When large group notifications must go out, SSD contacts families by phone, email, and text message using a system called SchoolMessenger, which is one of the most widely used communications tools for PreK-12 districts. SSD and your school use SchoolMessenger in order to let you know about emergency situations, remind you about school events, update you on your child’s attendance, and more.

We use the contact information from your enrollment application, emergency cards and Parent Portal. Your school may periodically ask you for updated contact information. SSD and SchoolMessenger do not share any of your information, and we follow federal regulations on student and user privacy.

Option to receive text messages on mobile phones
If you want to receive urgent messages via text, you may sign up by texting “YES” to the number 67587 from your mobile phone. Please note, if you text this number and your mobile phone is not entered in the student information system, messages will not be sent to it. You can check to see if your information is in the student information system by asking your school front office staff.

To stop receiving text messages, text STOP to 67587 at any time or opt out online at http://schoolmessenger.com/txtmsg.

Changing your contact information or preferences
Update your phone number and email address by contacting your school front office. 

You can opt out of receiving messages via SchoolMessenger at any time. Simply click unsubscribe in any email to stop receiving messages—including emergency messages—from SSD, or follow the prompts at the end of a phone call to stop receiving non-emergency phone calls.

For information on the SchoolMessenger Texting option click on the Frequently Asked Questions here. 

The District Digest is an online newsletter produced and distributed quarterly by the Sunnyvale School District. In general, the Digest covers programs, happenings, and issues affecting our neighborhood schools, the district, and public education. Articles are posted frequently and a condensed, “digest” version is emailed quarterly to subscribers. Please click HERE and follow the directions to subscribe to the District Digest.

Submission Guidelines 

Submissions are welcome and encouraged for the District Digest. Share your story about how Sunnyvale schools have impacted you or your student’s life by filling out this short form HERE. Click HERE to learn more about submission guidelines.

PowerSchool is the Sunnyvale School District's electronic student management system where student information is collected and stored. The Portal is the "doorway" into the system giving parents access to information about their children. The PowerSchool Parent Portal gives parents and students access to real-time information that may include attendance, grades, lunch balances and detailed assignment descriptions and school bulletins. Everyone stays connected! Students can stay on top of assignments, parents are able to participate in their children's progress, and teachers can share information with parents and students. Click here for access to the PowerSchool Parent Portal.

The Sunnyvale School District, along with its schools, have a variety of social networking and media sites including Facebook and Instagram. If you are a subscriber to these sites, feel free to follow us on www.facebook.com/sunnyvalesd! 

Sunnyvale School District

The public website is used to communicate district/school news, announcements, calendar events, key contact information, marketing/comparative data, parent group and general school information for current and prospective parents. The district site also includes information about the Board of Education, policies, and department information for staff, parents, students, and the community. Visit www.sesd.org for more information.

Getting Started

The Sunnyvale School District app is available for iOS and Android devices (smartphones and tablets). 

To download the free app:

• Go to either the iOS App Store or Google Play.
• Search for Sunnyvale SD.
• Follow the steps indicated for download

Once the app has loaded on your device, open it. You may be prompted to select which school(s) you'd like to follow. This means you will receive news and notifications from those schools. Don't worry; you can change your preferences later also. Then, you are taken to the home screen of the app. You can swipe left to see additional icons and features. It's a good idea to complete a few initial steps to customize your app experience: 

• Settings: You can select your language preference in Settings. The default is English, but there are more than 60 other languages you can choose. **Please be aware that these automated translations might contain inaccuracies. The Settings icon is also where you go to follow additional schools. 
• Student Info: By choosing this icon and logging in with your Login ID and password, you can access individual student information such as classes, grades, attendance, meal balances and more. Don't know your login information? Request parent login information by emailing alia.wilson@sesd.org.
• Push notifications: Click on this area to view and customize your notifications. By default, everyone who downloads the app will receive district notifications and will get a “push” alert when there is a new message. You can choose to receive notifications from individual schools as well; just click the Settings icon. If you have logged via Student Info (see above), you will also have the option to set up push notifications regarding student grades, attendance and more. 
• News: By default you will receive the district’s news, Facebook and Twitter feeds. You can customize the feeds you receive by clicking the Settings icon in the upper right. 
• Calendar: By default you receive information from the district events calendar. You can customize the feeds you receive by clicking the Settings icon in the upper right. When you click on an individual calendar event, you will have the option to add that event to your device's calendar. 

Other features

Feedback

Subscribing to our calendars is a wonderful and easy way to stay up to date on school and district events, teacher work days, holiday closures, board of education meetings, parent education workshops, early dismissals and more!

How to subscribe to our calendars:

Here's how you subscribe to an iCal Feed on a Google Calendar.

1. Open your Google Calendar.
2. Locate Other Calendars, which is located at the bottom left of the screen.
3. Click the drop-down arrow to the right of Other Calendars.
4. Select Add by URL from the list.
5. Enter the subscription link in the field. To obtain the subscription link, on the end-user website, navigate to the desired calendar and click iCal Feed.
6. If you would like these events to be public, click the Make the calendar publicly accessible checkbox.
7. Click Add Calendar.
8. Add the iCal Feed calendar to your Android device using instructions from your service provider.

Here's how you subscribe to an iCal Feed using your iPhone or iPad.

1. On your iPhone or iPad, click your Settings icon.
2. Select Mail, Contacts, Calendars from the list.
3. Select Add Account.
4. Select Other.
5. Select Add Subscribed Calendar which is located at the bottom of the list.
6. Enter the subscription link in the server field. To obtain the subscription link, on the end-user website, navigate to the desired calendar and click iCal Feed.
7. Click Next, which is located at the top right corner of the screen.
8. The URL is verified and your subscription information displays.
9. Click Save! 

Thoughtexchange® provides software solutions that bring people together, build trust and make progress on important topics. We help communities have online large-group discussions by letting people exchange thoughts with each other and learn what the group values. Everyone can share their thoughts, rate those of others and see results that show what matters most to the community. It’s fast, confidential, convenient, and every thought has the chance to emerge as important. 

Sunnyvale School District uses Peachjar to create and distribute electronic flyers. Peachjar sends district or school-approved e-flyers directly to parents’ inboxes and posts them online to each school’s website, where parents can easily find and view them and immediately sign up for activities and events.

To view school-approved e-flyers, simply click the Peachjar button on the school’s website. Parents do not need to login to receive or view school flyers, and they may opt out of e-flyer communications or manage their delivery preferences by signing in to Peachjar.

The District Bridge is a biannual publication that shares the latest news about our students, teachers, staff, and schools with the surrounding Sunnyvale community.