There is a ton of uncertainty around going back to school this year. Whether that is remotely, in person or a bit of both we are here to support you in going back to school, strong!

With your ClassTag School Launch Kit you will be ready to get everyone on board ClassTag’s free communication platform and ready in 3 easy steps! We even added in a few extra tips for remote learning ?

ClassTag School Launch Kit

1. Set up your school

Go ahead, become a ClassTag Leader and claim your school on ClassTag.com. If you can’t locate your school or you are looking to become a District Leader on ClassTag, please send a note to support@classtag.com and we will promptly assist you.

Want to know what you can do Schoolwide on ClassTag? Check out this quick video to learn more:

Helpful resources:

• If you have already signed up as a teacher, add your classroom to a school or reach out to support@classtag.com to help you get connected if the school has been claimed
• If you have not signed up for ClassTag, sign up as a leader and claim your school
• Need step-by-step instructions and best practices to get going? Here is a comprehensive guide on how to use ClassTag schoolwide!

PRO TIP: Customize your school on ClassTag with school branding to add school spirit! Change your cover photo and avatar and it will be reflected in various communications . Learn more about your ClassTag Leader superpowers here.

2. Invite teachers and administrators

Invite school leaders and teachers right from the school page so that they can get connected instantly. ClassTag Leaders will be able to access and manage everything on ClassTag, while teachers you invite will only be able to add other teachers and create their classrooms.

Now that your school is set up, it’s time for the Launch Party ?! Here’s a handy Classroom Launch Checklist to keep everything organized!

What to bring to the party?

This quick 1-minute video from one of our ClassTag Leaders is a hit. You can play it for teachers to see the benefits of ClassTag at a glance.

Have a bit more time for a presentation and comparison vs. other communication solutions? We’ve got you covered!

• Here’s a powerful presentation you can share that outlines the key ClassTag benefits
• Flyer that gives a great ClassTag overview
• Flyer that helps you compare ClassTag vs. other tools

Now is a great time to open up your ClassTag account and show off the next steps for teachers.

• Create classes right from the school page (you can do so for them as ClassTag Leader or they can themselves)
• Invite co-teachers, specialty teachers or support facilitators to classes (from directory page in that class, click “+teacher”)
• Show teachers how to add student lists, parent contacts

If teachers are ready to go ahead of the meeting, you can use the time to help everyone get set up right on the spot! In this case, here are a few party favorites that teachers should bring:

• Roster with students and parent contacts (to invite on the spot);
• List of holidays, days off and planned school activities (to be set up as events);
• Resources you want to share with parents (i.e., study packet, printables, or links to useful resources)

Read on to for additional resources below that will guide you step by step.

Student list and parent contacts

In order to join ClassTag, you will need to have a student roster for each of the classes or groups. To add student roster and invite parents a school leader or a teacher will need to click on a class name from the school page or left side navigation and go to Directory tab. There are three ways parents can be invited to join ClassTag: 1. Copy & paste student names and parent emails using a template; 2. Enter students and parents’ emails or cell phone numbers manually; 3. Copy & paste or enter manually the student list and print flyers with codes for parents to join.

Helpful resources:

• How can I create a student list and invite parents?
• Can I send invitations via SMS, email or both?
• How can I send invitations in different languages?

List of holidays and planned activities

Wouldn’t it be great to post all your activities at once and then sit back and see parents’ responses, RSVPs, and volunteers coming your way? It is possible with ClassTag! To take full advantage of ClassTag’s smart automation and personalized weekly newsletters (which automatically creates an upcoming week-at-a-glance) you will need to load up as many activities as you can. Here are a few ideas:

• Set up Events for days off, virtual live lessons, tests, important assignments, community events, dress up days, parties with multiple types of volunteers, meet the teacher night, etc.
• Organize volunteer requests for field trips, snacks, item donations, virtual read-alouds, etc.
• Use parent-teacher conferences for activities that require families to pick a time slot, such as: welcome calls, weekly check-ins, parent-teacher or student-led conferences. Remember: with Google Meet and Google Calendar integrations you can easily schedule virtual meetings!
• Create To-Dos for any submissions required from parents, e.g., permission slips, forms, health records, and more! With Google Drive and a virtual student backpack, you can easily store and share important documents.

Helpful resources:

• What activities can I organize with ClassTag?
• How can I organize parent-teacher conferences?

Resources to share with parents

Adding handy resources in a visible place for parents to reference is a great way to streamline communications.  An easy way to share these resources is by using ClassTag’s Library and Quick Links.

ClassTag’s Quick Links are a visible place for parent to reference classroom information, such as: conferencing links, Google Classroom links, resources and more. ClassTag’s Library is your all-in-one resource hub for both parents and teachers. With the Library you can safely store and share files with parents, individually or the whole class at once.

Helpful resources:

• What communications can I do with ClassTag?
• How can I communicate in different languages?

PRO TIP: Just like schools, you can customize your classroom cover photo, avatar and profile picture. For remote teachers: consider changing your cover photo to a picture of your virtual classroom and your profile picture to a picture of  your Bitmoji avatar!

3. Launch with parents

It’s GO time! Parents have been invited to ClassTag, and it is the time to build excitement and help parents utilize the program to stay on track with school happenings and connect with the teachers and each other.

Amazing news! Once parents are invited to join ClassTag, they start receiving all of the communications and can sign up at any time to see more pictures, pick a conference slot or send a message. This way you can quickly reach all parents.

PRO TIP: Once parents are invited to join ClassTag send a welcome announcement saying how important it would be to join ClassTag, benefits for parents and a link to how to use it for parents. You can send it as a multi-classroom announcement as a ClassTag Leader from school page or individually for each class and pin it for easy reference at the top of Home tab.

Helpful resources:

• How can I introduce ClassTag to parents? + Flyer + Meet the Teacher Presentation
• What can parents do on ClassTag?

PRO TIP: If you have a meet the teacher night (even if you’re having it virtually) check out our resource on Having a Successful Back to School Night!

With this Launch Kit, you are guaranteed to unite teachers and parents in every child’s success and make this collaboration simple and joyful! Now you can reach and engage every parent regardless of what device they use with relevant, timely and personalized communications.

Wait! That’s not all!

Have you heard of ClassTag Rewards? This is an amazing program to help teachers get free supplies as they communicate with parents. Yes!! Every month ClassTag coins are deposited based on parent engagement and teachers get much-needed resources for the class.

Teachers and ClassTag Leaders can also earn supplies as they share ClassTag and everyone who creates a class with the special link will get 150 coins each! What a great way to celebrate a great parent collaboration and each other.

We are just a step away at support@classtag.com if you need to reach us.