Effective home-school communications should begin even before school starts. All schools offer meet-your-teacher or other orientation sessions for students and parents before the first day of school. All schools also conduct open house meetings in the fall. These are great opportunities to visit the campus, meet the teachers and learn more about what your child will be doing in school. During these events, most teachers will share with parents the best way to communicate with them.

Skyward Family Access

Alachua County Public School families can take advantage of the online Skyward Family Access system, which provides up-to-date information on their student’s grades, test scores, attendance, assignments and other school-related information posted by schools and teachers. It is the district's primary method for distributing students' progress reports and report cards. The system is accessible by desktop, laptop, tablet and cell phone.

Parents and/or students interested in signing on to Family Access will need to visit the school to receive a user ID and password. They may also submit their child's full name, date of birth, grade level and school AND the parent's full name and a photo of an ID (such as a driver's license) to familyaccessrequest@gm.sbac.edu.

Once a Family Access account is set up, families can access it through the district's website a www.sbac.edu/familyaccess, or through the Skyward Family Access app, which is available from iTunes, Google Play and Amazon App stores.

School Messenger System

The district and schools use a system called School Messenger to send information home to families and students via email, phone and/or text. It is the primary platform used to send home messages about school emergencies, such as evacuations or school closings. It's often used to share information about bus changes/delays and is the primary method for letting parents know if their student was absent from school. The district and schools also use School Messenger to share information about upcoming events, programs and services available to students and families.

The School Messenger is part of the Skyward system, just like Family Access. It uses contact information provided by parents, which parents can change through their Family Access Account.

To receive text messages, parents must opt in to the texting system by texting 'Y' or 'Yes' to 67587 from a cell phone number on file with their child's school.

Peachjar

To reduce the amount of paper sent home in student backpacks, the district uses an online platform called Peachjar to e-mail fliers to families from educational, non-profit, and governmental entities about family-oriented events, programs and services. Some school and district fliers are also emailed through Peachjar.