The Distribution Schedule is here!

Districts asked and we delivered! One of the aspects of Peachjar that we love is getting to work closely with school districts around the country and being able to take their requests into consideration and development. 
When districts that we partner with bring us ideas to help them better engage with their communities and provide critical information to families (such as resource information for youth mental and physical health, social and emotional learning opportunities, and afterschool programs like coding classes, summer camps, sports, and music lessons), we want to hear it! 

One such request was to make it easier for districts to control when and how frequently Peachjar distributions are sent to families. Parents and guardians want to ensure that they’re as involved as possible in making sure that their student is making the most of educational opportunities and afterschool programs while they stay in the know about critical happenings in the community. For school districts, providing information on a reliable, consistent basis sets the groundwork for what families can expect. When parents and guardians know when to expect those communications, their engagement level increases. So the solution was launched: school districts now have the ability to set up specific times and days of the week to distribute information based on when is best for their families. In April 2023, we officially launched the Distribution Schedule and made it available to all districts we partner with.

District admins are able to set up their district’s schedule from their portal. While we recommend establishing the schedule for 2 days per week, that choice is entirely up to each district so they can best suit their needs. Optimizing the schedule is about optimizing the experience for both parents/guardians and district personnel. We know you’re busy and we’re dedicated to lending a hand where we can. 

In addition to adding the ability to customize when notifications are sent to parents and guardians, districts can also view the Distribution Schedule, showing all upcoming distributions and their approved announcements. As more resources are approved for distribution, both from the school district and community partners, the schedule will automatically update to show those as well. On the flip side, you can also now view a Distribution History to review information sent within the last three months. 

What happens if a district has distributions that weren’t approved in time for their target send date? Great question! Those can be sent immediately on their own. As a friendly reminder, districts should still use their established emergency messaging service for sending emergency notifications to parents and guardians. 

Utilizing the Distribution Schedule isn’t just great for you—it’s great for your community partners, too! Establishing this schedule paves the way for even better open and engagement rates on communications sent out by your district—leading to households that are more involved in your community and in their child’s opportunities. By sending resources and informational notices to parents and guardians on a schedule that they come to expect and trust, you provide them with a schedule and consistency to expect and guardians will open emails more frequently and spend more time reviewing the information important for their child’s development.

Do you work at a Peachjar partner district and have questions about customizing the settings for your schedule? Don’t hesitate to reach out to us! If your district doesn’t work with Peachjar (yet) and you’d like to learn more about implementing Peachjar at your district to better connect your community, book a demo.