SPN Blog

New Fundraising Program

2008-01-08T13:19:00.000-08:00

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

2007-09-12T09:53:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-06-05T08:43:00.000-07:00

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!

2007-05-01T16:07:00.000-07:00

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

2007-02-26T10:31:00.000-08:00

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

2006-10-17T00:22:00.000-07:00

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

2006-08-30T09:07:00.000-07:00

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.

Welcome Packet for new school year

2006-08-08T09:12:00.000-07:00

Wow – summer flew by so quickly, and it’s almost time for the new school year. As some of you busily prepare to welcome new students and parents to your school, we wanted to provide some helpful tips on how to use our site as part of your welcome packet.

Our site provides users with a “directory” capability. As users register on our site and create their school profiles, they get linked to other parents, teachers and administrators from their school, grade and class. So - at the very basic level - the site serves as a connection mechanism for the school community. In addition, we have a simple blog/sign-up sheet tool, which can be used to communicate information in a timely and effective manner.

The following outlined steps will help you use our site as part of your welcome packet:

1) Register/Login on our site – if you have forgotten your username/password or would like to receive another email invitation, please send us a message using this feedback link;
2) Complete/Update your school profile;
3) Create a Blog and post relevant content, such as announcements about key activities and events, sign-up sheets for things like school/class supply wish lists, etc. Click here to see two screenshots of how your online welcome packet could look.
4) Obtain email addresses for other school parents (through the school office, with your teachers help, at back-to-school night, etc.) and use your account to invite them to join our network. If it’s easier, just get the word out to parents to go to our home page and request an invite from there. As users register, they will get connected to other users from their schools and also be able to view relevant blogs/sign-up sheets.

Please note that we have created detailed “how to” tours to help you use our site. Links to these tours can be found in the FAQ section (under About Us). We hope SPN can help you get geared up for a new school year. We will be glad to support you as you use the site – just contact us through this feedback link.

Interest Group Feature – quick access to relevant content

2006-04-21T16:06:00.000-07:00

Yes - the end of this school year is almost here. So, for our last major pre-fall feature release, we decided to enable network members to create Interest Groups.

For example, you may want to create a group for the Summer Camp your child will attend. After you login, on your My Account page click on the Interest Groups circle to create your group. Once you create a group, others can join it – parents whom you invite to sign-up as well as those who are already network members. You will then have a group directory, plus the capability to filter content created by these members. This feature enables you to get to know and make connections with other parents from the camps your children will attend.

Of course, there are many more group types you can create. Some examples: Soccer/Little League club, Mothers club, Church, Employer, HOA etc. Besides the group directory capability described above, you get the unique ability to quickly and easily view relevant content posted by users on our site.

Viewing relevant content using group filters

If you have read user posts in an online forum, you must have wondered - Who is this person? How relevant is what they say? In order to act upon information, it is necessary to trust the source. Hence, we have linked user-specific directory/groups to content posted on our site. With a single click, you can filter content and find what is relevant to you.

We have provided links to screen shot images that will provide some examples - after you click on the link, you can zoom in by clicking on the arrow that will appear on your browser window.

1) Please click here to see how you could find out what members from your mothers club have posted about baby sitter referrals/classifieds.
2) Please click here to see how you could find out if a soccer club or classroom group parent has a blog.
3) Please click here to see how you could find out what your friends have posted in the Kids favorite recipes forum.

Ours is a community site and its value to you is dependent upon users and the content posted by them. We hope this filtering mechanism will be useful in your online activities - so please do try it out! Be creative - experiment by posting content (remember you can always edit what you post). Set up notification for topics/blogs in the forums, reference and blogs sections to get updated via email.

Simple Sign-up Sheet Feature - for School/Volunteer/Fundraising Activities

2006-04-21T16:02:00.000-07:00

Many school/group activities require us to sign-up for this or that. Paper based sign-up sheets are not always easy to keep track of or to physically access or to keep well organized.

Hence, we are pleased to release our new simple Sign-up Sheet feature - it is easy to set-up, easy to sign-up on, and easy to access online 24x7. This capability will provide an efficient (fewer phone calls), time saving, convenient method to sign-up for wish list/party items, to volunteer for events/projects/tasks, or to raise funds.

Furthermore, our directory feature (automatically generated as users join the network) provides controlled and secured access to these sheets. The directory is monitored by network members, and access can be restricted through the school security code feature (as we announced last month).

We have provided links to screen shot images that will highlight the key capabilities – after you click on the link, you can zoom in by clicking on the arrow that will appear on your browser window.

Integrated into Blogs:
The sign-up sheet capability has been integrated into the Blogs tool. Please click here to see how you can post entries to your blog (Ex: announcements, news, surveys, discussions, etc.) AND add a sign-up sheet to your blog.

Item sign-up sheet:
Please click here to see how you can sign-up for items in a list (Ex: class party, pot-luck, teacher wish list etc.).

Volunteer sign-up sheet:
Please click here to see how you can sign-up volunteers (Ex: festival, class projects/tasks, PTA programs etc.).

Fundraising sign-up sheet:
Please click here to see how you can raise funds through cash or non-cash fundraisers.

Some additional points which you will find useful:
* Save sign-up tables to use again for your next event.
* Use the stored sample tables created by us as a starting point (if you’d like a specific table just contact us and we’ll add it to the samples)
* Print out the sign-up sheets and also send out reminder emails to all participants with just one click.
* Ask your teachers/administrators to set-up their blogs/sign-up sheets - remember you can now invite them into your network.
* Use the notification feature for all blogs that interest you - set it up so that you get emailed when a blog is updated.

New Features - March 2006

2006-04-21T15:15:00.000-07:00

Invite Teachers/Administrators

You can invite teachers/administrators to join the network. After you login, look for the link on the left side bar. Help us get Teachers to sign-up and create blogs !

Notification

You can get notified by email when content is updated. For example, if there is a specific Blog that you read or a specific Forum topic (Ex: your school message board) that you are interested in, you can sign-up to be notified. Look out for a “Notify me when updated” box in the specific blog, forum, reference section that interests you and subscribe to it.

Enhanced Security

We have added one more layer of security to our site - the capability for a “School Security Code”. Your school office staff, PTA members, parent volunteers etc. can administer this code, which allows control over sign-ups up into your school groups. If you are interested in learning more about this feature please reply to this email.

Simplified Registration flow

We have streamlined the registration flow - this should definitely help you sign-up new parents. So please login and send out invitations.

Introduction: We'll use this blog to keep our community up to date

2006-04-21T14:55:00.000-07:00

Keep an eye on this blog for information on new features, use tips etc. We will use our community blog to capture relevant Q&A. We are in alpha mode and so we welcome all feedback (more the better). Please send us feedback through the link on our site.

Following is a brief introduction to our site:

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

Use this site to exchange information and organize events with the school community in a secure and controlled manner. Our simple blog/sign-up sheet feature will provide an efficient, time saving, convenient method to manage wish list/party items, volunteer tasks and fund-raising activities. Use our friend, interest and school group capability to share referrals with local, relevant and trusted users.

Learn about this site by taking a tour. Please click here to see screenshots of how you could use our blog/sign-up sheet feature to create an online “welcome packet” with information about key activities and events, sign-up sheets for things like school/class supply wish lists, parties, etc.

Come join our free PreK-12 network - users from across the country (300+ schools from 35+ states) have already signed up! Please click here to sign-up. After you join the network, you can help win money for your school by inviting others.

SPN Fact – looking under the hood

The basic concept behind our site is based on the six degrees of separation theory (you may be familiar with this concept through the Kevin Bacon game!). Our site is built on the idea that if parents, teachers, administrators invite their friends, relatives, neighbors, co-workers, etc., and they in turn invite others then we can build a useful social network around our own school communities. In order to make the site more relevant to users, the software behind our site, groups users based on the school information they provide when they sign-up. Users are grouped with others at multiple levels from the district/city, to the school and even down to a classroom. So users just need to invite others they know and trust and let the site make relevant connections. This mechanism shifts the challenge of network building, creating contact lists, etc. from individuals or organizations (such as PTA’s) to all network users. In this way, we can help each other grow our own local networks - for example, one users co-worker may be a school parent group member for another user. Grouping users by their school information also allows us to create security-screening mechanisms as well as to help increase relevance of content presented to each user.

Company name, Domain name

Internet companies like to be creative with their names - it's "in" to create a word and hope it becomes part of our daily language. We thought we'll be more practical (we are parents after all!) - so we just named ourselves after what we do - a network built around the school system with emphasis on parents.

As for domain name - we were at the mercy of squatters who occupy domains and hope to make a buck. We looked for schoolparent.net/com but could not get it. We were able to capture www.schoolparentnet.com and so used this domain. Subsequently we have been able to get www.schoolparent.net and this too links to our site.