10 Use Cases for SMS in Schools and Universities

We have more ways to communicate than ever before, but that doesn’t mean it’s easier to stay connected. Maintaining reliable communications between your school and community is essential, particularly with the rise in remote learning. SMS text messaging for schools provides a vital communication channel that saves time and keeps parents, students and staff members informed and engaged. 

Here are ten ways to use SMS text messaging to convey important information and strengthen communication bonds between your school and community.

Make sure you get permission before texting! Check out our SMS Compliance Guide

1. Emergency Alerts

With 98 percent of text messages read within three minutes, education SMS messages ensure that your target audience sees your message. That’s why SMS alerts are ideal for sending emergency notifications, such as a public health crisis or other community threat.

An outbreak of E. coli has been reported in the campus dining halls. Please report to the student health center if you are experiencing these symptoms: [Link]

FACULTY AND STAFF: Intruder on campus. Initiate lockdown protocol immediately. Stay in classrooms and shelter in place.

2. Enrollment Reminders

It can be tricky for students and faculty alike to keep track of important dates with so many events to remember. However, you can schedule mass text messages about upcoming deadlines with SMS text messaging for schools, like enrollment reminders.

DUE SOON: Don’t forget to submit your forms to enroll in the honors program by Friday, 9/17.

3. Promoting School Events

SMS texting is much more casual than other communication channels, making it a highly effective tool in your marketing strategy. Because SMS messages are so informal, they come across as personalized reminders rather than targeted marketing messages. 

You can also enable two-way SMS to respond to any questions people might have quickly.

We’ve just announced the theme for this year’s Homecoming Dance! Find out what it is and buy your tickets in advance: [Link]

Don’t forget: The championship basketball game against North High is this Friday! Join us in the gym after school for a pep rally to support the team!

4. Parent-Teacher Conference Reminders

Many parents have full-time jobs, which can make it challenging for teachers to coordinate parent-teacher meetings. When you finally find a time that works for everyone, you don’t want anyone to forget.

With SMS software, you can schedule appointment reminder texts to ensure that meeting dates hold. We recommend sending a reminder text one week before the meeting, then another one the day before.

Hi [First Name]! Your parent-teacher conference is scheduled for this Thursday @ 4 pm. Please check your email for additional information. See you then!

Hi [First Name], just a reminder that you have a meeting scheduled with [Teacher Name] tomorrow @ 9 am.

5. Event Updates

Sometimes you have to deal with last-minute changes when organizing an event, but don’t let that affect the rest of your plan. For example, if you need to switch times or locations, you can quickly send a text blast to everyone involved.

For specific event updates, try segmenting your subscriber lists by grade level, department, extracurriculars or other categories so your texts go to the right people.

DRAMA CLUB: Today’s rehearsal has been moved to the south lawn. See you there!

Today’s dance committee meeting has been rescheduled to tomorrow after school in the student council room.

6. Weather Alerts

Sometimes canceling classes or even shutting down a campus due to inclement weather is necessary. Is it best to send an email? 

According to Mailchimp, the average email open rate is just over 20 percent across all industries. So why risk having your time-sensitive message overlooked? Education SMS messages can inform students, parents, faculty and staff quickly.

School is closed due to the rainstorm. Please shelter in place and stay safe.

Roads are closed until tomorrow morning. Please stay off the roads and contact onsite management if you are on campus by calling or texting [Phone Number].

7. Alternate Schedules

If your school uses a block schedule or has events overlapping with regular campus hours, you might need to switch to an alternate schedule. 

To ensure no one is confused about these changes, set up automated reminder text messages that include a link to the full schedule on the school website.

DON’T FORGET: Tomorrow is Tuesday block schedule (Period 1-3).

Due to construction on campus, public access hours have been changed to 7 am to 8 pm indefinitely.

8. Surveys

Collecting feedback via survey is a helpful tool for improving your operations, student organizations and campus activities. 

Using SMS text messaging for schools improves your chances that people will see your message and complete a survey.

Reminder: Course evaluations are due on Friday @ 11:59 pm. All surveys are anonymous.

Hi [First Name], thanks for coming to this year’s Fall Festival! Please fill out this brief survey and get a chance to win 10 free raffle tickets for our next school event: [Link]

9. Links to Helpful Resources

If you have any upcoming events that include necessary information for students and parents, make sure they know how to access these resources via education SMS messages. Include a graphic with any crucial details and a link for the next steps they must complete.

Hi [First Name], here’s the permission form for next week’s field trip. Please have a parent sign it and bring it to class by next Monday.

10. Team Communications

Teams go beyond sports, from departments collaborating on a curriculum to a group of students working on a project. 

SMS text messaging makes it much easier to share information. For example, you can use education SMS messages for quick updates rather than placing a phone call.

The Biology Department meeting has been moved to Conference Room #4.

Tennis practices have been pushed back to 3 pm every day until the end of the week.

Partner with Textedly For Education SMS Messages

Grade schools and universities need a reliable, easy-to-use method of communication to quickly share information with students, parents, faculty and administrators. Textedly’s SMS text messaging for schools can help.

Textedly is a user-friendly SMS platform that enables organizations to send mass texts, schedule reminders and communicate important information. With powerful features like two-way SMS to send and receive texts, Textedly makes managing school communications easy.

Get started with a free trial of Textedly today.