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Answer a family in Chats, and when to use School mail instead
A screen recording of Pearspark doing exactly this in a sample school, and the same 8 steps written out below in the labels you'll see on screen.
How to answer a family in Chats, and when to use School mail instead
- 1Check "Let families start a message" is ticked in Settings, on the Planner & families tab
- 2Click Messages in the sidebar — it opens on the Chats tab
- 3Click the family's row — bold with a number means it's waiting on you
- 4Type in "Write to {Name}…" and click Send — it goes to that parent alone
- 5To write to a parent first, click New chat, type the child's name and pick a parent — admins can reach every family
- 6For a whole class, a grade, or every family, click School mail instead
- 7Click Compose, pick who it's for, and check the "Send to N" count before sending
- 8Families who write back arrive in Chats, one row per parent
Part of Messages & announcements
One compose reaches every family's portal inbox — plus teacher-to-family threads and an oversight search so leadership can stand behind every message.
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