Teacher Communications: Create and send a message

Teacher Communications has been designed specifically for you as educators, providing the ability to communicate with individual students, entire classes, multiple classes, and/or parents, depending on your needs. 

With Teacher Communications in Messages XR Enterprise, you can: 

• Create and customize messages to send to your students and families via Email, Text, and, if arranged by your district, possibly via Voice messaging.
• Utilize a selection of pre-crafted messages organized into teacher-specific categories, allowing targeted communication based on the message topic.
• View reports to track the success and efficiency of your communication. 

Create a message

Navigate to the Messages tab in left navigation, which opens by default to the message creation screen.

When creating a message, you can decide to draft your own content or send a pre-made message. 

Option #1: Draft my own content

Step 1: Add Title

The first step to starting your first message is to Add a Title. 

• Title: Once you add a title, it will autopopulate into the Subject field below. To change the Subject, you can change the Title field again as you wish. 

Step 2: Select Recipients

The To field is where you will search for, select, and add recipients who will receive this message. 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, “Teacher Communications: Select recipients for a message.”

Step 3: Create your content

Type up the Content that will go into your message in the Content area in Messages.

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. To modify the Subject, return to make the change in the Title field. 
• 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.

Have you already entered your reply-to email address in your Profile settings > Reply-to section? If you haven't, the first screen that pops up after you select the Email icon is the Add reply-to email window. Enter a reply-to email address. 

Once you select the Email delivery method, the icon will turn blue and you'll have some options to configure before you can send out an 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.
• Click the Insert Image button to open up the Insert Image box where you can either Upload from your computer or pull from a Gallery. 

• 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 if you want it to appear differently in your message body.
• Preview (the eyeball) to see how the message will display to recipients.

Attach files: Click the Attach files button to add files to your message. 

• Number of files: There is a maximum allowance of 9 files.
• Allowable formats: DOC, TXT, CSV, PPT, XLS, PDF, Video, Audio, JPEG, JPG, PNG
• Maximum size: 100 MB

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

Send SMS/Text message

Clicking the Text message icon will allow you to customize your content to be sent as an SMS/Text message. As soon as you click into this delivery method channel, check on your Character Limit count. 

• Enter text: Shorten or adjust the length of your message to fit into the displayed character limit.
  • Standard SMS limit: 120 characters 

• Enabled: Change your mind? Toggle off enabled so that this message will no longer be sent via SMS/Text message.
• Sync with Content: Click Sync with Content to revert back to the Content in the first window. This will wipe out any manual changes you made in the text window. Did you click this by accident? No worries! Click the Undo arrow to show your changes again!

Step 5: Consider auto-translate option

Before you send your message, confirm that the option Auto-translate on Send is toggled ON to have your message auto-translated when it is sent. Translating school and district messaging ensures inclusivity, accessibility, engagement, equity, and better communication for all families. Consider the option to Auto-translate on Send! 

Step 6: 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.

Step 7: View message reporting

Teachers can run reports to track messaging history and delivery status, helping them stay informed on what’s been sent, to whom, and how successfully. The Reports area includes two key tools—Message Tracking and Teacher Messaging—each offering targeted insights and easy ways to filter, drill down, and export your data.

Learn more in the article, "Teacher Communications: View message reporting."

Option #2: Send a pre-made message

Pre-made messages allow you to quickly send standard, student-type messages to students in your classes or specific user groups you created. There are several you can choose from.

• System created: Written and recorded in four supported languages: English, Spanish, Portuguese, and Haitian-Creole. Can't be edited, copied, or deleted. Identified by the Finalsite logo. Also available in several languages including English, Spanish, French, German, Mandarin, and Cantonese. Any of these messages will send in the preferred language of the recipient if available.
• Admin created: Created by your district administrator. Can be copied only. Identified by an image of a building.
• User created: Written and recorded by a user. Can be edited, copied, and deleted. Identified by an image of a person.

Step 1: Click to open pre-made messages in the Saved messages button

When you click the Saved messages button, all pre-made messages that exist for you to use will populate out in a dropdown. They are organized by folders.

• Drafts: Any messages that you have edited but did not send will live in the Drafts folder.
• Other folders: The remaining folders in the Saved messages area contain the following messages created by your school or district administrator:
  • Messages to be used by teachers.
  • System messages created by Finalsite for teachers.
  • Different category examples may include:
    • Class Achievement
    • Class Activities
    • Class Behavior
    • Class Equipment/Materials
    • Coaches, Testing, etc.

Step 2: Select the pre-made message you'd like to use

Once you select a message in one of the folders in the Saved messages area, you'll see that message's content populate into the Email subject and Message text areas: 

Certain pieces of the message will be replaced with your district's details, such as: 

• recipient name
• phone numbers
• email addresses
• sender name

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.

Step 4: View message reporting

Once you have sent your message, it may be helpful to track the progress of your communication. 

Did you know that you can pull reports on messages you've sent out from your Teacher Communications platform in Messages XR Enterprise? Learn more in the article, "Teacher Communications: View message reporting."