Communication

Each campus has a campus email account, typically the campus name@austinisd.org. The Principal owns the account and can delegate others to access the account. There is only one account for parents convenience and ease of communication. Parents should only need to remember the campus name@austinisd.org.

The campus email account is also the campus general calendar. The calendar can easily be shared with all campus staff. Once shared the campus calendar is displayed on each staff member's personal calendar. Any additional calendars should be created as a sub-calendar in the campus calendar. This removes the inconvenience of re-creating the calendar when staff-created calendars move or leave the district.

Each campus has a campus MS TEAMS account. Usually Campus Name TEAM. We highly recommend using the campus TEAM for communication during the start of school staff transitions. The Principal owns the TEAM and can add or remove staff as needed. These will eventually replace the Campus Distribution email groups.

SchoolMessenger will be sending a nightly 'Attendance' email starting the second full week of school. This allows for schedule stabilization. Parents will receive an email and a telephone call if a student misses one or more classes a day. The message is generic and only refers to the campus attendance office. All parent emails should be directed to the campus email account. Principals may want to add the registrar/attendance clerk to access the campus email account. SchoolMessenger Resources: Getting Started Guide and Quick Start for New Users

SchoolMessenger is available for all campus broadcasts. The broadcast can be sent by email, telephone, and SMS. The parent's mobile number must be in SM for the SMS to work. An email must be sent with a telephone message to adhere to ADA requirements. Teachers can send a pre-configured 'Note' to parents with SM Teacher Comment but not a full broadcast. Please use the icon in Portal.austinisd.org to access SchoolMessenger or Teacher Comments.

Microsoft TEAMS is the established meeting software. TEAMS meetings can include students. Staff is also able to use Google Meet or Zoom. TEAMS Resource: Quick Start Guide

Each campus should create a Campus OneDrive account for storing campus files/data. The Campus TEAM account would be the best location for the OneDrive storage. Staff should not store campus-used files/data in personal OneDrive stores.

If the campus employs Google Share, create a Campus Google Drive and store all campus-related or curriculum files in the Campus Google Drive. Files stored in personal Google drives are deleted when the staff leaves the district.

Use the BLEND course for comunication templates.