To create a group in ParentSquare, click “Groups” in the left sidebar under the Participate section on your home screen, then select “New Group.” From there you’ll name the group, configure its settings, and add members. The whole process takes just a few minutes once you know where everything lives.
Starting a New Group
From your ParentSquare home screen, look at the left sidebar and find the “Participate” section. Click “Groups,” then click “New Group” to open the group creation form.
You’ll see several fields to fill in:
- Display Name: The group name that members will see. Pick something clear and specific, like “3rd Grade Field Trip Volunteers” or “PTA Fundraising Committee.”
- Description: An optional summary of what the group is for. This helps people understand the group’s purpose before joining.
- Category: Use the drop-down menu to assign the group to an existing category or create a new one. Categories help keep your school’s groups organized as the list grows.
Choosing Owners and Managers
When you create a group, you’re automatically set as the group owner. Owners have full control over the group, including its settings and membership. If you want to share that responsibility, you can add additional owners by typing the first three letters of their name into the Owners field and selecting them from the list that appears.
You can also assign group managers using the same method. Managers can help run the group without having the full permissions of an owner. This is useful when you want a teacher or volunteer leader to help manage day-to-day posts without being able to change the group’s core settings.
Configuring Privacy and Permissions
Before saving, you have a few important choices that control who can see and do what inside the group.
If the group deals with sensitive information, check the “Confidential” box. This limits visibility so only members can see that the group exists and access its content.
Click “Advanced Options” to access three additional settings:
- Allow group members to post: By default, only group owners can post to the group. Toggle this on if you want all members to be able to share posts, which works well for collaborative groups like parent committees or volunteer teams.
- Hide directory: Normally, group members can see a directory of other members. Turning this on restricts directory access to group owners only. This setting isn’t available at every school.
- Make comments public: Some schools have comments set to hidden by default, meaning only the post author, the commenter, and admins can see them. Enabling this makes all comments and replies visible to every group member. This setting also isn’t available at every school.
Saving the Group and Adding Members
Once you’ve filled in the details and configured your settings, you have two options at the bottom of the page. Click “Save” to create the group without adding members yet. You can always add people later. Or click “Save and Add People” to jump straight into building your member list.
If you save first and come back later, navigate back to the group and look for the option to add members. You can search for existing ParentSquare users and add them directly. For parents who aren’t on the platform yet, administrators can invite them through the Admin menu under “Users” using either an email address or a cell phone number. If a parent doesn’t use email, there’s a “No email?” option that reveals a cell phone field, and ParentSquare will send a text invitation instead.
Tips for Running the Group Effectively
Think about your posting permissions before the group gets active. A group meant for announcements, like a coach updating game schedules, works best with posting restricted to owners. A group meant for discussion, like a parent volunteer committee, should have member posting turned on so everyone can contribute.
If you’re creating multiple groups for different purposes, use categories consistently. Labeling groups by type (athletics, academics, volunteering) makes it much easier for parents and staff to find what they’re looking for as your school adds more groups over time.
Adding a second owner is worth doing even if you plan to manage the group yourself. If you’re unavailable or leave the school, the group won’t be stranded without someone who can update it.