New Fundraising Program

We are very pleased to kick-off 2008 by introducing a wonderful new program that has been launched by our partner. Insider Pages, a subsidiary of Citysearch, operating business of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI), has created a revolutionary online fundraising program enabling organizations to quickly raise money by writing online reviews of local businesses. Supporters simply write reviews on Insider Pages about businesses they use such as doctors, hairstylists, home contractors, or restaurants. For each review they write, Insider Pages makes a donation to their school.

We have provided more information and links on our Programs page. You will also find links to their site after you login (on the left side bar on all pages). We encourage you to add this excellent program to your fundraising campaign. Please identify SchoolParentNet as your referral source when you sign-up for the InsiderPages fundraiser program.

Please help get the word out to other parents, PTA members, etc. in your school community who are responsible for fundraising.

2007-2008 School Year

It’s that time of the year again - the start of a new school year! Time to make new connections or re-connect and strengthen old ones.

SchoolParentNet provides you with an online “directory” – as you update your school profile information, our site automatically groups you with relevant network members at multiple levels - same district/city, school, grade and even classroom. So please make sure to update your school information for the new school year. After you login, the tabs under Edit Profile on the left side bar will allow you to update your school information.

Below are links to downloadable resources to help you build your school network and use our site effectively. These are also available through our home page (click on the About Us link).

1) SchoolParentNet Flyer
2) SPN Volunteer/Room Parent Process
3) SPN Success Story Case Study/Introduction Presentation
4) SPN Security Features
5) SPN Introduction – newsletter write-up (Note: please click on cancel if you are asked for a password - the word document will still open up)
6) Email collection form

We hope you find our site beneficial and fun to use. Have a great school year!

Hooray! Summer time!

Summer is here, and you must be looking forward to a well deserved break! As you get ready for summer, here are some valuable pointers for ways our site can help:

1) Preparation for next school year – New KG parents, New Officers/Volunteers

KG parents are typically very anxious about this new phase in their children’s lives. Our site will enable these parents to connect with one another and others in the school. If you are preparing welcome packets, we urge you to please include our flyer too (you can download it from this link to print/make copies - http://www.schoolparentnet.com/images/SPN_Flier.pdf). It would be great if you could also mention our site in newsletters, flyers, websites which are viewed by new KG parents.

The new school year also brings new officers, committee chairs, volunteers – please help get the word out about our site to these parents.

2) Summer Tips

There are a lot of activities going on during the summer break, and we all could use tips. We have created a category in the Forums section of our site which you can use to exchange information with other school parents. You can start posting to the following topics or add others as needed: Camp suggestions/reviews, Family Day/Weekend trip ideas, Fun Activities & Projects, Seeking Play Dates, Seeking Babysitter/Childcare referrals, Recipes to try out.

3) Connecting with Summer Camp parents

You may want to get to know parents in the camps your children attend. You can do this by creating an Interest Group for your summer camp. You can request camp staff to help get the word out to other parents – all these parents need to do is to sign-up to our site and then join the relevant camp interest group. In this way, you get a directory of camp parents. Here is an example of a camp group that could be created in this manner:

Group State: CA
Group City/Town: Palo Alto
Group Name: iD Tech Camps – Summer 2007
Group Description: Summer 2007 group for parents attending this combined tech + sports camp

Have a great summer, and if we can help in any other way, please let us know.

Recent Updates - thanks much for your feedback!

We have made several updates to our site primarily thanks to feedback obtained from users.

* Added on our home page - link to a list of member schools with registered users, link to security features (Q&A), link to a success story case study presentation
* Updated Tour
* Introductory demo link added to the left side bar (after you login)

We appreciate your feedback - please keep it coming.

Choosing a School for your child

Many parents with young children dread this decision. If you decide to attend the local public school, the decision may be made for you based on where you live. However, if you plan to go to a private school, the decision-making process is a lot harder. Lots of research needs to be done and probably the best thing to do is to talk to others who have made the same choices and to learn from them. Our site can help you connect with parents from the schools you may wish to attend. The following steps will help you do this.

(1) Create a short list of target schools
(2) Click on this link to see schools with registered SPN users - List of schools
(3) If you find your target schools in this list, you should go to our home page and request an invite
(4) After you sign-up, skip the school profile form
(5) From the left side bar - click on Network and then Groups
(6) Click on the All School Groups tab
(7) Use the sort bar on top of this page to locate your target school - search by state and district/city
(8) You can now View Members from your target school and send them a message - these are internal SPN messages and neither persons personal email address is exposed

We hope that we can provide you with a useful resource in your quest to find the best school for your child. Good Luck!

Excellent Room Parent Resources

We have discovered excellent room parent resources (task lists, checklists, etc.) on a school PTO website, and we thought you may find this information valuable too. On a write-up posted in our blog as well as in the “About Us” section of our site, you will find links to downloadable templates, forms, fliers, and presentations. We have also outlined a “SPN room parent process”, so please check it out.

We hope this can be used at your own school as you build out your local SPN network. You are welcome to forward this email to your PTA/PTC/PTO/Room parents (and please remember to invite them too through your SPN account).

New School Year - please update school information

It’s that time of year again - the start of a new school year and time to make new connections or re-connect and strengthen old ties.

SchoolParentNet is a social network for PreK-12 parents, teachers and administrators. The site leverages the school system to create a secure online environment. Families make connections around real world communities - their local schools and other interest groups such as soccer clubs, mothers clubs, etc.

Use our site to:
* connect with parents, teachers and administrators if you just moved to a new district or school
* connect with parents of children in the same grade or class

SchoolParentNet provides you with an up to date online “directory” – as you update your profile information for the new school year, our site automatically groups you with relevant network members at multiple levels - same district/city, school, grade and even classroom. Our site shifts the challenge of network building, creating contact lists, etc. from individuals or organizations (such as PTAs) to all network users. So we urge you to please get the word out/invite others you know and trust to join - and watch your local secure network grow! (FYI: users from 438 schools in 278 school districts in 41 states have signed up so far.)

We hope you find our site beneficial and fun to use. Have a great school year!


P.S.: Here is the link to “how to” tours which will help you use our site. After you login, the tabs under Edit Profile on the left side bar will allow you to update your school information.