Henrico School Board to review new additions to ParentSquare app and rollout of ‘StudentSquare’

The Henrico School Board will meet Thursday for a 4 p.m. work session to discuss new tools that will be added to the ParentSquare communication app used by the division’s staff and families.

Some of the new features will include:

• Online sign ups – for volunteer recruitment and signs ups for class and project supplies;
• Appointment sign ups – for parent-teacher conferences and other meetings;
• RSVP – for school events, indicating the number of adults and kids attending;
• Forms – electronic signatures for field trip permission slips and other forms;
• Secure document delivery – for sending secure documents directly to parents over web, email, text, and app notifications.

A student version of the app called “StudentSquare” also will be released in September for middle and high-schoolers, with parents having the option to opt-out if they do not want their child using the app.

With the ParentSquare app, which Henrico Schools introduced last August, the school division now has contactability with 99.6% of families and staff. During the 2023-2024 school year, about 76% of teachers used the app’s direct messaging feature and 58% used the posting feature.

During Thursday’s 6:30 p.m. monthly meeting, the school board will vote on schematic designs for a new Center for Environmental Science and Sustainability Building to be constructed on Wilton Farm in the Varina District. The building, which will cost an estimated $16.3 million, will serve students countywide and is set to be completed in the fall of 2026.

Members of the public also will have an opportunity to speak before the board at the monthly meeting’s public forum.

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Liana Hardy is the Citizen’s Report for America Corps member and education reporter. Her position is dependent upon reader support; make a tax-deductible contribution to the Citizen through RFA here.