Posts: FAQs

Who can use this?
Admin, Teachers, Group Owners, Room Parents & anybody with individual permission to post

This article answers the most frequently asked questions about creating, managing, and understanding Posts in ParentSquare.

General Post Questions

Who can create posts?

Admin, Teachers, Group Owners, Room Parents, and anybody with individual permission to post can create posts. Your school or district admin controls who has posting permissions.

What's the difference between a post and a newsletter?

Both posts and newsletters are ways to send messages in ParentSquare. The main difference is the editor:

• Posts: Use the standard post editor for quick communications
• Newsletters (Studio Editor): Use advanced design blocks and templates for formatted newsletters with more layout control

Both can include the same add-ons (Calendar/RSVP, Forms, Sign-Ups, etc.) and are sent through the same notification system.

Can I send posts to specific people or groups?

Yes. When creating a post, you can send to:

• Your entire school or district
• Specific grade levels
• Individual classes or groups
• Specific roles (Staff, Parents, Students, or combinations)

You can also create custom recipient lists using the filtering options.

What happens when I send a post?

When you send a post, recipients receive notifications based on their notification preferences:

• Instant notifications: Email, text, and/or app notification sent immediately
• Digest notifications: Bundled into a daily digest email sent at end of day
• Weekly digest: Bundled into a weekly summary

Posts scheduled after 6pm send the following morning at 8am (in recipient's time zone) unless scheduled for a specific future date/time.

Scheduling & Timing

Can I schedule a post for later?

Yes. When creating a post, click the dropdown next to "Post Now" and select Schedule. Choose your desired date and time. You can also save posts as Drafts to send later.

What time do posts send?

Posts send based on when you click "Post Now" or your scheduled time. However, posts sent after 6pm are automatically delayed until 8am the following morning (in the recipient's time zone) to avoid late-night notifications.

What are digest notifications?

Digest notifications bundle multiple posts into a single email sent once per day (or once per week, depending on user settings). Users who have digest settings won't receive instant notifications - they'll see all posts in their digest email at the end of the day or week.

Can I change a scheduled post?

Yes. Locate the scheduled post in Home Scheduled & Draft Posts (left sidebar), click on it, then click Edit. You can change the content, date, time, or recipients before it sends.

Editing & Updates

Can I edit a post after sending?

Yes. Locate the post in your feed, click the gear icon, and select Edit. Make your changes and click Save.

Will people be notified if I edit a post?

No. Editing a post does not send a new notification to recipients. If you want to notify people about changes, use the Send Update option (available in the gear icon menu after saving your edits).

What's the difference between Edit and Send Update?

• Edit: Modify the post content without notifying anyone. The changes appear in the post, but no new notification is sent.
• Send Update: Send a new notification to recipients telling them the post has been updated. Use this when you've made important changes that people need to know about.

Note: If you edit a post the same day it was created, people on digest settings will receive the edited version (not the original) in their digest email.

Can I delete a post after sending?

Yes. Click the gear icon on the post and select Delete. Confirm your decision. If you delete a post before digest notifications go out, it won't appear in those digest emails.

Note: If the post has a form attached, you must remove all form responses before you can delete the post.

Recipients & Delivery

How do I know if people received my post?

Click on the number of people notified ("x Notified") at the bottom of your post. This opens the Detailed Message Delivery Statistics showing:

• Email status (delivered, opened, bounced, etc.)
• Text status (delivered, failed, etc.)
• App notification status
• Whether the post was viewed
• What language they received it in

You can export this data as a CSV file for record-keeping.

Why is my recipient count lower than expected?

Common reasons include:

• Digest settings: Posts don't show as delivered until the digest email goes out at end of day
• Missing roles: Check if you selected all intended roles (Staff, Parents, Students)
• Recipient type confusion: Make sure you selected a school/grade/class and not a group with the same name
• Guest users: Need both Parent and Staff roles checked to receive posts
• Incoming grade level: Students with incoming grade must be added via separate incoming group

Can I see who viewed my post?

Yes. In the delivery statistics, you can see which recipients have "Viewed" the post. "Viewed" means the recipient either:

• Opened the email or clicked a link in it, OR
• Received the text message or clicked a link in it, OR
• Received the app notification

For digest notifications, when someone opens the digest, all posts in it are marked as viewed.

What does the "viewed" status mean?

A post is marked as "viewed" when the recipient opens the email, clicks a link in the text message, or receives the app notification. It indicates the notification was delivered and the recipient likely saw it, but doesn't necessarily mean they read the entire post.

Mobile App vs Web

Can I create posts on the mobile app?

Yes. The mobile app supports creating posts with the basic editor and most add-ons. You can add descriptions, select recipients, attach photos or files, and use features like Calendar/RSVP, Forms, and Sign-Ups.

What features are web-only?

Some features are only available on the web browser:

• Pin/unpin posts
• Adding alt text to images
• Advanced formatting options
• Post As a department
• Some administrative functions

Can I edit posts on mobile?

To edit a post on the mobile app, use the View Full Site option. This gives you access to the full web interface from your mobile device.

Comments & Engagement

Are comments public or private?

It depends on your school's settings. Most schools have private comments by default:

• Private comments: Only the commenter, post author, post collaborators, and admins can see the comment and replies
• Public comments: All recipients of the post can see all comments and receive notifications when someone comments

Even if your school has public comments enabled, you can make individual comments private by clicking the lock icon before posting your comment.

Can I turn off comments on a post?

Yes, if your school has public comments enabled. Click the gear icon on your post and select the option to change the post to private comments. This only affects future comments - existing comments remain visible to those who could already see them.

Who can see appreciations?

• Everyone can see: The total count of appreciations on a post
• Post authors, collaborators, and admins can see: The names of specific people who appreciated the post

Post As a Department

When I use "Post as" to send from a department, does my name show?

Only ParentSquare Admin, district admin, and school admin can see your actual name as the author. Regular users see only the department name.

If I use "Post as", who gets comment notifications?

The original post author (you) and any post collaborators receive all comment notifications, even though the post displays the department name.

If I comment on a post I sent using "Post as", what name shows?

Your personal name shows on your comments, not the department name. The department name only appears as the post author.

Archives & Past Posts

How do I find old posts?

There are several ways:

• Search Posts: Use the search box at top of Home. Click the Filter icon for advanced search by date range, author, or keywords
• Scroll your feed: Scroll through the main feed to find recent posts
• My Account: Click your name Manage Account Posts to see all posts you authored this year, or Archived Posts for past years
• Advanced Search: Admins can search archived posts from previous school years dating back to 2020-21

Can I reuse last year's posts?

Yes. Use the Duplicate function:

• Find the post (in your feed or in Archived Posts under My Account)
• Click the gear icon and select Duplicate
• Important: Update all dates before sending! Duplicated posts keep the original dates

Admin can duplicate any post. Non-admin post authors can only duplicate their own posts.

How long are posts kept?

Posts are archived at the end of each school year but remain accessible:

• Post authors: Can access their own archived posts under My Account Archived Posts
• Admins: Can search and access all archived posts back to 2020-21 (or your launch year) using Advanced Search
• Drafts: Saved drafts stay in your account from year to year and are not archived

Pinned Posts

Can I pin multiple posts?

No. You can only pin one post per feed (school, group, or district). Pinning a new post automatically unpins the previous post.

Can I pin a district post to show at schools?

No. District posts pinned by district admins only appear at the top of the district feed (visible to district admin and staff). They cannot be pinned at individual school sites.

Can I pin posts on the mobile app?

No. Pinning and unpinning posts is only available on the web browser, not on the mobile app.