Communication

Classroom Communication

Spark provides three ways to communicate with guardians from a classroom: Messages, Quick Emails, and Announcements. Each is designed for a different type of communication.

• Messages are best for ongoing communication with some or all guardians. Messages appear on the Guardian Portal and in the Spark app, and can include conversations and attachments. Guardians with the app can receive push notifications on their phones, and email notifications can also be enabled.
• Quick Emails are best for sending a simple, one-time email to one or more guardians. You can send emails individually so recipients don't see each other's email addresses, or send a single email to all recipients. Quick Emails can be accessed from anywhere in Spark.
• Announcements are best for important information that should remain available on the Guardian Portal for a period of time. Announcements can also be emailed to guardians and can be scheduled to open and close on specific dates.

In general: Use Messages for ongoing two-way communication, Quick Emails for quick one-time emails, and Announcements for information you want guardians to be able to find on the portal over a period of time.

Messages

Messages allow you to communicate with groups of people or specific individuals. Messages appear on the Guardian Portal, Staff Portal, and in the Spark app.

Recipients can be notified about new messages by email or push notification through the Spark app.

Creating Messages

To create a message:

1. Go to your classroom's Messages tab.
2. Click the + at the top of the left column, then select New Group or New Message.
   • If you create a New Group, you can create a message for the group once the group has been created.
   • If you create a New Message, you can select an existing group or choose specific people as recipients.
3. Enter your message and add any additional details or attachments.
4. Choose whether to allow conversations on the message.
5. Select a post date. If no post date is selected, the message will be posted immediately.
6. Choose the delivery settings to determine how recipients will be notified.
7. Select Save and Send Notifications to post the message and send notifications, or save it as a Draft to finish later.

Managing Messages

Previously posted messages appear in the left column. Select a message to open and view it.

If conversations are allowed, new replies will be indicated on the message. Open the message to read and reply to comments.

You can also manage message recipients and notifications:

• Recipients: Click the Recipients indicator at the top of the message to view or edit who will receive the message.
• Notifications: Click the Notification indicator at the top of the message to see who was notified and when, and to manage notifications.

Message Groups

Message Groups allow you to quickly send messages to a predetermined audience and keep track of past messages sent to that group.

To create a message group:

1. Go to your classroom's Messages tab.
2. Click the + at the top of the left column and select New Group.
3. Enter a name for the group.
4. Select the members of the group.
5. Select the staff members who should be able to view and create messages for the group.
6. Save the group.

Groups can be assigned to a Session and filtered by changing the Session at the top of the left column. To make a group available in all Sessions, leave the Session field blank when creating the group.

Group settings can be edited at any time.

1. Select the group from the dropdown.
2. Click Group Settings in the right section.
3. Make your changes and save.

Message Notifications

Notification settings can be managed for all message groups or for individual groups.

To manage notifications for all message groups, click the bell icon at the top of the left column.

To manage notifications for a specific message group, select the group and click its bell icon.

Notifications can be managed for:

• New messages
• Conversation activity
• Replies to your comments

For each type of notification, you can choose whether to send:

• Email notifications
• Push notifications to the Guardian app

Quick Emails

A quick email is a feature in Spark that allows you to send an email to one or more recipients quickly without using an announcement or custom email.

Quick emails:

• Can quickly be accessed from anywhere on your Spark platform.
• Are designed for fast, simple email communication.
• Are best for basic messages to school members.
• Cannot be saved as a template.

Sending Quick Emails

1. Click the Email Guardian icon at the top right of your Classroom section.
2. Select recipients using the dropdown, or add additional addresses manually.
3. Compose your subject line and message, using formatting options if needed.
4. Add attachments as needed.
5. Choose whether to send email s separately to each recipient or as a single email.
6. Configure any additional Send Options.
7. Click Send Emails.

Managing Quick Emails

There are various ways you can manage your quick emails:

Email Sending Options

• Separate Emails: Each recipient gets an individual email without seeing other recipients.
• Single Email: All recipients receive the same email and can see each other's addresses.

Sender Name & Reply To Email

• By default, recipients will see your Spark User Name as the sender and can reply to your Spark User email.
• When sending a quick email from a classroom, the primary instructor will be the default sender.
• To change these, update the fields under Send Options.

Logging Sent Emails

• To view all sent emails, go to Comms → Sent Emails. Click on any email to see its full content.
• To disable logging emails, check the box under Send Options.

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.