draft-faq - Freshschools

General

Q What is FreshSchools?

A FreshSchools is a School Communication Platform for the 21st Century. With our unified platform for all school related activities, administrators can connect with parents and teachers like never before. Teachers can spend more time teaching and less time wrestling with spreadsheets. Parents can know exactly what is going on and who to talk to. It all adds up to a better educational experience for our kids.

Q Who should join FreshSchools?

A FreshSchools was built for Pre-K through High School. Any public, private, and charter school can join FreshSchools. Whether your school has one class or twelve grades, FreshSchools is for you.

Q How much does FreshSchools cost?

A FreshSchools costs as little as $1 per student per year. There is no charge for Parents, Staff and Teachers. For more details, see our pricing page.

Q What devices does FreshSchools work on?

A FreshSchools will work on any device: mobile, tablet and desktop. Android and iOS apps are available for free.

Q Can I do a trial before joining?

A We love to give demos, just contact us at hello@freshschools.com to schedule a demo at your convenience.

Q Can I talk to someone instead of emailing if I have questions?

A Yes! We are available from 9AM to 5PM Pacific Time, (310) 741-8465. You can email us anytime at hello@freshschools.com.

Q Where can I find your Terms of Service?

A Here’s a link to our Terms of Service.

Q Where can I find your Privacy Policy?

A Here’s a link to our Privacy Policy.

Q Do you share my information?

A We at FreshSchools take privacy very seriously, and do not share your personal information with any third party organization. As a general rule we use your personal information solely to provide the service. However, during the process of developing and troubleshooting the FreshSchools service, it may be necessary to look at pieces of your information to improve the service or resolve a problem or dispute. Also, when you write us to request support, our skilled customer support representatives may look at your information in order to assist you.

Q Is there an iPhone or Android app for FreshSchools?

A Yes we have an iOS and Android app available. These apps are for Parents, Teacher and School Staff after you’ve signed up for FreshSchools. Right now you cannot sign up through the mobile apps.

Q Is FreshSchools secure?

A Our platform integrates bank-level security at every level. Data is fully encrypted using 256-Bit SSL encryption. We employ state-of-the-art firewall and backup technology, and our data resides in high-security access-controlled data centers. Our data centers are spread out nationally so we’re even covered in cases of acts of nature. Read more about how FreshSchools is secure.

Getting Started

Q How do I join FreshSchools?

A If you’re responsible for your school’s communication needs (PTA/PTO Lead, Principal, School Administrator), you can just upload your current school directory to get started. We will walk you through the onboarding and you can contact us at any time with questions. Join FreshSchools now.

Q What do I need to do to sign up for FreshSchools?

A We really don’t need you to do much, just some contact information and your school’s current directory. We prefer an Excel CSV spreadsheet, but we accept any format, even a physical directory mailed to us!

Q How can I get my school on FreshSchools?

A If you are a Parent, Teacher or any other interested party, you can always refer your school to FreshSchools. We’ll contact your referal to get the process started, and you’ll get a $25 Amazon gift certificate once your school joins.

Q Can I sign up from my phone?

A Yes you can, our Join page is accessible on any device. All of our pages are optimized for mobile, but it might be easier to upload your school data from a computer. Our iOS and Android apps are for Parents, Teachers and Staff at schools that have already joined and do not offer sign up capabilities.

Q Who should contact if I have questions?

A At any point, you can contact our Customer Service Team who can answer any questions you have.

Using FreshSchools as a Parent

Q How do I log into FreshSchools?

A If your school has already joined FreshSchools, you can log in by clicking the log in button in the upper right of our website. The URL for login is https://staging.freshschools.com/app/users/sign_in

Q How do I know if my school uses FreshSchools?

A Once a school joins FreshSchools, the school administrator will send each parent an invite to create their own password. If you haven’t received the invitation, your school is not on FreshSchools, but you can always refer them to us.

Q Can I change my contact information?

A Yes, once you log in, you can access your family’s profile through the My Profile link in the drop down under your name or in the My Kids left navigation. You can choose to share your personal information with the entire school, or keep it private.

Q How do I contact Teachers or Staff?

A FreshSchools makes it easy to contact anyone at your school. Our dashboard has quick contact buttons for your Teachers, Staff and other Parents in your child’s class. You can also use the message feature to type in the name of anyone in your school without the need to know their email.

Q Can I hide my personal information?

A Yes, each item related to your personal information (address, email, phone) has it’s own visibility settings. You can share each part of your personal information with the whole school, just your child’s class or keep it private.

Using FreshSchools as a Teacher

Q How do I log into FreshSchools?

A If your schools has already joined FreshSchools, you can log in by clicking the log in button in the upper right of our website. The URL for login is https://staging.freshschools.com/app/users/sign_in

Q How do I know if my school uses FreshSchools?

A Once a school joins FreshSchools, the school administrator will send each teacher an invite to create their own password. If you haven’t received the invitation, your school is not on FreshSchools, but you can always refer them to us.

Q How can I see my students?

A On the left navigation you have a Classes link, this will take you to your classes where all of your students, room parents, and teacher aides profiles will be displayed. From there you can message groups or individuals as needed.

Q How do I contact Parents?

A On the dashboard, you can click the Message Parents button, which will send a message to all of the parents in your classes. You can also go to the Message Composer (Message link on the left nav) and type the name of any Parent and send them an individual message.

Using FreshSchools as an Administrator

Q How do I log into FreshSchools?

Q Can I import my sports teams into FreshSchools?

A Yes, we can take any roster or classes as part of your school directory import, and we will create separate classes for each group you submit, including after-school activities and sports.

Q How do I invite Parents to FreshSchools?

A After we import all of the school data you’ve provided us into FreshSchools, you will be able to send out an email with an invite link to all the Parents in your school. This email is fully customizable by you and you can include your own welcoming message.

Q How do I invite Teachers to FreshSchools?

A The process to invite Teachers to FreshSchools is the same as for Parents or Staff. After we import all of the school data you’ve provided us into FreshSchools, you will be able to send out an email with an invite link to all the Teachers in your school. This email is fully customizable by you and you can include your own welcoming message.

Q How do I invite Staff to FreshSchools?

A The process to invite Staff to FreshSchools is the same as for Parents or Teachers. After we import all of the school data you’ve provided us into FreshSchools, you will be able to send out an email with an invite link to all the Staff in your school. This email is fully customizable by you and you can include your own welcoming message.

Q Can I see which Parents, Teachers or Staff have accepted my invite?

A The Administrator Dashboard has two useful features for onboarding Parents, Teachers and Staff. First there is a Resend Invites button located at the top of your dashboard. Second, there is a Missing Information table that will list Parents, Teachers or Staff that do not have complete information in the system.

Q Can we use FreshSchools to notify Parents in an emergency?

A Yes, with FreshSchools you can notify all the Parents in your school with one message. FreshSchools has built in All Parents, All Teachers, All Staff and All Room Parents as default groupings that are available in all of our communication features.

Q How do I delete my account?

A We can help you if you need to delete your account. Email us at support@freshschools.com and our Customer Support will assist.