Connecting with your community: How SMS messaging strengthens parent engagement in 2025

If your K-12 school is struggling with parental engagement, a strategic approach could help you thrive in 2025. 

Short message service (SMS) or known as text messaging is a powerful tool for streamlining both one-way and two-way communication with your school community. SMS messaging offers a simple and immediate solution that bypasses crowded email inboxes and operates without an internet connection. It provides a practical alternative to sharing teachers’ direct email addresses with parents¹. 

Research shows that weekly SMS updates to parents on grades, absences, and missed assignments can increase student attendance by 18% and reduce subject failures by 39%. Text messaging offers parents real-time data on student performance and encourages greater involvement in their children’s education - a great foundation for academic success. 

The humble SMS is a cost effective, time-saving and scalable solution for enhancing parental involvement, improving educational outcomes, and minimising administrative workloads. Many parents appreciate having a central communications hub for school-home communication². 

The success of your SMS communication programs depends on the content and frequency of messages, as well as the specific needs of the student population. A poorly designed program can lead to higher attrition rates, with parents opting out of text message updates.

Source: https://www.smseagle.eu/2022/11/07/acing-school-communications-with-sms/

Leverage SMS messaging for higher engagement 

How can your school optimise its SMS program to maximise efficiency and effectiveness? 

This article highlights insights from schools in Australia and around the world that have successfully used text messaging to enhance parental engagement. These findings are distilled into strategies to help your school tailor its approach to its unique sector and context. 

First, let’s explore the benefits of an engaged community and how SMS helps build and sustain it. 

1. Improved Parent-Teacher Communication
   • Benefit: Enhances relationships between parents and teachers, helping boost student outcomes. 
   • How SMS Helps: Offers quick updates on student progress, parent-teacher meeting reminders, and direct communication for concerns or alerts. 
2. Higher Student Attendance Rates
   • Benefit: Engaged families/guardians are more likely to ensure students attend school regularly. 
   • How SMS Helps: Schools can send automated attendance alerts and reminders, minimising the risk of absenteeism. 
3. Stronger Parental Involvement
   • Benefit: Parents who feel informed and included tend to support learning at home. 
   • How SMS Helps: Keeps parents updated on school events, volunteer opportunities, school administration/personnel changes, and curriculum-related activities. 
4. Faster Emergency and Crisis Communication
   • Benefit: Delivers urgent updates swiftly to ensure student safety. 
   • How SMS Helps: Instantly issues updates to families about emergencies, school closures, or urgent changes. 
5. Increased Engagement in Extracurricular Activities
   • Benefit: Students who take part in clubs, sports, and events are more likely to be well-rounded.
   • How SMS Helps: Sends prompt alerts about training sessions, meetings, and registration deadlines. 
6. Better Support for Student Well-being
   • Benefit: A well-connected school community can better recognise and respond to student well-being concerns. 
   • How SMS Helps: Schools can send links to mental health resources, as well as reminders about counselling services, or wellness activities. 
7. Richer Sense of School Belonging
   • Benefit: When families feel engaged, students gain a stronger sense of belonging and school pride. 
   • How SMS Helps: Schools can highlight achievements, share event summaries, and celebrate student success. 
8. More Effective Fundraising and Community Support
   • Benefit: Schools can raise more funds when their community is informed and engaged. 
   • How SMS Helps: Keeps families informed about school events, volunteer opportunities, and ways to contribute to community-driven projects. 
9. Greater Teacher and Staff Support
   • Benefit: Engaged families often play a role in supporting teacher resources and staff well-being. 
   • How SMS Helps: Sends updates about staff appreciation events, surveys, personnel changes, and requests for volunteer support. 
10. Enhanced Academic Performance
    • Benefit: An engaged school community fosters student motivation and academic success. 
    • How SMS Helps: Sends reminders about homework, assessments, tutoring sessions, and academic support programs to help students and families stay on track. 

Source: https://mainstay.com/blog/16-statistics-why-schools-should-texting-and-messaging-students/

The basics of SMS communication 

Schools commonly use SMS messaging to strengthen connections with families for purposes such as: 

• Enrolment updates 
• Notifications for grades and results 
• Attendance tracking and alerts 
• Tuition fee reminders 
• Updates on class excursions and sporting events 
• Tracking issues and assigning priorities 
• Sharing school achievements and positive news 
• Faith-based content for the religious schools 
• Urgent or high-priority messages 
• Parent-teacher meetings reminders, and 
• Fundraising campaigns. 

Basic technology available to harness SMS text messaging includes³: 

• Manual text messaging 
• Email-to-SMS gateways 
• Automated phone systems with SMS integration 
• Spreadsheet and mail merge, then using software like Microsoft Outlook or Google Sheets to send bulk SMS, or 
• Third-party texting Apps like TextNow, WhatsApp or Google Voice. 

Going beyond basic 

Schools using a comprehensive school management system (SMS) can unlock enhanced functionality and benefits. Sentral, a leading unified school management platform trusted by over 3,000 schools nationwide, offers seamless SMS integration. Its intuitive interface allows SMS communication to be managed on-site or remotely from a computer or tablet⁴.

Sentral’s integrated SMS service boasts a 98% open rate, with 90% of messages read within three minutes of delivery⁵. Integration enables real-time syncing of data on attendance, assignments, grades, and more, ensuring parents receive up-to-date information automatically. 

And, there’s an important step right before that. Clearly outline the types of messages they can expect, the frequency of communication, and how they can manage their preferences. Proactively providing this information can reduce complaints and minimise opt-outs.

Source: https://mainstay.com/blog/16-statistics-why-schools-should-texting-and-messaging-students/

Optimising your SMS communication program 

Here are strategies to help your school improve its text messaging open and read rate⁶: 

Setting Up: 

1. Ensure your school uses a dedicated number for all SMS communications to establish trust and ensure messages are recognisable as secure 
2. Segment your SMS audience to customise messages to specific recipients groups 
3. Create message templates for consistency with your school’s brand’s voice and tone
4. Optimise content for mobile devices to ensure a seamless experience for parents clicking through 

Preparation Checklist for Sending Messages: 

1. Keep messages within the character limit and focus on a single topic or action item 
2. Use clear, concise and action-oriented language, such as: ‘please confirm by replying YES’ 
3. Personalise SMS messages with recipient information, i.e. ‘Your child, [Name], has missed two assignments this week…’, or the parent’s name 
4. Include links for additional details, when necessary, while keeping the main message within the text body 
5. Occasionally include graphics into text messages to increase engagement 
6. Conduct A/B testing of your SMS messages, refining the wording, timing and frequency to determine what works best with your school community, including accessibility considerations for individuals with disabilities 
7. Schedule messages for optimal delivery times based on community preferences. Evenings or just after school hours typically yield higher open rates, whereas late-night or early-morning messages are less effective 

Backend Systems: 

1. Regularly analyse open rates, response rates, opt outs and engagement levels to assess recipient fatigue and success with your SMS messages 
2. Gradually implement automated responses using keyword services to offer 24/7 support 
3. Allow parents to opt-in or opt-out for specific messaging campaigns, e.g. grade reports or event reminders 
4. Facilitate two-way communication with parents for quick responses to help build trust and promptly resolve issues. Sentral offers this feature with a dedicated SMS number 
5. Combine SMS with other communication channels for a comprehensive messaging approach 
6. Ensure SMS is primary channel for last-minute changes and emergency alerts, and 
7. Regularly update your contact list to ensure messages reach the intended recipients. 

Legal considerations for SMS programs 

A crucial tip is to stay updated on state and federal laws governing spam, permission opt-ins, privacy, and related regulations. For example, avoid including sensitive family or student information in text messages. Instead, use email or school portals for private or detailed communications. Marketing messages must comply with the Spam Act 2003 and Spam Regulations 2021, which govern commercial electronic messages⁷. 

Ensure your text messaging program adheres to the Australian Privacy Principles, particularly when you’re collecting and handling personal information⁸. As well, include your program in your data breach response plan to comply with the Notifiable Data Breaches Scheme. The Office of the Australian Information Commissioner provides comprehensive information about privacy requirements.

References

https://www.sentral.com.au/sms
https://www.edutopia.org/article/parent-engagement-digital-age
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/australian-privacy-principles 
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy/notifiable-data-breaches 
https://www.oaic.gov.au/privacy 

1. https://www.reddit.com/r/AustralianTeachers/comments/18rqkt5/email_parent_communication/?rdt=61877
2. https://www.eschoolnews.com/district-management/2024/04/10/school-home-communication-remains-challenge/
3. Email-to-SMS Gateways:

• Twilio (2021). SMS API Documentation. Twilio Documentation
• ClickSend (2021). SMS Gateway Overview. ClickSend These services are often used for mass communication purposes in schools, where an email is sent to an SMS gateway, converting it into a text message.

Manual Text Messaging:

• Education Week (2016). Why Schools Use Texting to Connect with Parents and Students. Education Week Article This article discusses how some schools manually text parents and use personal phones for communication, often because of limited access to specialized systems or SMS platforms.

Automated Call Systems with SMS Integration:

• SchoolMessenger (2021). School Communication Services. SchoolMessenger Website
• Blackboard Connect (2021). Communication Solutions for Schools. Blackboard Connect These systems are used by schools for automated notifications, and they can integrate voice calls and SMS messages for streamlined communication with parents.

Spreadsheet and Mail Merge:

• Microsoft Support (2021). How to Use Mail Merge for Bulk Messaging in Outlook. Microsoft Support Guide
• Google Docs Editors Help (2021). Mail Merge for Google Sheets. Google Support Guide This method, which uses spreadsheets for bulk contact management, is common in smaller districts or for short-term messaging campaigns.

Third-Party Texting Apps:

• Google Voice (2021). Google Voice for Groups and Bulk Messaging. Google Voice
• WhatsApp Business (2021). WhatsApp for Schools and Educational Institutions. WhatsApp Business Though not specifically designed for schools, these platforms are sometimes used informally by schools for group messaging, especially in communities where they are already widely adopted.

4. https://www.sentral.com.au/about-us/sentral-news/notifications-parents-made-easy
5. https://www.sentral.com.au/sms
6. https://www.twilio.com/en-us/blog/ai-advantage-personalized-marketing
6. https://dripcel.com/how-sms-marketing-works-for-education-k-12/
7. https://docs.smartrmail.com/en/articles/5765497-sms-regulations-consent-australia
7. https://www.vision6.com.au/blog/sms-marketing-laws-australia-navigating-them-with-ease/
8. https://isa.edu.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/Schools-Privacy-Compliance-Manual-National-Updates-November-2019.pdf