School admins and principals: Create and send a message

School admins and principals are able to create and customize messages to send to recipients by phone, email, text, app, and social media. Here are some tasks you'll learn to complete in this article: 

• Select different types of delivery methods or channels
• Pre-set your default delivery options can also be pre-set
• Send emergency messages
• Use advanced options for a deeper level of customization
• Use accessibility best practices in all of your communication, no matter what your method!

Message sending prerequisites: Before you send!

Create a message

Once you have confirmed that all of your pre-send prerequisites have been finalized, you are ready to create a message. Navigate to the Messages tab in left navigation, which opens by default to a message creation screen.

Step 1: Add Title

Add these details to create your message:

• Title: Once you add a title, it will autopopulate into the Subject field below. Don't worry, you can change the Subject later, if you'd like. 

Step 2: Select Recipients

The To field is where you will search for, select, and add recipients who will receive this message.

• Select recipients that exist within your assigned campus(es). 
• There are multiple ways to add recipients to a message, including manual and file upload.
• To learn more and to select which options are best for you, check out the article, “School admins and principals: Select recipients for a message.”
• Don't forget to come back here to go through the rest of the steps!

Step 3: Create Content

Once you have set up your Title and Recipients, you will create the content that will serve as a template to populate into any other channels you choose as delivery modes for this message.

• Subject: The Title autopopulated into this field, but you can modify your Subject if you’d like.
• Type your Message text: Add the text of your message into the rectangle below the Subject field.

Step 4: Choose your delivery methods

Once you have entered the default Content, click on each of the delivery methods or channels that you’d also like to send this message to.

Send message to email

To send your message to email, click the Email icon where you can then customize your message for email.

Expand editor: Click << More to expand down the editing toolbar for the email text.

Edit your message in full screen: Want more space? Click the four arrows to expand your editing window into full screen.

Add text: Update the text, using the formatting options in the editing toolbar.

Add images: Click the Image icon to add any images.

• Lead the cursor to the place where you’d like to add an image.
• Upload an image directly.
• Add name, alt-text, adjust width, height, or Discard if you change your mind.
  

  Important Note

  Alternative text (alt-text) is required to meet accessibility compliance standards. Learn more in the article, “Best Practice: Writing alt-text for images.” Image cannot be uploaded without alt-text. Once alt-text is added, the Insert button appears.

• Resize your image manually.
• Preview (the eyeball) to see how the message will display to recipients.

Other options: Expand out the editing toolbar to format your text.

Click <<More to see the full editing toolbar expanded out. 

(from top left to bottom right)

• Undo and redo arrows
• Spellcheck
• Insert merge tags
• Insert email template
• Insert horizontal line
• Insert/edit a link
• Add source code <>
• Expand to full width of screen
• Preview as your recipients will see your email (eyeball)
• Less >>: Condense and hide your editing toolbar
• Smore:
  • Select a Smore newsletter that has been created in Smore to be inserted.
  • Create a new Smore newsletter template to use for your email message.
  • View the Newsletter preview to decide which is best.
  • Click Use when you’re ready to finalize your choice.
• Bold / Italic / Underline
• Change font
• Change font size
• Change text color
• Change background color
• Align left, center, right
• Insert bullets
• Insert numbered list
• Enabled: Change your mind? Toggle off Enabled so that this message will no longer be sent via SMS/Text message.

• Sync with Content: Want to revert back to the Content in the first window? This will wipe out your changes. Did you click this by accident? No worries! Click the Undo arrow to show your changes again!

Send message to mobile app

For districts and schools with a mobile app, add content that can be sent via mobile app notification to your mobile app users. Click the Mobile app icon to customize your send.

• Update the text.
• Add any images.
• Recipients only: Check this box if you want the notification to appear only to known recipients and not to the general public of your mobile app.

Send SMS/Text message

Clicking the Text message icon will allow you to customize your content to be sent as a Text message.

• Enter text: Shorten or adjust the length of your message to fit into the 280 character limit.
  • Standard SMS limit: 140 characters 
  • SMS-Plus limit: 280 Characters
    

    Upgrade to SMS-Plus

    Want to upgrade to a higher text character limit? Reach out to your main district admin to see if this is an option. 

• Insert link: Add an original link that will be shortened into your message.
• Enabled: Change your mind? Toggle off enabled so that this message will no longer be sent via SMS/Text message.

Send Voice message

Click the Voice icon to send a message out to community users within your assigned campus(es).

Here you can update the text and select how you would like to make the Voice recording with the following options:

• Text to speech: The entered text will be read by a system voice that you can preview.
  • Select the play button to preview, or Send a test call to a sample number to test it out.
  • Adjust text in the box to change what is read.
• Call me to record: You will receive a call where you can record your outgoing voice message.
  
  • Enter phone number you would like the system to reach you at.
    • Add extensions by adding (# - then space - then the letter “x”) e.g. 555-555-1212 x23.
  • A voice will guide you through the process to record your message.
  • Once you are done recording your message, press # to finish recording and press 1 to save the message.
  • Play button and amount of time will automatically display on the screen once your message has been recorded successfully.
  • Play to listen/confirm.
  • Click the Delete button to record your message again.
  • Send a test call to a sample number to test the recording.
• Call in to record: Follow the visual instructions that will populate onto the screen once you select this option.
  
  • Enter the code provided to you.
  • Record your message.
  • Press # to finish recording and press 1 to save your message.
• Upload audio file: Provide a pre-recorded audio file to be used for the outgoing message.
  • Supported file types: aiff or wave format.
  • Once the file is uploaded successfully, a play button and amount of time will automatically display on the screen.
  • Click the Delete button to upload a new audio file.
• Use microphone: You can even record your message in real-time using your computer’s microphone.
  • Click the red record button.
  • Speak your message into the microphone or computer.
  • Click the button again to save your message.
  • Message will show “Saving” while processing the recording.

Send to Facebook

Here you can send a message directly out to your connected Facebook accounts. Click the Facebook icon to select this channel. 

• Edit the content in the text box to be less than 160 characters.
• Attach files to the message, such as images or PDF attachments.

Send to X / Twitter

Here you can send a message directly out to your connected X (formerly Twitter) accounts.

• Edit the content in the text box to be less than 140 characters.
• Add an image.

Send to Feeds

For districts and schools that send messages to a third party website, the content will be added here for RSS feeds so that, upon sending the message, this content will be sent to the third party website.

Step 5: Choose your delivery options 

This final step before you send is where you are just about ready but want to consider a few added conveniences and specifications.

Here are a few delivery options you’ll learn about in this step:

• Select languages for the auto-translate feature
• Send an emergency message that is sent in the highest priority manner.
• Schedule a message
• Send a message Now
• Adjust settings in Advanced options such as changing the sender organization, message category, reply-to, custom caller ID, sending to all delivery addresses, delivering to parents of included students, skipping header/footer prompts for voice calls, making this message public, and adding merge tags.

Auto-translate on Send 

Translating school and district messaging ensures inclusivity, accessibility, engagement, equity, and better communication for all families. Consider the option to Auto-translate on Send! 

Advanced options

In this section, you can:

• adjust how messages are sent
• manage recipient numbers
• change who is allowed to send this message at another time
• and more!

• Sender organization: Select a different school or building that messages will be sent from.
• Message category: Change the category in which a message is housed and located. 
• Custom reply-to: This selection will override the reply-to that is attached to a person's account.
• Custom Caller ID: This selection will override the caller ID phone number that is attached to the caller or sender account.
• Sending options:
  • Send to all delivery addresses: This option allows you to send a message to all numbers available for every user.
    

    Important Note

    Check this box only during emergency messages. 

  • Deliver to parents of students: Check this box to include parents and guardians who are connected to any of your student recipients. 
  • Skip header/footer prompts for outbound calls: If you want the header and footer information included in an audio message, clear the Do not play header/footer prompts during outbound calling option. This option is checked by default so that the header and footer information won’t be included.
  • Allow others to send this message (public): Checking this box means your message can be sent out publicly.

Send an emergency message

Set the message to Emergency when you need it to send out immediately to your assigned campus(es). 

• Under Commission rules, emergency purposes means calls made necessary in any situation affecting the health and safety of consumers. 
• Toggle on next to Emergency message.
• Decide your Emergency message settings by checking or unchecking next to each box:
  • Send message immediately
  • Ignoring system blackout hours
  • To all recipient numbers
• Click Confirm and this message will be sent as an emergency message that ignores all subscription settings and preferences set by users.

Schedule or Send now

Choose the time your message will be sent out.

• Send message: Want to send your message out immediately? Simply click “Send message” whenever you’re ready to send.
• Now: Click the Now button to schedule your message
  • Select a date and time when your message will be sent out.
  • Click the + sign to schedule multiple message sends out.
    • For example, you can use the + sign to send out a message three different times on staggered dates before an event is going to happen.