Parent/Guardian communication

The final major new feature added to Google Classroom is Guardian Summaries. This feature must be enabled by the G Suite administrator before it is available. Teachers will be able to invite parents or guardians to Google Classroom so that they are able to receive daily or weekly email summaries of the assignments and announcements within Google Classroom. Before using this feature, consult with administration or technology leads to ensure that all necessary protocols are followed. For example, some school districts require confirmation that the email is indeed a parent or guardian. Therefore, teachers collect the emails during the meet-the-teacher night that occurs at the beginning of the year.

To enable Guardian Summaries, click on the switch found within its card in the Students section, shown below.

A dialogue box will appear to confirm enabling guardian email summaries. There is also a checkbox to enable guardian summaries for all the current active classes in Google Classroom.

Once this feature is activated, teachers will be able to add parent emails beside students in the student section.

Once parents or guardians receive the email, they must accept the invitation and will be directed to the following dialogue box if they are not using a Google Account. Guardians are able to use Google Classroom by either linking a non-Google account to a pre-existing Google account or by creating a new Google account to link. (Therefore, it is easier if parents submit a Google email address).

Once guardians have accepted the invitation, the email address will change to the guardian’s name.