Remind for Educators

• Ability to make phone calls through Remind [while masking your personal cell phone number]
• Send longer messages [600 characters compared to 140 characters in the free version]
• Integrations with Google Drive, Google Classroom, and more to add attachments to messages.
• Set office hours in Remind
• Send a single message in multiple languages, utilizing the recipients “preferred” language.

I did not receive an email from Remind inviting me to sign in with the premium account or claim my rostered classes. What should I do?

In case you did not receive the email (check your spam folder, too) or if you cannot locate it, you can also access your account information and class by taking the following steps:

Navigate to www.remind.com/log_in and choose the “Login with Google” option. If, perhaps, you were already logged into Remind, it’s best to sign out and choose the “Login with Google” option to connect your Remind account with the district’s premium version of Remind.

 

I followed the steps to claim my rostered classes, but my classes aren’t appearing. What should I do?

Upon logging in the first time, you’ll be greeted with a 'Confirm your classes' screen, where you can claim your rostered classes. Rostered classes will have a green “sync” symbol next to them, while previously created Remind classes won’t. With these new premium Remind account, all previously created Remind classes remain untouched and ready for use. Click “Finish” to confirm your new classes.

 

I claimed my rostered class, but the name of the class is confusing. Is that something I can change?

Yes! Once you’ve claimed your rostered class, you are free to edit the name from that class settings menu. This class name appears on the parent end of Remind, so please be mindful of someone in multiple classes. Consider incorporating the following bits of information into your class name: teacher name | subject | class period (for middle school classes)

When a class is first created, one method to join a class is by using the Class Code. The class code is also something you can modify after claiming the rostered class to make it easier to remember.

Even after a class name or class code of a rostered class has been modified, updates will continue to flow from the district’s student information system during the nightly data syncs.

More information about changing the class name...

 

When I log into Remind, I don’t see a rostered class to claim. Am I missing something?

Upon the initial connection of Remind to PowerSchool, rostered classes were only created for educators with assigned students via Clever. However, all staff members can also create a class and add participants manually.

 

What if a parent/caregiver in my class is not receiving Remind messages?

If they are using Remind and they are not receiving messages, they can join the class if you provide them with your class code. Here is more information to join a class or a join a school. As a safety measure, requests to join must be approved by educators/administrators.

 

Is there anything I need to do if I want to share pictures with my classroom families via Remind?

Yes, please ensure that any student who can be identified in the photo has ‘yes’ for media consent in PowerSchool. This can be checked by taking the following steps: Choose a student>custom screens>enrollment information.

 

If I am using a personal device, how is my personal contact information protected?

Personal cell phone numbers, email addresses, and other personal contact information stays private on Remind. All messages are sent through Remind-generated phone numbers and email addresses, not your personal phone number or email address.

In addition, all information, including communication logs, are stored in the District’s Remind account - not on personal devices. Please note that all communication and information sent via Remind is accessible to school and district administrators and may be accessed as needed.

 

A parent/caregiver reached out through Remind letting me know that their contact information is incorrect. What should I do?

For rostered classes in Remind, contact information for parents and guardians is connected to the district’s student information system. As you may know, the District has experienced a number of challenges in the implementation of PowerSchool. Please direct parents/caregivers to update this information via their PowerSchool account or send an email to registrationinfo@district65.net.

Once the parent/caregiver has updated their contact information in PowerSchool, this new information will be pushed to Remind during the next nightly data sync.

 

A parent reached out through Remind letting me know that they would no longer like to receive Remind messages or that a family member of theirs would no longer like to receive Remind messages. What should I do?

Owners of a class can remove people in their class using the linked instructions. And participants can remove themselves from a class using the linked instructions.

 

Can the parents/caregivers in my class see who else is in the class or receive messages from other participants in the class?

The district has defaulted the “Participant Messaging” setting to OFF for all classes. With this off, participants in a class will only be able to message the class owner. Participants will also not be able to view other participants in the class.

 

I want to call parents through Remind, but I don’t want them to be able to call me outside of the standard workday. What can I do?

As the class owner, you can place voice calls through the Remind app to any of your class participants.

To set whether or not you would like to receive calls through Remind, navigate to the Notification Preferences page inside of your Account Settings. In the “Call Preferences” section, there’s an option to check/uncheck “Receive calls through Remind” — even with this unchecked, you’ll still be able to place voice calls.

Additionally, you can turn on Office Hours at the bottom of the Notification Preferences page. With Office Hours enabled, Remind will block any incoming phone calls outside of the designated Office Hour window.

Once placing a call, consider saving that number as a contact in your phone. That way, if that parent returns your call, it won’t be from an unfamiliar number. Remind generates a unique number for each class participant you communicate with.

More information about voice calls...

 

What do my Remind messages to parents/caregivers look like?

This Remind help article provides a helpful visualization of what parents/caregivers see in Remind.

 

If I am co-owners of a class, will all owners of a class receive responses from class participants?

No, not at this time. Currently, only the sender of the message will receive the replies to that message. What co-ownership of a class enables is the ability for owners of the class to send announcements to the class.

In a future system update, Remind is working to enable a shared inbox feature where replies would come into a centralized inbox for a class.

More information about adding co-owners to a class...

 

I see there’s a translation feature. Can I send my message in more than one language?

Yes! A recently added feature in Remind enables senders to automatically translate their message, delivering the message to recipients in their preferred language.

Important note: At this time, this feature is powered only by an automated translation service and may contain errors. The ability to add manual translations to this feature is coming soon.

More information about how to send translated messages...

 

How do I set my preferred language?

You can change your preferred language in the Account Settings page of your profile.

More information about setting your preferred language...

 

Someone in my class received the message in the incorrect language. How can I help them get this corrected?

The preferred language information in Remind has been synced with PowerSchool and at this time only contains English and Spanish options. For a guardian to update the preferred language on record with the district, please direct them to the Student Assignment Team. To only update the preferred language in Remind, the user can do so in the Account Setting page of their profile (this will allow them to receive Remind messages in languages other than English and Spanish, if they so choose).

As a class owner, you also have the ability to modify it for them.

More information on how to modify the preferred language preference for your class participants...

 

I also have a Google Site for my classroom. Can I embed a feed of my Remind announcements?

Adding a feed of your Remind class announcements to your Google Site is a great way to give parents/caregivers one other place to see messages you’re sending out.

Here’s what to do:

• In Remind, click on your name in the top left corner and navigate to Account Settings.
• Choose Widgets from the left sidebar.
• Select which class you’d like to generate a feed of in the “Step 1: Choose a Class” field, and then select Show Advanced Settings.
• In the Type field, change it from “Regular” to “Wix”.
  Note: This step seems counterintuitive with a “Google Site” option present, but only the “Wix” option will embed correctly on the new version of Google Sites.)
• Click the Copy Widget Code button.
• In Google Sites, open the page for where you’d like to add this Remind embed feed, and choose Embed from inside the Insert panel on the right sidebar.
• Switch from “By URL” to “Embed Code” and then paste in the code that was copied from the Remind site.

Create a Class
Helpful for those looking to create classes outside of the “rostered classes.” Common use cases include any type of class or activity involving a custom list of parents.

Add People to Your Class
Helpful for those manually creating classes. This link details the different methods for loading in participants’ contact information, including batch uploading via a spreadsheet. The spreadsheet method could be particularly useful to those able to export information out of the student information system.

Those with rostered classes, can also use the link above for information on how to add additional class participants.

Notification Preferences
Helpful information on navigating and updating contact preferences.

Remind SMS text / Remind app alert / email

Voice Calls
Helpful information on how to send and receive phone calls through Remind, all while masking personal contact info

Office Hours
Helpful information on how to use Office Hours to set when to receive Remind messages and phone calls.

Remind Help Center

Messaging Type and Cadence

*THINK* who, what, when, and how for using messaging to connect with your community.

___

Crafting an Effective Message

Consider the following when crafting an impactful message:

Audience

Who is the message for?

Purpose

What’s the purpose?

Time

When will sending the message have the greatest impact?

Keep it simple

Is it easy to understand?

Make it personal.

How can I enhance my message?

Is it informative?

Provide a link, resource, photo, or video to further engage your audience

Best practices for Sending Messages

• Announcements are best for large audiences
• Direct or group conversations are best for personalized communication and interventions

Consider sending at least one message a week or more often as needed.

Consider establishing a cadence for your messages. For example, on Mondays, parents/caregivers can expect a week at a glance message or on Fridays, send a link to your weekly class newsletter.

Extending Learning Outside the Classroom

Sometimes it may feel like learning ends as students walk out the door.

Best practices:

• Send home photos of classroom activities
• Help parents (as appropriate) to find real world applications 
• Prepare parents/caregivers with questions about the day’s lesson (eg, Today we learned about volcanoes. Please ask your child the difference between lava and magma.)

Engaging Families

Parents/caregivers have a lot of responsibilities and a lot to manage! Help get them involved:

Best Practices

• Send announcements with the same information that you share through other mediums (eg flyers that you post in your classroom, messages you send via email, announcements to visit your class website)
• Send individual messages to build rapport and celebrate wins
• In addition to other contact methods, consider sending individual messages to maintain connection with families especially if you feel the child may need extra support or care.
• Use voice calls to reach out about sensitive information.

At the time of registration, parents/guardians grant or deny consent for the District to publicly share pictures and videos of their child. Prior to sharing student photos/videos with a classroom community using Remind or any other communication platform, students who can be identified in the photo must be checked for media consent in PowerSchool. This can be done in PowerSchool by taking the following steps: Choose a student > custom screens > enrollment information.

Students must have a ‘YES’. If they do not, the photo/video cannot be used or shared without written consent from the parent/guardian.