role type with the click of a button! While SchoolCNXT will send the first round of invitations for you each school year, the schedule beyond that is based on your knowledge of what is best for your school community. You can do this at any time, either on a regular schedule or based on your analytics. To do so, click on the Directory tab in the menu bar. Under Show, make sure to keep All selected. If you want, select a specific Label (guardians, staff, and/or students if applicable). Then, click on the gear icon in the upper left-hand corner. Then, select Send /SMS Invitations to send digital invitations to all users who have contact information in the system and have not yet activated their accounts. You can also select Print Invitation Letters to download a PDF invitation for all users who have not yet activated their accounts. These will print out alphabetically within homeroom.

33. Analytics: Web Browser
Learn about how your school is using SchoolCNXT
SchoolCNXT Admins and Admin Deputies have access to an analytics portal that lets you see how your staff and school community members are using SchoolCNXT. To get there, click the orange View Analytics button in the menu bar on the left of the web app or go to analytics.schoolcnxt.com

34. Analytics: Web Browser
Eight categories of analytics
You will see eight tabs across the top.
User Activations: This lets you see what percentage of each role type at your school has activated their account. You will also see an activation rate by family. This factors in that there may be multiple guardians invited for a given student, so as long as one parent has activated his account, the “family” is considered active.
Teacher Posts: Clicking this tab will show you all of your staff members and how many posts they have created. It is also where you can see which of your staff have logged in and when. Remember, you can filter by any category by clicking the arrows.
Teacher Messaging: The number of messages staff have sent to other staff and to guardians in the past week, month, and year is displayed here.
Classroom Activations: This lets you see guardian activation rates based on homeroom teacher. Because only you have access to this portal, you can share this information by clicking the envelope icon to share teacher’s own groups’ information with them. This is something we recommend doing on a regular (bi-weekly? monthly?) basis.
Parent Contact Info: This will show you what percent of your parents are missing various types of contact information. This can be extremely valuable information when you first launch with us and don’t have a baseline for this. It can help you see the importance of printed invitation letters!
Parent Logins: As the year progresses, this will let you know how many of your parents are logging in. Posting ongoing, meaningful content from the beginning will help keep this number up!
Parent Messaging: Similar to staff messaging but without individual names, this will show you what percentage of your guardians have been involved in messaging in the past week, month, and year.
Trends: Lastly, trends helps you see how posts and messages are used each month of the school year. This will help you see trends and habits. It is certainly more interesting as the year progresses.

35. Ongoing Usage
Ongoing implementation suggestions provided from news items posted by SchoolCNXT
Internal use by admins to model usage
Feeding the “Cycle of Communication”
Regular meaningful and personalized content by school staff
Messaging and “liking” posts by parents
Re-send invites
Sent by any user
While focusing on activation is important – especially at the beginning of the year! – it is also important to think about and commit to ongoing usage from the beginning of the year. SchoolCNXT will continually make suggestions in news items. You can also model usage to your staff by posting information about staff meetings and other information intended only for staff. Keep in mind that the more you and your staff post, the more parents will get used to logging in for information. Lastly, remember to resend and/or print invitations as needed to ensure that as much of your school community is involved as possible.

36. What Works? The following have been used with great success!:
Set expectations
Select a staff member to post school-level news
Assign a SchoolCNXT Admin Deputy to track and share analytics and assist in spearheading this initiative
Introduce incentives to drive activation and usage
Ongoing posting of news and events

37. Next Steps Activate your account Communicate with staff and families
Post Welcome News
Check out the resources offered at schoolcnxt.com/resources
Arrange a staff orientation
Send and print invitations
Reach out to