For: School-Level Staff with Messaging Permissions
Platform: Web + Admin Mobile App
👀 Are you a District-level Admin looking for info on Personal Messages? Click on this article -->
What Are Personal Messages?
Personal Messages let you send 1:1, two-way messages directly to students (13+) or family contacts from your name and signature—not the school.
No more switching into Teacher mode or using a second app. Now, you can message families as yourself, right from the School Product.
Available on SP Web and Admin Mobile App. SMS and Family App users will see your name and message just like they would from a teacher (note: this requires app version 2432.16+ for correct display).
Why Use Personal Messages?
Use Personal Messages when you want to:
Have a private 1:1 conversation
Provide a warm, personal touch—like a counselor check-in or attendance follow-up
Send a message that’s from you, not from the entire school
💬 How to Send a Personal Message
On Web
Go to Your inboxes
Click the Personal inbox tab
Only you can see this inbox—it’s private
Search for any student 13+ or family contact
Write and send your message or announcement
Users can only send announcements if they have the ability to message classes and groups
✅ Even manually added students are eligible
🛑 You cannot message staff using Personal Messages
On Admin Mobile
Go to Messages > Personal inbox
Select a contact and send!
✉️ Choosing Between Personal and School Messages
If you have multiple permissions, you’ll see a “From” field in the message window.
Send as the School → Message comes from the school inbox and is shared with other school admins
Send as Yourself → Message goes only to your contact and appears in your Personal inbox
📱 What Families See
Each conversation uses a unique phone number per contact pairing:
One number for personal messages from you
Another number for school messages from your school
Texting “leave” stops just your messages
Texting “opt-out” stops all school communication
✅ These number pairings remain stable year to year
🧭 Key Limitations
Feature | Available? |
Replies from families | ✅ In your Personal inbox only |
Scheduled messages | ✅ You're able to schedule messages for future sends with this feature |
Sent message view | ❌ Not visible unless you also have “All messages” access |
Analytics dashboard logging | ❌ Not yet available for this role type |
Polls or staff announcements | ❌ Not supported in Personal Messages |