Announcements, Forms, Files

Classroom Announcements

Announcements are meant for important school messages and can be emailed to contacts directly or posted to the Guardian Portal. Announcements can also be created with a Classroom/Pod and sent only to the guardians of that classroom.

Creating Announcements

To get started:

1. Navigate to the Classroom → Announcements tab.
2. Click + Add New Announcement.
3. Select to create an announcement from scratch or use a template.
4. From scratch:
   1. Click + New Blank Announcement.
   2. Enter the announcement image, name, date, body, and other details.
   3. In Visibility & Scheduling, select when the announcement should be open and closed to guardians and/or the public.
   4. Click Create to publish.
5. Using a template:
   1. Preview available templates.
   2. Click Use This Template if it fits your needs.
   3. Edit details as needed.
   4. Click Update to save changes.

To learn more about creating announcements, see the Announcements help doc.

Sending Announcements

There are multiple ways to ensure your announcement reaches the right audience.

• Via email
• Posting on the School Resources & Information Page
• Posting on the Guardian Portal

To email announcements:

• Click Send Emails in the announcement modal or on the main Announcements page.
• In the pop-up window, select the announcements to be sent and choose the recipients.
• Select to either send the email immediately, or schedule it to be sent at a future date.
• Customized the email subject and body.
• Click Send Emails or Save Schedule.

Scheduled emails will appear in the Scheduled Communications section of the Announcements page.

All sent emails will be logged in the Email Logs page (found in the main Communications section on the Admin side).

To learn more about sending announcements, see the Announcements help doc.

Classroom Forms

The Forms feature helps you efficiently collect and record classroom information and payments. These forms can be:

• Shared on Guardian Portals
• Sent via email as a form request
• Shared as a public link
• Posted on your School Resources & Information Page

You can create Form Pages from scratch or use a template. They are fully customizable and can include:

• Signature fields for approvals
• Payment fields to collect online payments directly through the form
• Branding options, including banners, icons, and color customization

Creating Forms

1. Go to the Classroom → Forms tab.
2. Click + Add New Form Page.
3. Choose to either:
   • Create a New Blank Form: Enter form details and click Create.
   • Use a Form Template: Preview and select a template, then customize it by adding, removing, or modifying elements as needed.
4. Add, remove, and customize form elements as needed.

To learn more about creating and customizing Form Pages, see Creating Forms.

Sharing Forms

There are two primary ways to share a form:

1. Make it open to the public
2. Send a form request via email

Sharing Forms Publicly:

To share a form publicly, open the form and click Share in the top right corner. You can:

• Generate a link or QR code: Share this with anyone for access and submissions.
• Set public dates: Specify when the form will be available.
• Post on School Resources & Information Page: Forms can be added here and are accessible until removed.
• Post to Guardian Portals: When posted to the School Resources & Information Page, forms are also posted to Guardian Portals. Guardians can submit forms multiple times if needed.

Form Requests:

For forms that need to be filled out by specific individuals, send form requests:

1. Click Send Requests to access the Requests tab.
2. Click + Add New Form Requests.
3. Choose the recipient type.
4. (Optional) Create a Request Group to track the batch of requests.
5. Decide when to send the requests:
   • Send immediately
   • Save for later (This allows time to add a message or customize the form for specific recipients before sending.)

This structured approach ensures that forms are shared efficiently and reach the right people.

To learn more about how to share forms, see the Sharing Forms help doc.

Managing Form Submissions

Form submissions can be viewed in the Submissions or Requests tabs for each form. To access, go to the Classroom → Forms tab, open the form, and select the Submissions or Requests tab.

To view all submission for a form, whether submitted publicly or through an email request, use the Submissions tab. To view forms submitted via email requests, use the Requests tab.

You can open submissions to view, print, or assign to a profile in your Spark platform. Forms assigned to a profile will appear in that person's Form tab.

To learn more about managing form submissions, go to the Managing Submissions help doc.

Classroom Files

Files for your classroom can be stored in the Files tab. These may include classroom schedule, syllabus, worksheets, etc. Files stored in your classroom Files tab will also appear in the school-wide Files & Folders page.

In your Files tab, you can:

• Upload or link files of any type
• Create nested folders for organization
• Tag files for filtering
• Move files between folders
• Post files to guardian portals

To learn more about uploading and managing files, see the Files & Folders help doc.