Administrator access & multi-site experience: Conversation Settings are accessible only to Dashboard Administrators to govern hours, keywords, translation, and role permissions. For users logged into multiple schools or sites, conversation notifications are unified (users see ALL conversations across ALL sites). On the mobile app, dual-role users (staff who are also parents) display a clear role badge so they can easily distinguish whether they are operating as staff or parent.
This guide covers how administrators can configure conversation settings to control when and how conversations are used across the organization.
Accessing Settings
Navigate to Conversation Settings by:
Clicking the Conversations tile on the Home screen, then Settings
Clicking Settings under the Conversations submenu in the left-hand menu
Note: Conversation Settings are only available for Administrators in the Dashboard.
General Feature Settings
Feature Available Hours
Control when conversations can be sent and received throughout the week.
Available Days: Configure which days of the week conversations are allowed:
Su (Sunday)
Mo (Monday)
Tu (Tuesday)
We (Wednesday)
Th (Thursday)
Fr (Friday)
Sa (Saturday)
Time Restrictions: Set specific hours when conversations are active:
From: Start time for conversation availability
To: End time for conversation availability
Use Cases:
Restrict conversations to school hours only
Block weekend communications
Set "office hours" for staff availability
Prevent after-hours disruptions
Monitor Keywords
Automatically monitor conversations for specific words or phrases and alert designated recipients.
How It Works:
Add keywords that will trigger alerts when used in conversations
System monitors all conversations in real-time
Alerts are sent immediately when monitored keywords appear
Setting Up Keywords:
Enter keywords in the Keywords field
Separate multiple keywords appropriately
Consider variations of words you want to monitor
Alert Recipients:
Designate who receives keyword alerts
Can set multiple alert recipients for coverage
Recipients get notified when keywords are detected in conversations
Important: If no alert recipients are set, keyword monitoring will not function properly.
Unread Conversation Reminders
Status: Enabled/Disabled
When enabled, this feature sends reminders to users who have unread conversations, helping ensure important messages are not missed.
Benefits:
Reduces missed communications
Improves response times
Ensures important messages get attention
Translation Settings
Control how message translation works across the platform.
Translation Options:
Automatic:
Messages are automatically translated to the recipient's default language
No user action required
Seamless experience for multilingual environments
On Demand:
Users must manually request translation
Users press-hold on messages and click "Translate"
Gives users control over when translation occurs
Disabled:
No translation features available
All messages remain in original language
Considerations:
Choose based on your user base's language needs
Automatic translation works best for diverse language environments
On-demand gives users more control but requires extra steps
Role-Specific Settings
While general settings apply sitewide, administrators can configure role-specific permissions and feature capabilities for each user group (Teachers, Administrators, Staff, Parents/Guardians, and Students).
Recommended Staff & Administrator Permissions:
Is Manager: Grants full conversation management rights (equivalent to Administrator oversight) for users in this role.
Can Create Public Conversations: Allows creating open conversations that anyone with access can join. If Is Manager is checked, public conversation creation is automatically enabled and inherited.
Can Create Group Conversations: Allows starting group chats with multiple participants.
Enable Group Selection: Allows users to select pre-built Groups (formerly Target Lists) (e.g., classes or departments) as conversation participants.
Can See Hidden Users (optional): Allows seeing and messaging users who have been flagged as hidden in the directory.
Can Send Bulk Private Messages: Enables the Bulk 1/1 conversation tool to send individual, private message threads to multiple recipients simultaneously.
Target Roles: Configures exactly which other role groups this role is allowed to message (e.g., Teachers messaging Parents and Students).
Parent/Guardian & Student Permissions:
Most schools and districts do not give non-staff roles Is Manager, Can Create Public Conversations, Can Create Group Conversations, Can See Hidden Users, or Can Send Bulk Private Messages, or administrative bypass privileges.
Schools typically restrict Parents and Students to 1-to-1 messaging with verified staff only, disabling public conversation and group chat creation.
Conversation Features (Per-Role Capabilities)
Under each role tab, the Conversation Features section provides advanced capability controls:
Can See Read Receipts: When checked, users in this role can view delivery and read confirmations for messages they send. One checkmark indicates successful delivery; two checkmarks indicate that at least one recipient has opened and read the message. In the mobile app, users long-press a sent message (or click it in the dashboard) to see timestamps and the exact list of who has read it. (Recommended: Enabled by default for Staff and Teachers to monitor outreach; configurable for parents/guardians based on district policy.)
Can See Student Conversations: When enabled for Parents/Guardians, parents can view their linked students' message threads in a read-only capacity under their app's My Students tab. Parents cannot reply to or modify student threads, but can monitor communications with school staff for transparency and compliance with state parental oversight legislation (e.g., Kentucky SB 181, Oklahoma HB 3958).
Override Feature Availability: Allows designated roles (such as Administrators or Crisis Team Staff) to bypass the sitewide Feature Available Hours. Users with this setting enabled can initiate or reply to conversations outside standard school or office hours (e.g., evenings, weekends, or emergency situations) even when conversations are otherwise locked for general users.
Role-Specific Available Hours Override: In addition to the feature checkboxes, each role can have custom available days and operating hours that override the sitewide schedule. For example, Teachers can have active conversation hours restricted to Monday–Friday from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, while general sitewide hours remain open 24/7 for community announcements.
Multi-Site Management & User Experience
In multi-school districts or organizations operating multiple sites, administrators can manage settings centrally while ensuring a seamless, unified experience for community members:
Applying Settings Across Sites: Administrators with multi-site privileges can replicate their Conversation settings across campuses in one click. Click Apply Settings for Other Sites to select target schools and push configuration uniformly.
Unified Multi-Site Notifications: Users (parents, teachers, or staff) who belong to or are logged into multiple schools do not need to switch back and forth to stay informed. Their conversation notifications and inbox view are completely unified—they see all conversations across all sites in one single, organized stream.
Role Badge for Dual-Role Users (Staff & Parent): For staff members who are also parents within the district, the mobile app displays an intuitive role badge. This visual badge allows dual-role users to easily see at a glance whether they are currently viewing/sending messages as a staff member or as a parent, preventing accidental cross-role communication.
Save Changes: Whenever changes are made to settings or multi-site replication, click Save at the bottom of the screen to commit your updates.
Best Practices for Administrators
Time and Day Restrictions
Consider your organization's operating hours
Account for different time zones if applicable
Balance accessibility with after-hours boundaries
Communicate restrictions clearly to users
Keyword Monitoring
Focus on words relevant to safety, policy, or compliance
Regularly review and update keyword lists
Ensure alert recipients are actively monitoring
Set up backup alert recipients for coverage
Translation Configuration
Point app users to the tutorial (found in User Settings Menu on the app) on how to use the app-wide translation feature
Consider cultural sensitivity in automatic translations
Setting Changes
Document all setting changes for reference
Communicate major changes to users in advance
Test settings with a small group before full rollout
Monitor usage patterns after implementing changes
Troubleshooting Common Issues
Keywords Not Working:
Verify alert recipients are properly configured
Check that keywords are entered correctly
Ensure monitoring is enabled
Time Restrictions Not Applied:
Confirm timezone settings are correct
Verify day/time configurations are saved
Check for conflicting role-specific overrides
Translation Issues:
Test with common phrases in different languages
Verify user language preferences are set correctly
Check network connectivity for translation services
Reminder Problems:
Confirm unread reminder feature is enabled
Check user notification preferences
Verify email/SMS delivery settings are correct
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