Guests Members

Guest members allow schools to include community members and supporters in group communication without giving them full ParentSquare access. This article explains how to add, invite, manage, and communicate with Guests.

Who can use this?
School and District Admins and those with individual permission for Manage All Data or Manage All Groups 

Before getting started
Guests must be enabled at your school

What are Guests? 

Guest members (also called Guest users) are community members who support your school but are not staff members or parents of students. Schools use Guests to communicate with community members through groups while keeping school-wide communication focused on enrolled families and staff.

Use Guests for: 

• School board members who need updates on school activities
• Walk-on coaches and volunteer coordinators
• Nonprofit partners that support your school
• Neighborhood supporters and community advocates
• Grandparents who want to stay informed about school events
• Business partners and mentorship program volunteers
• Former teachers or alumni who support current programs

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Add Guests to a Group

Admin and those with Manage All Groups permission can add Guests to any Private, Public, or Community Group. 

1. From Home, click Groups in the left sidebar.
2. Find the group and click the three dots on the right, then select Add People. Add Guests by one of the following: 
   • Scroll down to the Enter guest members section. Enter the Guest's full name and contact information (email address and/or phone number).
   • Scroll to Add members by uploading CSV. Click Upload Guest CSV File and select your CSV file to upload.
3. Click Save at the bottom of the page.

Note: New Guests will not receive a notification that they have been added to the group. You must send them an invitation separately.

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Send Invitations to Guests

After adding Guests to a group, send them an invitation so they can activate their account and start receiving notifications. 

1. From Home, select Directory in the left sidebar.
2. Find the group in the drop-down list in the upper right.
3. Locate the Guest member in the directory list.
4. Click Invite next to their name.
5. The Guest will receive an email invitation with instructions to activate their account. They can then log in through the mobile app or receive email notifications for group posts.
   
   
    

Note: By default, Guests will be able to register with and receive notifications by email only. Contact Support to add the option for text and voice. 

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Edit Guest Contact Information

Admins can update Guest email addresses and phone numbers through Data Assistant. Note: Guests must be added to a group before they appear in Data Assistant. You cannot create new Guests directly in Data Assistant.

1. From Admin, select Guests under Data Assistant.
2. Locate the Guest in the list.
3. Click Edit in the far right column.
4. Update the email address and/or phone number.
5. Click Save.

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Delete Guests

Remove Guests who no longer need access to your school's group communications.

1. From Admin, select Guests under Data Assistant.
2. Click the checkbox next to the Guest you want to delete.
3. Click Actions and select Delete.
4. Confirm the deletion in the popup window.

Note: Deleting a group does not immediately remove Guest members. Guests who are not associated with any groups will no longer receive ParentSquare notifications. Once a month, the system automatically deletes Guests who have no group associations.

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Communicate with Guests

Send Posts to Guests

When creating a post, you must explicitly include Guests to ensure they receive the communication.

1. Create a new post and select the group that includes your Guest members in the To: field.
2. Click the drop-down menu for Who should see this?
3. Check the box for Guests.
4. Complete and send your post.

Note: Guests will receive a post only if: 
- Their group is selected as a recipient, and 
- The Guests checkbox is selected. 
Posts sent to the entire district or school without including the Guest's group will not reach them.

Send Smart Alerts and Urgent Alerts to Guests

Guests can receive Smart Alerts and Urgent Alerts when the Guest option is selected.

For Smart Alerts:

• Include the group containing Guests in the Recipients field.
• Check the box to send to Guests (this option is off by default).

For Urgent Alerts:

• The alert will reach everyone in the Recipients field, including Guests.
• Include the school or district associated with the Guest's group.
• Check the box to send to Guests.