ParentSquare’s software helps district administrators, school principals and teachers reach out to families, whether by a mass communication or directly. Parents can access the messages through the ParentSquare app or website, as well as by email, text or voice with the ability to translate up to 120 languages. The company’s integration with Gabbart yields a new website module, Smart Sites, with which users can automate the sharing of information and keep it consistent across different channels.
According to the news release, ParentSquare saw in Gabbart an opportunity to build out its features and address many needs of parents and schools.
“We’ve seen a trend of districts wanting to engage with parents and the community on all platforms and channels. And we also saw the need for a combined solution that would enable efficient messaging across those myriad platforms and channels,” ParentSquare President and Founder Anupama Vaid said in a public statement. “This acquisition is our response.”
Gabbart Communications out of Oklahoma has been around for 20 years, specializing in web design, content and learning management systems, app creation and branding for schools and communities. The company first worked with schools in 2007 and has since partnered with more than 600 districts across the U.S.
One school district that has worked with both ParentSquare and Gabbart is Texas-based United Independent School District. Assistant Superintendent for Technology Hector Perez said the partnership will create better engagement between the district and families.
“Parents now expect to engage with us where and how they prefer, so having the first truly integrated website and communications solution at our fingertips will save our staff a great deal of time and boost our school-community relationships,” Perez said in a public statement.
This is the second acquisition by the California-based ParentSquare since it was founded in 2011, after buying the mass communications company Signal Kit and expanding its reach by 2 million students in 2011, according to a news release. In addition to its acquisitions, ParentSquare has raised nearly $5 million over five funding rounds since 2014, according to Crunchbase.
