New Families
Welcome
Welcome to York Tech! We're excited for you and your student to join Spartan Nation. Communication is important to us; we hope this page will provide a solid understanding of how we share information and the ways you can stay informed.
ParentSquare
York Tech utilizes ParentSquare for most of its communication with parents and caregivers of current students. School-wide messages, teacher communication, time-sensitive alerts, secure documents, and more are sent through this platform. It’s not necessary to register in order to receive communication. However, registered users have more control over the communication they receive and can access important features, such as the ParentSquare app and the ability to open secure documents sent by school personnel.
To get started, visit parentsquare.com/signin and complete the Register section using an email address or phone number that is associated with your York Tech Skyward account. (Skyward is the platform through which students apply to York Tech.)
Afterward, it's recommended that users download the ParentSquare app to make the experience more streamlined.
Parents and caregivers can take the free ParentSquare course to learn more about setting up an account, changing preferences, and navigating the ParentSquare experience.
Spartan Review
This weekly e-newsletter is sent through ParentSquare and used to share the vast majority of school-wide information with families. It’s important that you glance through each issue, especially the sections titled Calendar Reminders and New Information. You will automatically receive the Spartan Review beginning at some point in July or August via email, text, or app notification, depending on your ParentSquare settings. (Each issue is also available on our website at ytech.edu/spartan-review.)
Back-to-School Information
Typically, back-to-school information is shared with students and families toward the end of July. Please be on the lookout for communication from York Tech around that time. The letter will include details about accessing student schedules, important dates and events, key logistics, and much more.
Time-Sensitive Alerts
Time-sensitive messages are sent through ParentSquare on an as-needed basis and may come in the form of an email, text, app notification, or phone call, depending on the circumstances. This type of communication is reserved for critical information that can’t wait until the next Spartan Review issue, such as inclement weather notifications. I invite you to visit ytech.edu/comms-pr for a lengthier explanation of our communication practices surrounding school closings and delays.
One-to-One Communication
Faculty members are asked to use ParentSquare when communicating directly with a student’s parents or caregivers. Recipients do not need to be registered with ParentSquare in order to receive or reply to these messages, but they do need to be registered in order to initiate a new conversation with a teacher. Sometimes, it may be necessary for a teacher to use traditional email or a phone call when reaching out, depending on the circumstances or complexity of the message.
Classroom Communication
Teachers have the option of communicating with students in their classes via Schoology or ParentSquare. When it becomes necessary to contact all parents and caregivers of students assigned to a particular class, the teacher will typically use ParentSquare. Each class is its own group within ParentSquare, and teachers will periodically make posts within these groups to keep families updated about important classroom-related topics. Much like one-to-one teacher communication, these messages may come through as emails, texts, or app notifications, depending on the recipients’ ParentSquare settings.
Website
Our website can be accessed at ytech.edu. Please take a few minutes to familiarize yourself with its various sections, many of which house routine information that applies to all York Tech families. At the very least, it will be helpful to review the following pages:
Social Media
York Tech's social media accounts are used to share the many student accomplishments and interesting activities that occur daily during the school year. Links to our social media pages can be found at the bottom of our website. Please consider following us to see photos and videos of York Tech students and staff in action.
Thank you for taking the time to familiarize yourself with York Tech's methods of communication!