School-to-Home Communications

The Potsdam Central School District contracts with Capital Region BOCES Engagement & Development Services for part-time Communications Services.

The Public Information Specialist serves as a strategic advisor to the superintendent and other members of district leadership. The specialist also provides writing and other communications support to the district’s internal and external messaging. The specialist is supported by a network of BOCES colleagues who work in the same capacity in other districts across the region and state, including graphic artists, web specialists, print management specialists and communications program managers.

ParentSquare

ParentSquare provides a safe way for school administrators, teachers, staff, and parents to:

• Send and receive school and class information
• Share pictures and files
• See calendar items
• Sign up to volunteer
• Schedule parent-teacher conferences

All district, school building, athletic, grade level, and classroom information is shared through email and/or text. Additionally, it translates communications into 100 languages and is compliant with the latest student privacy regulations. It also eliminates the need for parents to download numerous apps to communicate with multiple teachers.

Learn more information about ParentSquare through tip sheets, FAQs, and videos.

Accessing Your ParentSquare Account

Parents can login to ParentSquare using the email or phone number on record in SchoolTool. The ParentSquare app is available for free download on iOS and Android devices.

SchoolTool

SchoolTool allows parents to:

• View a child’s profile information including classroom location during the school day.
• View listed contacts for a child.
• View a child’s attendance data.
• View a child’s discipline data.
• View a child’s current classes and access completed marking period grades, progress reports, and assessment grades.

To sign in to SchoolTool:

1. Click on the SchoolTool Login link.
2. Enter your email address in the username field.
3. Enter your new password exactly as it appears. It is case-sensitive.
4. Click on login.
5. Click on the dropdown arrow to the left of your child’s name.
6. Click on the tabs and explore.

To change your password:

1. Login to SchoolTool
2. Click on the “Account” tab
3. Enter your old password
4. Type in a new password
5. Retype new password to confirm
6. Click on “Change Password”

Community Social Media Guidelines

Recognizing that a majority of our parents and community members regularly utilize social media platforms for communication, Potsdam Central School District uses these tools to engage these groups. We maintain a professional Facebook page for the purpose of sharing important information with our public and engaging in an open and respectful dialogue. We reserve the right to monitor all activity on the page, remove offensive or inappropriate content, and blocking those who violate these standards.

When interacting with or commenting on our page or content, you must abide by the following guidelines:

1. Official Potsdam Central School District social media accounts should not circumvent regular established communication channels for discussing personal issues or concerns, or asking questions of a specific student or employee. Comments/questions of this nature will be removed.

2. Personal attacks on any student, staff member, or member of the administration, or comments that are deemed offensive to any member of our community will not be tolerated. Inappropriate remarks, racial slurs, or profanity will automatically be removed.

3. Official district social media accounts are dedicated to sharing our mission to inspire, prepare and empower our students to lead fulfilled lives as compassionate, productive and engaged citizens. Comments are welcome as long as they directly relate to our district, schools, and activities, and do not conflict with our mission. Comments that are irrelevant to a specific post may be removed.

4. Blatantly inaccurate or false information, or rumors will not be allowed. False information will be removed and when deemed necessary, factual information will be posted in response.

5. Abuse of the above guidelines can lead to removal of a specific posting or blocking/removal from our pages and account.

6. By interacting with our page through follows, comments, shares, or other actions, you are implicitly agreeing to abide by these standards and are therefore held accountable for any violation thereof, and subject to aforementioned action by the District.