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Tool/System for parents to submit a "Change in Plans" (i.e. student going home w/ another family)

Ginette Buffone

Hi, this question isn't necessarily Blackbaud-specific, but maybe it ties in for some schools. I was curious to know what other schools use for parents (particularly ES families) to submit a “change in plans” for their child. For example, if their child is going home with another student for a playdate, how do they let the school know? Or, if their child doesn't usually stay for after-care, but you need them to for this one instance?

We currently use Google Forms, but I think we may be outgrowing it. We'd love a solution that doesn't allow parents to submit a change request anytime after 11 a.m. on the “day of.” And we can't just manually turn off responses to the Google Form at 11 a.m. every day, because we still want parents to be able to submit a change request for a future date.

Would love to hear what systems/tools your school uses for something like this! Thanks in advance for sharing!

Ginette Buffone
Web Manager

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Comments

Jo Giesecke

@Ginette Buffone
I would also love some ideas. We currently take changes by phone and email with a cutoff time, but it is becoming unmanageable. Our concern is finding a system that allows us to see that the teacher has received the message.

Kelly Maddox

@Ginette Buffone we use SchoolPass. It’s a comprehensive system that allows parents to communicate dismissal changes, tardies, and absences through an app. They are also a blackbaud partner.

Ginette Buffone

@Kelly Maddox Thanks. We have SchoolPass on the list to look into, and it seems appealing since it's a Blackbaud partner. But I imagine it having a big price tag, because all of the features. I'm hopeful we could just sign on for the parts/solutions we need. Thanks again!

Ginette Buffone

@Jo Giesecke It's not ideal, but what could be a good step in the right direction for you is using a Google Form. We have ours embedded onto a Resource page, so it's password-protected. We also have a vanity URL for it, so parents can get to it easily. And then, the responses get pushed to a spreadsheet. You could give teachers access to view the spreadsheet, and then they just get into the habit of checking it in the afternoon.

Michelle Blayney

@Ginette Buffone We use Orah, which allows you to set a deadline and limit time when a parent can make/change a request. Orah is very comprehensive - all sorts of other features are included. Our Student Life Office has found it to be an extremely helpful tool, primarily for keeping track of students coming and going and where they are on campus in the evenings (we are a boarding school). Also, Orah integrates with Blackbaud - a data pull every evening from Core into Orah - so contact information is always updated.