Springfield Public Schools (a.k.a District 186), a large urban district in Illinois serving almost 14,000 students across 35 schools, faced a significant communication challenge. Like many districts, they struggled with a fragmented communication landscape, where parents were overwhelmed by numerous third-party apps and platforms used by individual teachers and schools. This created frustration and led to missed information, hindering family engagement.

Rachel Dyas, the district's Director of Communications, looked for a comprehensive solution to streamline communication and centralize information. Her findings led her to fully embrace Apptegy's Rooms, a teacher/parent communication tool within their Springfield District 186 app.

Before the full implementation of Apptegy’s Rooms, Springfield Public Schools experienced what Rachel vividly describes as the "Wild West" of teacher communication. Parents were bombarded with requests to download multiple apps for different children, schools and extracurricular activities.

"Being a parent myself and witnessing the barrage of 'download this app, download that app,'" Rachel remembers thinking, "I have to keep up with an app for baseball, and another app for an after school program, and then on top of that, I need to check my email, and then I also have to make sure I check the text thread with PTO parents. It was insanity."

This chaotic system led to parents missing crucial information and feeling disconnected from their children's education. With 35 schools spread across the city, and families often having children in different schools or at multiple grade levels, the problem was compounded. The district recognized a critical need for a unified platform to deliver one clear message.

Teachers were not immune to the communication burden either. While they aimed to keep families informed, managing multiple platforms and trying to keep messaging consistent was an added stressor. There was also a lack of centralized oversight for communications, which could lead to inconsistencies and, in some cases, a lack of documentation for important conversations.

Springfield Public Schools had already begun its partnership with Apptegy by utilizing their website platform. When Rachel joined the district, Apptegy was already in the implementation phase for the district’s website and mobile app. Their existing familiarity with Apptegy's user-friendly interface was important. This made the implementation of Rooms, part of the app they were already used to, a smoother process.

"I think the buy-in was already there because the district had used Apptegy for a year, so staff knew how easy it was to edit or update their websites," Rachel notes. "So then they were like, 'Okay, that's gonna flow into this side of it too.'"

The transition to Rooms wasn't immediate for all. Initially, some teachers were allowed a "half-and-half" period where they could still use their preferred third-party apps like ClassDojo. However, the district eventually made the decisive move to fully implement Rooms, "pulling the plug" on other apps to centralize communication completely.

Rachel shared how she, along with Nikki Irlam, Director of Project Management & Executive Operations, handled rolling out the new platform. It was their mission to make things go smoothly and for everyone to work together. Rachel understood how important it was to get everyone on board inside the district. The first step was to give multiple presentations to the superintendent's team and the school board to show them why having one platform was a big deal.

Next, Rachel and Nikki focused on training for principals and teachers. They led meetings with the principals, where they gave a 20-minute talk just for them. They focused on pointing out how the new platform would help principals easily be able to see what teachers and parents were talking about.

They also knew it would be key for the teachers to feel supported. All teaching staff went through the official Apptegy trainings, but then Rachel and Nikki made sure training didn’t stop there. They started her own "open office hours," specifically for Rooms, both in person and online. This gave teachers a chance to get one-on-one help with setting up their Rooms classes.

Rachel really pushed for keeping everyone updated, all the time, and made it clear that implementing Rooms wasn't just another project. They made Rooms a regular subject of discussion internally, sending out emails across the district and reminding everyone about its features and where to get help. Rachel tried to think of everything.

Ultimately, Apptegy’s Rooms became the central hub for family communication at Springfield Public Schools, offering a "one-stop shop" for parents to connect with teachers and access vital school information. "When Apptegy showed us how utilizing Rooms would be a one-stop shop within the app, it was a no-brainer," Rachel says. "It helped to make everything easier for already busy parents, especially when they had multiple children at multiple schools.” Now, parents can message teachers directly and get quick replies. This means no more endless phone tag or waiting forever for an email to come back. Rachel notes that this direct line of communication brought a lot of "comfort and ease."

Because Rooms exists in the app the district already has with Apptegy, parents could now stay in touch with teachers in the same place they were already looking up lunch menus for all their schools, seeing announcements about students of the month, and finding important dates. Rooms has also become the place where important classroom flyers live. This means no more worrying about a flyer getting lost in a backpack!

One of the most important benefits of having Rooms, though, was how it has made things safer. All the messaging and conversations within Rooms are saved, creating a secure record, offering protection for both staff and the district. This was really helpful for things like custody issues or other concerns about a child. 

Rachel also loved the consistent look and feel. She points out that because Rooms is part of the app branded for their district, all communications look professional and match the district’s identity. Rooms isn’t like other vendor’s apps that are full of ads. She even jokes, "It looks like our district, it's us! It doesn't feel like some third-party crazy situation that's going to steal your data and then make you spin a wheel to get a discount."

Finally, a really important feature for Rachel was Rooms’ language translation capabilities. Rooms can automatically translate messages into a family's preferred language. For a district with many Spanish-speaking families, this was huge because it means they no longer have to manually translate messages.

The switch to Apptegy’s Rooms has made a big difference for Springfield Public Schools. It's helped families feel more connected, made things easier for the staff, and even improved how people view the district.

Because Rooms is so easy to use, a lot more parents are getting involved. For example, Jane Adams Elementary used to have trouble getting families to show up for events. But after they started using Rooms for their communication—sending out timely text and email reminders—their Earth and Science STEM night last year had a record number of people.  There were 70 parents and adults, along with 90 students and their siblings! The school leaders were so happy they even sent Rachel a thank-you email, saying Rooms was the reason for their success.

It’s true: Some teachers weren't sure about the change. But since the initial implementation, many teachers have really come to like Rooms. Being able to send quick messages about a child's day (like, "your daughter's coming home in a different pair of pants because she fell in a puddle") has made teachers’ lives easier by saving them time. Rachel constantly reminds staff that Rooms "should lessen your load because it's helping your families feel more connected with you." 

Rooms has even helped improve the district’s reputation online. As Rachel put it, people who used to complain about the district on Facebook have gone quiet now that they have access to clear, consistent communications.

1. Switching to a new way of communicating across a whole school district requires a team effort. It's not just about the communications department; you need to find people within the district who believe in the change and can lead the way. These "champions," like principals, are key to getting others on board and helping everyone overcome any doubts.

2. When you introduce new tools, focus on how they'll save time for busy staff and parents, instead of making it seem like more work. Explain that better communication helps families feel more connected, which actually makes things easier for teachers and school leaders in the long run.

3. It's important to offer ongoing help and reassurance. Change can be tough, so providing different ways for people to get training—like in-person, online or open office hours—and regularly reminding them about where to get help makes people feel more comfortable and willing to try new things.

4. Embrace the idea of a "one-stop shop". Parents are tired of using many different apps and websites to get information. Giving them one app where they can find everything they need and talk directly with teachers really changes the game for getting families involved and keeping them happy.

5. Finally, think of this shift as an opportunity to move forward. 

As Rachel said, "We cannot move back." Just like schools don't send faxes anymore, districts need to continuously update how they talk to families and meet them where they are in today's changing world.