15 Awesome Apps for Smarter Parent Teacher Communication
Every teacher is all too familiar with last-minute emails, calls, and parent-teacher meetings. It leaves them in an awkward bind, making them look lazy. The solution to that problem is simple – parent teacher communication apps. They make teachers fast, efficient, and productive, encouraging active involvement with the parent community. Want to know what our favorite app for parent communication is? Scroll down to find out what they are, in no particular order.
Table of Content
- Illumine
- Google Classroom
- Kangarootime
- ChildPilot
- myKidzDay
- Tadpoles
- iGradePlus
- Cheqdin
- Procare Solutions
- Brightwheel
- HiMama
- Daily Connect
- Edmodo
- ClassDojo
- Sawyer
15 Latest Trends In Parent Teacher Communication Apps
Price: 11-day trial ($0), Standard ($25), Business ($35), Enterprise ($49). Illumine pricing details
With Illumine, documenting student progress using diagnostic, formative, or summative internal assessments is quick and hassle-free. You can customize the assessment framework too if you like. From sharing minute-to-minute announcements about upcoming events, holidays, and newsletters to instant messaging, Illumine makes parent-teacher communication quick.
Pros: “Thanks to Illumine, I know when my child ate, what he ate, and when he slept. I immediately get to know if he’s hurt or had a quarrel. I can drop notes to the teacher. I can communicate with the school admin and have all records of conversations. I see the reminders at all times. I see the lovely pictures of my boy with all his friends and it fills my heart with joy.”
- Ishita, Product Manager
Cons: “There is no option to mark a photo as a favorite. Since the school shares many photos I hope they give an option to mark a photo or a video as a favorite.”
- Juhi, Software Development Engineer
| Rating | ★★★★ |
| Available on | Web, Google Playstore, iOS |
| Best features | Billing & Invoicing
Calendar Management Communications Management Daily Reports Employee Management Financial Management Immunization & Allergy Tracking Meal/Nutrition Management Member Database Online Payments Parent/Student Portal |
| Support | Email/Help Desk
FAQs/Forum Knowledge Base Phone Support 24/7 (Live Rep) Chat |
| Training | In Person
Live Online Webinars Documentation Videos |
| Country presence | 20 (including India, UAE, UK and the US) |
| Supports translations | Yes |
| Supports customization | Yes |
| Compliance | General Data Protection Regulation |
Price: Inclusive in G Suite for Education subscription
Google Classroom is an effective parent-teacher communication app that allows teachers to assign and grade student work. Parents can view teacher feedback on their dashboard. Teachers can also send email summaries to parents to keep them notified about upcoming events, recent class activities, or missing student work.
Pros: “It integrates with Gmail allowing student names to populate the “add student” box speeding up the addition of students to a class. Once a student is entered, parents and guardians can be added giving them access to weekly reports. Additionally, when those same students are added to other classes, the parents/guardians are automatically added.”
- Ross, IT Admin
Cons: “One feature that Google Classroom is missing is the attendance marking feature. This feature is available in most of the competitor’s products and so it might be a downside for those who are considering this product.”
- Shazia, Biology Coordinator
Price: 90-day trial ($0), Basic ($8 per class), Enterprise (custom)
Using Kangarootime, parents can view invoices and pay tuition right from their smartphones. Teachers can share instant updates about revisions in childcare policies and procedures with this childcare parent communication app. Other features include drop-off notes, photo sharing, in-app messaging, SMS texting, etc.
Pros: “Parents love the smartphone app and the ability to communicate directly with Teachers and Administrators. Teachers love how the software helps them easily enter updates on the children without having to type out full sentences on the tablet.”
- David, School owner
Cons: “When uploading pictures, it would be nice to be able to upload more than 2-3 pics at a time. Also, I would love to see more “milestone” options to click when observing what they learned.”
- Katie, Assistant Director
Price: Starts at $140 per month
ChildPilot is a customer-centric parent-teacher communication app which helps teachers keep up-to-date with parent attendance, face to name logs, milestone tracking, etc. Teachers can send regular activity reports to parents, attaching videos and photos of student’s nap and potty times. The app gives parents flexibility to stay connected to their child on the go.
Pros: “Parents get real time updates about what is going on in their child’s day. Parents really enjoy receiving pictures and the ease of communicating. We like the easy billing and the access to daily reports for all children. I like that when I need help with anything at all, customer service is available and seems like she is truly willing to help.”
- Lindsey, Center Director
Cons: “The thing I like the least is the process the parents have to go through in order to get on the waiting list. I think there is some confusion for them. Many parents think that just setting up an account is enough to register their child.”
- Pamela, Director of Operations
Price: Trial ($0), Starts at $2 per month
myKidzDay is an eco-friendly parent teacher communication app that allows child care providers to share electronic reports. The paren’t minds are at ease because they don’t have to worry about missing the child’s special moments. They get notified about their child’s achievements and daily routines and they can do their job knowing their child is in good care with myKidzDay.
Pros: “It is very convenient and easy to understand. Keeping track of what my kids did and ate that day helps me predict how their evening at home will be.”
- Ashley, Deputy Clerk
Cons: “There have been a few times when the app was glitchy for parents trying to sign in/out w/the QR code, but it hasn’t been a massive problem.”
- Amy, School Owner
Price: Trial ($0), Starts at $25 per user per month
Tadpoles is an award-winning preschool app for parents using which teachers can safely and securely share updates with parents. For the staff, security of children and their information is of utmost importance. Thus, they go an extra mile to ensure that the information remains private and there is no breach of confidentiality.
Pros: “As a parent, this app is very user friendly. I have multiple children and the organization of each of their updates and pictures makes it so easy to check in on their day.”
- Danielle, Director of Health Promotion
Cons: “I like all of the functionality of the program, but I think it needs to be upgraded. Its appearance needs to be more modern.”
- Joshua, Engineering Project Manager
Price: Trial ($0), Premium ($4 per year per individual teacher), Enterprise (custom)
Parent web portals allow teachers and administrators to send instant updates. Each parent has a iGradePlus account that they can use to access information regarding teacher comments, grades, assignments, attendance, results, behavior records, and more. This parent teacher communication app has the easiest account set up process.
Pros: “As an individual instructor, working with a collective of vendors this platform seamlessly marries to meet the record-keeping our parents and students need. Our student’s personal information is kept secure and our educators have a record book that makes communication a breeze.”
- Sandra, Educational Consultant
Cons: “There are some functionalities of the newest upgrade that are still in beta or not as functional.”
- Donyelly, Animal Welfare Coordinator
Price: Trial ($0), Starts at $12 per month
Building stronger partnerships with parents became easier with Cheqdin. The parent teacher communication software allows teachers to regularly post RSVP for events through the in-app Notebook feature. Parents can also keep track of all payments and invoicing on their dashboards without being redirected elsewhere.
Pros: “I like that parents can sign in and out without the use of paper. Data is stored and accessible and is secure. Easy to use for parents and staff alike. I like that we are ahead of the competition in our field and it’s great when parents have used this software in a nursery setting prior to coming to our setting.”
- Ruth, Childcare Director
Cons: “It’s still in the development stage and is being updated with new features.”
- Ruth, Childcare Director
Price: Available at request
With Procare, you can enjoy 24*7 live support to assist you at every point of growing your childcare business. Besides that, the teachers prepare all-in-one reports using this parent teacher communication software that are customizable according to the state you live in or the type of center you run.
Pros: “This has a great foundation of ideas. Student check in/out, Employee check in/out, billings, time tracking, payroll, general ledger. Truly an all in one for a small preschool.”
- Sherry, Childcare Director
Cons: “A lot of time invested in a software that locks up frequently throughout the day. They do have an extensive online resource which is very helpful, but yet time consuming as you navigate which article you really need.”
- Sherry, Childcare Director
Price: Available upon request
Any parent’s stress would be halved if you tell them a parent teacher communication app existed that allowed them to add approved adults to pick up their child. But wait, there’s more. Brightwheel invites parents, grandparents, and close kin to engage with the child’s progress and celebrate every tiny step they take.
Pros: “I am very happy with the way Brightwheel has fostered “community” between home and school, and even school and extended family. Grandparents love seeing their grandchildren and being in the loop.”
- Audra, Preschool Director
Cons: “I wish I could access a simple version of a class list with birthdays and just parents names and emails without all of their personal information. Parents request class lists quite often for birthday party invitations. Perhaps even an opt-in directory for parents to see would be a great feature.”
- Audra, Preschool Director
Price: Available upon request
With a dedicated onboarding team and customer success manager, HiMama provides parents and teachers with 24*7 phone, email and chat support. They also host a range of weekly webinars which both parent and teacher communities have access to. Their podcasts and community spaces strengthen the relationship between the two.
Pros: “I love everything about HiMama. Everything about it is digital, including messaging and payments. A child can be so far and yet so close when you switch to this app. Nothing makes a parent happier than just being with their little ones, if not physically, then digitally.”
- Esther, Journalist
Cons: “I wish I could add photos myself. Also that we could communicate with the other parents in the class.”
- Dray, Patient Care Operations Coordinator
Price: Trial ($0), Starts at $0.60 per child per month
Capture every significant occasion in images and videos to ensure parents don’t miss a thing with Daily Connect. You can also use digital portfolios to provide a record of their child’s efforts. Parents will feel like they’re right there with the child. From capturing their first steps on camera to sharing their paintings, Daily Connect is a dream parent teacher communication app.
Pros: “The app keeps a log for both the parent and for the teacher’s at any given time. And, the ability to communicate with the parents when needed is also a big plus!”
- Melody, Preschool Teacher
Cons: “Would love to see the app keep up more with technology and be able to go directly to the parents as we add activities. Other apps allow for open communication through the app and with DailyConnect you have to email the parent and hope they see it or find another app to communicate through.”
- Kaley, Childcare Director
Price: Available upon request
When parents and teachers work together, students flourish. Sending a direct message to your child’s instructors or keeping up with class updates is simple with Edmodo. Parents won’t have to wait for the child to show you his or her grades any longer. As soon as the child’s instructor grades the assignment or quiz, the parent can see the results.
Pros: “It creates a one-stop-shop environment for the classroom and streamlines the classroom process for easy teaching, and easy learning.”
- Alison, PowerSchool Administrator
Cons: “The features of Edmodo can be a bit limited compared to some other LMSs, but it is also what makes it a simple enough tool to be easy to learn. The grading is simplistic and makes it harder to use in upper-level education.”
- Alison, PowerSchool Administrator
Price: Available upon request
Wih ClassDojo, school leaders can send individual messages to parents, publish to a class Story, or post to the school story. Class story is a message board for the entire class. School story is a message board for the entire school. All parents who are connected to an active class in the school directory will see the posts.
Pros: “Class Dojo allows you to stay connected between teachers and your students. As long as teachers use it, it provides constant communication that is easily accessible. With multiple students, it consolidates all the messages into one area and allows for private messages to each teacher.”
- Jessica, Volunteer Director
Cons: “I wish parents could sign up for events using Class Dojo. That would prevent me from going through sign up genius to create parent teacher conference sign ups.”
- Deborah, Teacher
Price: Available upon request
Childcare owners spend so much time reporting and creating payment plans; it is exhausting. Thanks to Sawyer, parents can get information about student fees with a click of a button. It is one of the most transparent parent teacher communication apps because it proves parents instant updates.
Pros: “I like that as a parent, it retains my information from year to year so registering my child is quick and painless. I like how they handle all the gathering of money.”
- Megan, Childcare Director
Cons: “It would be nice to have the ability to send out receipts to clients on the financials page if we were to increase their balance or charge them through there.”
- Jessica, Admin and Registrar
Wrap Up
Illumine takes away the prize for being the best parent teacher communication app, thanks to its powerful preschool management. If you want to try the software, book a free demo with the team. You’ll be blown away by how easy and efficient it is.
