School Setup & Launch Checklist
Use this checklist to prepare your school for launching School Signals. Follow the steps that apply to your school's needs, from adding users and setting permissions to preparing content and inviting your school community.
1. Add and Invite School Admins
Add School Admin accounts and invite them to the platform prior the launch (especially if you want them to help with the setup).
2. Add Your School Community
Choose the method your school will use to add accounts.
Option A: Add Accounts Manually
Add Teachers. Create accounts for your school's teachers.
Add Students. Assign each student to their primary teacher.
Add Parents. Select each parent's students in Step 2 of the account creation process. Double-check email addresses for typos or outdated information.
Add Community Users (optional). Create accounts for after-school programs, clubs, or mentor programs.
Assign limited admin rights (optional). Give selected parents additional permissions where appropriate.
Option B: Import Accounts Through an API
Contact School Signals to connect your school's API key for PowerSchool, Blackbaud, or FACTS.
Review imported accounts to make sure students, parents, teachers, and their relationships are correct.
Add Community Users (optional). Create accounts for after-school programs, clubs, or mentor programs.
Option C: Import Accounts From a File
Add teachers manually.
Complete the School Signals Excel template for student and parent information. School Signals will provide the template for your school's account information.
Send the completed Excel file to School Signals. Our team will import the accounts for you.
Review imported accounts. Check that email addresses and student-parent relationships are correct.
Add Community Users (optional). Create accounts for after-school programs, clubs, or mentor programs.
3. Add School Content
Prepare useful content before inviting your school community. Parents and teachers should find relevant information when they first sign in.
Add your logo. Use a wide style and minimize white space below and above the logo.
Set your subdomain login page (Ultimate plan): Image and intro text.
Add important dates to the School Calendar, including school closures, holidays, and other important dates.
Create school Events that your community should know about.
Add Classrooms for teachers to use as their communication hubs.
Create specialized Parent Groups for committees or other parent communities.
Add after-school Clubs and Programs.
Add Volunteering opportunities for upcoming school activities.
Add Online Forms, documents, and information Pages that families may need.
Create a few introductory School Feed posts. Welcome your community, explain the purpose of School Signals, and guide parents on how your school would like them to use the platform.
4. Review User Rights and Communication Settings
Check Feed posting rights. Review who can create School-wide, grade-level, and other posts. Adjust permissions as needed. Learn more
Check private Chat settings. Review who can start and participate in private conversations. Learn more
Assign limited admin rights (optional).
-> Give selected parents additional admin rights where appropriate. Learn more
5. Prepare for Launch
Review your school's setup. Check accounts, permissions, Classrooms, and content for accuracy.
Inform parents and teachers about School Signals. Explain why your school is introducing the platform and what they can expect. How to inform
Let the community know when invitation emails will arrive. Encourage families and staff to look for their School Signals invitation and when to expect it.
Schedule a launch call with School Signals (optional). We can walk teachers through the platform and answer questions before launch.
6. Launch and Invite Your Community
Request School Signals to launch the platform. Contact our team when your school is ready to go live.
Send invitation emails to your school community. How to invite
Monitor account activations to see which parents and teachers have joined.
Resend invitations daily or every 48 hours to users who have not yet activated their accounts.
Follow up on unsuccessful email deliveries. If School Signals reports that an email could not be delivered, contact the parent through another method to confirm or correct their email address.
7. After Launch
Continue monitoring account activations.
Encourage teachers to begin using their Classrooms and sharing updates.
Keep the School Feed and Calendar updated so families see useful, timely information.
Collect feedback from parents and staff and adjust settings or communication practices as needed.
Support During Setup and Launch
School Signals is here to help throughout the setup process.
Contact us at any time if you need help adding users, configuring settings, importing data, or preparing for launch.
Do schedule a launch call if you'd like us to walk through the platform with your teachers and answer their questions.