Have you ever wondered how the North Colonie CSD website is updated, who makes the newsletters that appear at your door, or who you’re talking to on the district’s social media accounts? It is the NCCSD Communications Team!

For a large portion of the day, you leave your children in the care of our schools. The education of the students in our community is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and something we know doesn’t stop when students leave school, so working together is a huge part of our process.

Our office is dedicated to making sure the lines of communication between the district, the members of our district and the community are strong. You may also see us occasionally at school events, many times with a camera in hand. Please say hi to us — we encourage ideas and feedback. You’re a large part of our job, so your feedback can only help us grow and be better at serving you!

Contact us for:

• Questions about the district – if we don’t know the answer, we’ll direct you to who does!
• Stories you’d like to see featured on the district’s website or social media accounts
• Questions or feedback about district publications
• Media inquiries
• School news story suggestions

ParentSquare

Getting Started

Once you receive the invitation to join ParentSquare, click the link to activate your account. It takes less than a minute. You can also activate your ParentSquare account by visiting www.parentsquare.com/signin and using your current contact information on file with the district.

The ParentSquare app is available for free on iOS and Android devices.

FAQ:

Q: WHAT IS PARENTSQUARE?
A: ParentSquare is one central tool for all school to home communication. It provides two-way communication that fosters awareness and keeps parents informed of all the happenings in their child’s education. Notifications are sent via email, text, phone call and push notification.

Q: IS PARENTSQUARE REPLACING SCHOOLMESSENGER?
A: Yes. ParentSquare will now be used to send important notifications such as emergency closings as well as to share news from your child’s school.

Q: DO I NEED TO SIGN UP FOR PARENTSQUARE?
A: All parents will receive an invitation via email to join ParentSquare and activate their account. You can also visit www.parentsquare.com/signin. Parents who do not sign up will still receive Alerts via email, text and phone call, but they won’t be able to fully interact with the platform.

Q: HOW DO I DOWNLOAD THE PARENTSQUARE APP?
A: Visit your phone’s app store and search “ParentSquare.” Then you can install the free mobile app for iOS or Android.

Q: HOW DO I CHANGE OR STOP NOTIFICATIONS?
A: ParentSquare allows users to customize their notifications based on notification type and select their preferred delivery method for each school. You can choose between “instant” and “digest” notifications or choose to turn off notifications altogether (excluding emergency alerts and notices). The “instant” setting will send all posts notifications in real-time. The “digest” setting sends direct messages, alerts, and time-sensitive posts instantly, but sends all non-time sensitive posts at the end of the day, reducing the number of notifications you receive daily.

If you are using the web browser: On your home page, click your name and select “My Account.” Then, select “Customize your settings” under Notification Settings.
If you are using the mobile app: From your home screen, click the triple bar in the top left corner. Click on “Account,” then “Preferences,” then “Notification Settings.”

Q: HOW DO I UNSUBSCRIBE?
A: To unsubscribe from text, text STOP to the number sending you the texts. However, if you only click “unsubscribe” on an email or text, ParentSquare will still notify you of an emergency.

Q: WHO IS THE NORTH COLONIE CONTACT PERSON?
For questions or to stop receiving all notifications, please contact North Colonie’s Director of Technology Julie Scriven at 518-785-5511 x3333.

For more information about ParentSquare, including tips sheets, FAQs, and videos click here.

Social Media

Our goal for North Colonie’s social media is to create a dialogue with our fellow community members. We are currently active on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn.

We encourage you to join us there to post your comments, questions, and even media to our page. Why? Because your voice matters to us. However, we do ask that your posts on our North Colonie CSD social media pages follow our rules and guidelines, and that anything we talk about there is district-related. Because our focus is our students, the social media pages will be closely watched and moderated.

• Ask questions, but please remember to maintain student privacy.
• Share content, but be mindful and use good judgment about what you post.
• If you run a local business, we wish you success, but we will not allow promotion of your business on our social media pages, as we are education-focused.

Communications Office

91 Fiddlers Lane
Latham, NY 12110

Email: communications@nccsk12.org
Phone: (518) 785-8591

Director of Communications
Matt Stein
Communications Specialist
Ashley Miller
Communications Coordinator
Jewelie Koutelis