The Golden Path Part 3: Schoolbox and Veracross Integration (Newsletter and Email)

A quick recap:

In the Golden Path Part 1, we explored the types of roles within the schools and what systems they were likely to use. We discovered plenty of crossover—no surprise, given that both Schoolbox / Veracross hold black belts in Com Fu (that’s Communication Martial Arts, for the uninitiated).

In the Golden Path Part 2: The Curse of the School Calendar, we confronted the beast that is the school calendar. Through careful planning, teamwork, and maybe a little luck, we began to tame it.

Now in the Golden Path Part 3: The Com Fu Masters. Guided by the techniques of seasoned Com Fu practitioners, we step into the ring once more. Special thanks to Duane Cox , Jez Gray and Rob Sayad for sharing their wisdom and throwing a few well-aimed roundhouse kicks at the chaos..

Schoolbox and Veracross exercising Com Fu on the newsletter and email. Or possibly a scissors-paper-rock tournament gone wrong?

WHAT DID WE ALREADY LEARN?

• Parents, students and teachers primarily operate within Schoolbox. This is made possible, in part, by the excellent integration options between Veracross and Schoolbox. Academic staff often access and complete tasks like attendance within Veracross while staying inside a Schoolbox page.(It sounds complex, and technically it is, but for the teacher it feels simple.)

  
  

• Schoolbox supports targeted communication through group pages. Some of the content on these pages is automatically aggregated by design. This works well for the calendar and can also be used effectively for news delivery.

  
  

• That said, Schoolbox group pages do not offer detailed control or approval workflows for calendars, posts or news. This is not how Schoolbox is intended to function.

• Non academic staff will primarily be in Veracross.

  
  

• Veracross provides strong communication tools, including approvals, templates and newsletter functionality.

While we are still progressing, much of Carey’s current communication approach is shaping around this idea:Academic staff focus on semi formal communication through Schoolbox,while non academic staff manage formal communication using Veracross.

Calendar

The calendar will be managed within Schoolbox using a mix of Schoolbox pages. This approach means the final experience is always contextual, and requires minimal effort to target the audience. The events calendar is created and maintained in Consent2Go which is currently developing a calendar integration using the public Schoolbox APIs.

A diagram that illustrates school calendars aggregating in Schoolbox.

One area I am less certain about is the main school calendars. These are currently set up to reside within Schoolbox, but considering our overall philosophy, it might actually make more sense to manage them in Veracross, with integrations feeding into both Schoolbox and Consent2Go for events.

The staff maintaining these calendars are more likely to be working in Veracross than in Schoolbox. And when we think about linking events to Veracross, which is the source of attendance information, it probably becomes the more sensible location.

Two other areas that are still in progress are Music Tutors and Parent Interviews. These remain unsolved for now — but the journey continues!

School News

In some ways, School News tested the friendship of the two Com Fu Masters. Schoolbox views its news platform as the next step in the evolution of the traditional newsletter, while Veracross offers a powerful and structured version of that very tradition. Perhaps both are right, and perhaps both are needed at Carey.

In a rare moment, everyone was "Com Fu fighting"!

At Carey, group pages within Schoolbox will be used to aggregate news on the dashboards. These pages will be maintained by the staff responsible for each area, allowing communication to remain relevant and targeted.

Semi Formal News Pages agregating in Schoolbox

Veracross will be used for the traditional school newsletter. This will be sent out less frequently and is designed to serve the broader school community, including those who do not have login access.

Email and SMS

A similar philosophy applies to email communication. Semi-formal messages are typically sent through Schoolbox, most often between academic staff and their students or parents.

Formal communications are managed through Veracross. These messages go through an approval process and are branded to maintain consistency and professionalism.

Academic Reports

This is still on our to-do list. Traditionally, academic reporting has been the domain of the student information system, but Schoolbox has been developing its capabilities in this area.

Medical and Contact Updates

At Carey, this area will be managed through Consent2Go. Consent2Go is designed to capture medical and contact information in a structured format, making it well suited for managing updates and ongoing care requirements.

An integration between Consent2Go and Veracross is currently in development, and we believe this is achievable using the existing APIs.

Co-Curricular Activities

For Carey, Co-curricular hasn't been fully mapped out. The current process is a mix of using Edval and Consent2go.

The Journey Continues...

Schoolbox and Veracross renewed their friendship and laid waste their Communication foes. Cue traveling music...

"Like a well timed text and a thoughtfully worded email, Com Fu teaches us that true power lies not in shouting louder, but in communicating with clarity. The calendar brings timeliness. The newsletter brings insight. Yet without harmony, they become chaos. In Com Fu, balance is not silence. It is communication with purpose."

-Chatgpt (with a little help from me)