If you’re like the Business Managers and school leadership teams we speak to, you’re looking for an easy way to keep your parent community happy and informed. And although solving the age-old problem of school-parent communication can feel like a gargantuan task, it turns out the solution is easy, budget-friendly and is something most parents (and Business Managers) already know and love. We are, of course, talking about an app. But don’t just take our word for it. This week on School Stream, we’re talking to parents from all kinds of families at all kinds of schools to see why they love using an app for school communication.
School Stream is purpose-built for schools and we are always evolving to make sure we meet the needs of parents and schools. Book a demo to learn more.
School Stream makes school communication easy
School Stream was developed by Melissa Bridson as a response to a communication vacuum between her daughter’s school and home. When Melissa found she was missing critical information and important school events, she decided to use her considerable communications expertise to create an app that was dedicated to the unique needs of schools and their wider community. After all, we used apps for just about everything else, why not school communication? Melissa wanted an app that was intuitive, streamlined, a joy to use and free for parents. The rest is history.
We asked a range of parents how they feel about using an app for school communication. Here are their responses:
What do you love about using an app for school communication?
“What do I like about using an app for school? Are you kidding? Everything! I can’t even imagine reading a newsletter – who has that kind of time!? I like using an app because I know everything is all filed away in the one place on my phone. It’s the same with the groceries, banking, Netflix and just about every other thing I do. Also, if I need to check a date or something in the middle of the night, I know I can find it without even getting out of bed.”
“What communicating by app does, is it gives me a jumping-off point for a dialogue with Grace* when I get home. You know what kids are like – I get nothing! But if I have something to work with, like even one thing that has happened at school that day, then we (parents) can be the connection between school, the world, and our own life experience. I believe it takes a community to educate a child, and this is what it looks like in action. “
“In one way, I am old school and love a piece of paper with everything I need to know on it. But it’s just so resource-heavy! And (as you know) I am a teacher, so I know how much time and effort it takes. So, I like using an app because it works with my environmental values.”
“Just being updated regularly shows me that the school cares.”
“We’re a split family and an app just works for us. There is no way we could manage with paper-based notes and stuff. With the app, we’re all getting the same info so it’s seamless. We’re like a well-oiled machine with school stuff these days!”
“With both of us working, our household would be out of control if I didn’t know what was going on at school in advance… We’re lucky because our school is really good at using the app and pumps out all the information regularly. I don’t worry about missing anything because it’s all on my phone in one spot – it’s so easy. I do canteen and permission slips through it as well.”
*child’s name changed for privacy
We want to make life easier for school administrators
It’s also worth noting that when it’s easy for parents to communicate with schools, life gets easier for business managers and administrators too. An app makes it easy for parents, so schools get a better response rate. And we know from experience that when a school app is easy to use, parents will use it.
Are you ready to School Stream? Let’s get started.
