The Messaging platform is a powerful tool for Administrators to send updates, reminders, alerts, and more to parents via brightwheel. Administrators can streamline parent communication by sending messages for individual students, multiple students, entire rooms of students, or all students in the program.
Messages sent through brightwheel will be delivered to all Parent contacts added to the student’s profile through their brightwheel account.
Table of Contents
Messaging Individual Parents
Admins and Managers have the option to send a message to individual parents and have the thread be viewable by all staff OR be viewable by only Admins and Managers.
Choosing to send a direct Admin/Manager <> Parent message can be a great option if there's a matter that should only be discussed between these parties without staff involved. Please be aware that this is not a direct message between a specific Admin/Manager and Parent Contacts, it will visible to all program Admins/Managers and all parent contacts associated with a student.
To better understand the parent experience for direct Admin/Manager <> Parent messages, view our Messaging the Childcare Provider resource.
Messaging on the Web
Similar to text messages or emails, while brightwheel messages can be deleted by Admins, they can’t be edited once they’re sent. With this in mind, please review the message content and recipients before sending to ensure completion and accuracy!
Navigate to the Messaging page
Click the + New Message button in the top right corner, and select Parents
Choose whether to send the message to:
Individual parent(s) (and visible by all staff)
Individual parent(s) (and only visible by admins/managers)
Entire Room(s)/Program
Click on each student or room that should receive the message, and click on Next
Select the desired Message Type
Please Note: If choosing to send a message to an individual parent and have it viewable by only Admins/Managers, you will not be able to change the message TypeAdd an optional attachment
Add the message content
Review the message content and recipients, and click Send Message when complete
Messaging on the App
Similar to text messages or emails, while brightwheel messages can be deleted by Admins, they can’t be edited once they’re sent. With this in mind, please review the message content and recipients before sending to ensure completion and accuracy!
Tap the purple Messages tile from the Administrator Home screen
Tap the message bubble icon in the top right corner to compose a new message and select Parents
Choose whether to send the message to:
Individual parent(s) (and visible by all staff)
Individual parent(s) (and only visible by admins/managers)
Please Note: If this option is selected, the message thread will clearly indicate it at the top of the pageEntire Room(s)/Program
Click on each student or room that should receive the message, and click on Next
Select the desired Message Type
Please Note: If choosing to send a message to an individual parent and have it viewable by Admins/Managers only, you will not be able to change the message TypeAdd the message content
Review the message content and recipients, and click Send Message when complete
Viewing Parent Messages
Easily view and filter all messages sent to parents at your program, whether they were sent to and viewable by all staff assigned to selected rooms, admins/managers only, or the entire program.
On the Web
Log in to an Admin/Manager account on the web
Navigate to the Messaging page
From the Messages > Parents tab, use the available filters to view relevant Messages
💡 Use the Recipient filter to view all Admin <> Parent threads, and do not set any filters to view ALL parent messages!
On the App
Log in to an Admin/Manager account on the app
Tap the purple Messages tile on the Administrator home screen
On the Parents tab, view and filter messages as needed
💡Use the Admin only toggle to view add Admin <> Parent threads or leave this option toggled off to view ALL parent messages!
Delete Messages
Administrators are able to delete messages on the web. Note that this action will only be available for administrators - Guardians (including Parent contacts), Staff, and Managers will not be able to delete messages.
Through the Messages tab on the web, Administrators are able to delete messages sent by any user - Administrators, Staff, Managers, Parents, and Family Members. Newsletters can also be deleted from a message thread.
Navigate to the Messaging page on the web
Jump to the Parents tab
Use the available filters to narrow down results for the relevant messages
💡 Use the Recipient filter to view Admin <> Parent or All staff <> Parent threads!Choose the message thread
Please note: Messages can only be deleted in one thread at a time. If you need to delete a school-wide announcement, you'll need to delete thread by thread.Click Edit in the upper left corner of the message window
Click the box next to the message(s) to delete
Click Delete message
In the pop-up window, select Yes, delete to confirm the deletion
Once deleted, the message thread will reload and display "[Admin Name] deleted this message," and that notice will be visible to anyone in the thread.
Please keep in mind that the action of deleting a message(s) is permanent, and the message cannot be recovered. If you use this option, ensure you've selected the correct message(s) to delete.
Learn more about our Messaging feature and the options available for your program in our Messaging Overview resource!