Mass Notification

• ​​​​​​Log in to https://spps.parentlink.net 
• Click the Google button to log in 
• Sign in using your stpaul.k12.mn.us email address and Active Directory password
• When prompted, choose to login as a School Administrator or District Administrator

Create Message

1. Click the Create Message button on the home screen or go to the Messages tab at the top.

2. Enter a Subject for your message. This will appear as the subject line in emails—make it clear and appropriate.

Choose Your Recipients

1. Click Choose, then select your school.

2. To message all Parents, click Select next to the Parent folder.

3. To message Staff, click Select next to the Staff folder.
   
   Note: Selecting Students will send your message to their parents/guardians—student contact info is not stored in Mass Notification.
    

4. Expand recipient folders to choose specific parents or guardians.

5. Under Groups, you’ll find AM and PM bus routes.
6. Click Done to confirm your selections.

Compose Your Message

1. Build your message in the template window on the right.

2. Use the buttons at the bottom to choose your delivery methods (phone, email, text). 

3. Edit the message for each delivery method window if needed.

4. To remove a delivery method, click the X in the upper-right corner of that window. The icon will turn gray when deactivated.

5. Your messages save automatically. To finish later, go to Messages > Saved Message in the left column.

Select Delivery Methods

Phone Calls

• From the dropdown, select Call in to Record, then dial the toll-free number provided.
• Enter the Message ID when prompted.
• Keep messages 30–45 seconds and use your own voice—people respond better to familiar voices.
• If collaborating with someone to record, use Call Me to Record when you know they're available.
• Note: Call-in numbers refresh after 10–20 minutes.

Email

• Click More in the toolbar to add links or embed a Smore newsletter.

How to Embed a Smore Newsletter:

• Log into Smore and open your newsletter.
• Click Share on Mass Notification System.
• Uncheck Use Standard HTML and click Copy HTML Code.
• In Mass Notification, go to the Messages tab > click Email.
• Click More > then click < > Source Code.
• Paste the HTML you copied, click OK. Your newsletter is now embedded.

Text Messages

• The character limit is 280.
• All texts are sent from the Finalsite Mass Notification 5-digit short code.
• Include your school’s name so families recognize it. Abbreviate if needed.
  Example: “Adams: Spring Carnival! Games, food & prizes. [Date], [Time].” 

Add Translations

1. Click Language and choose the needed languages.
2. Edit each language’s version in its corresponding delivery method window.
3. To remove a language, click the Delete icon.
4. Families receive messages only in their preferred language.

5. Best practice:

   1. Combine English and translations in one message or

   2. Send separate messages for each language.

Translation Tips

• Phone: Use Call me to record to have the system call the translator/interpreter.
• Email: Put the translated message first, then the English version.
• Text: Karen messages are limited to ~100 characters due to character encoding.

Send Your Message

1. Click Start Time to schedule.
2. Under Advanced Options, check:
   1. Use custom reply-to email address and name for email delivery.
   2. Then select your school’s name from the dropdown.
   3. (If skipped, messages will appear to come from your own name/email.)
3. Click Save, then the green Send button.

Message Type & Frequency

Unless the message is urgent, you should not use all the methods at once for one communication. This is overwhelming for families and should only be used in emergencies. Instead, you may use two methods (phone and email, for example), followed by a reminder (text message) a week later. 

Best Practices

• Emergency messages should be reserved for urgent situations.
• Aim for no more than 1-2 phone calls per week to families.
• Text messages are generally less disruptive and can be used more frequently. However, take note of how many of your contacts have a mobile phone number in the system.
• Consolidate schoolwide announcements and information into single messages whenever possible.

Different communication methods present a different sense of urgency.
Phone	Late Buses, Emergencies1, Student Safety, Weather1, Open Houses, Reminders
Text	Late Buses, Emergencies1, Student Safety, Weather1, Events
Email	PTO Meetings, Curriculum Nights, Carnivals, Permission Forms, Open Houses, Reminders, Events

¹Weather messages will typically be sent by the Office of Communications. In case of emergencies like lockouts, messages will be sent by the school in collaboration with the Office of Communications unless otherwise specified.

Purpose	Comes from District	Comes from School/Site	Automated by Mass Notification
Weather-related closing/dismissal	✔
Emergency	✔	✔
Attendance			✔
Parent/Teacher Conferences		✔
Non-emergency early dismissal	✔
Meal account: low/negative balance			✔
Outreach	✔	✔2

² Use wisely to avoid “message fatigue”

Message Length

• Phone messages should be no longer than 60 seconds. To maintain listener engagement and ensure clear communication, aim for a message length of 30-45 seconds. Keep in mind that translated messages may require additional time.
• Text messages are limited to 260 characters and are sent from the Finalsite Mass Notification 5-digit short code. To ensure clear communication, include your school name (abbreviated if necessary) in each message.

Delivery Times

• Mass Notification will make multiple attempts for busy signals or unanswered calls.
• Message delivery to all families may take up to 30 minutes.
• Schedule non-urgent phone and text messages between 5 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Avoid scheduling phone and text messages between 9 p.m. and 6 a.m.
• Emails can be scheduled at any time.
• The district may send messages outside of these times for emergencies or urgent matters.

Translation

• Messages should be translated if more than 10% of your student population speaks a language other than English. Review your home language population at spps.org/data.
• While Mass Notification has an auto-translate feature, it may not be accurate for all languages. DO NOT USE the automatic translations in Mass Notification unless you have a staff member who can check it for accuracy. 
• For urgent translations, contact the Office of Communications.

Email Formatting

For shorter messages, include all languages in one email to minimize the number of emails sent to families. Example: In Hmong emails, place the Hmong message first, followed by the English version below.

• Family contact information is downloaded nightly from Infinite Campus. It's important to remind families to update their contact information, including phone numbers and email addresses, through the Campus Parent Portal or by calling the school. 
• School clerks can update family contact information by choosing parent/guardian file under the student whose information needs to be updated. 
  • Under Demographics > Personal Contact Information, you can update the parent/guardian’s Cell Phone and Email. These fields will allow families to receive text, email and emergency messages. Please note that each parent’s contact information may be different. This ensures both parents are notified. 
• Staff members should update their contact information in PeopleSoft.

If you've updated Campus and/or PeopleSoft and there is still missing or incorrect information, please submit a ticket to Technology Services.

Users can opt back into:

• Phone calls: Call the Finalsite Phone Hotline at "855-502-STOP (855-502-7867)" from the phone line that has been opted out.
• Text (SMS) messages: Send START to "60680" from the phone line that has been opted out for non-emergency messages. Reply START to "54968" for emergency messages.

Principals should designate one or two staff members to use the Mass Notification system. To request access, please submit a request using this form. Once approved, the designated staff will receive login credentials.

You can request a custom list from the Campus team, or download one yourself if you have access to Campus.

• For current families at your school: Download a list of students with their PERSON IDs from Campus.
• For prospective students: Create a spreadsheet with the column headers Phone Number, SMS Phone and/or Email Address, then save the file as a .txt.

In Mass Notification:

• Click Choose next to Recipients.
• Select either "From a file with IDs" (for PERSON IDs or Staff IDs) or "From a file with Addresses" (for .txt file with phone numbers).

Make sure to use the correct format so the system can process your list accurately.

Start by checking their Account in Mass Notification:

1. Search for the person’s name in the Accounts tab.
2. Confirm their contact information is listed in Mass Notification. Changes can be made in Campus (for families) or PeopleSoft (for staff).
3. Check if they’ve opted out of any delivery methods (email, phone, text). If so, see the Opt-In Instructions section on this page for how they can resubscribe.
4. Click Contacts to view the message history and see what messages were sent and their delivery status.

If everything looks correct but they’re still not receiving messages, ask them to check their spam folder or blocked numbers. If you still need help, please reach out to Kate Ryan.

This message indicates that you are logged in using your Staff account, which is restricted to receiving messages only.

To resolve this:

1. Log out of your current account.
2. Log back in, but when prompted, choose to log in as a Staff Administrator or District Administrator.
3. Staff accounts are for receiving messages, while Admin accounts have the permissions to send messages to larger groups.

Once logged in as an Admin, you should no longer see the restricted message.

Yes, you can select specific grade levels when choosing your recipients. Click Choose next to Recipients, then select your school’s name. Under Groups, you'll find specific options such as grade levels, bus routes, and more.

You can also create custom groups by following these instructions.

You cannot send messages directly to students using Mass Notification, as student contact information is not imported. If you choose Students under recipients, the message will automatically be sent to the parent/guardian. For information on how to contact students directly, see our Best Practices for Classroom-to-Home Communication.