Playground gives you several ways to share documents with selected families rather than sending them to everyone. This article walks through the different tools available and how to use them based on your situation.
Key Features for Selective Sharing
There are a few different ways to send documents or notifications to specific families instead of your entire program.
Enrollment Listings
If you’re using enrollment forms, you can choose exactly which families should receive them based on their enrollment details.
Document Sharing Settings
When you open a document, you can decide who it’s shared with and who receives a notification. You’re not locked into sending it to everyone.
Fillable PDFs
Electronic signature forms can be assigned to specific students and their parents, so only the families who need to complete them will see them.
Step-by-Step Guides for Targeted Communication
1. Sending Enrollment Paperwork to Specific Families
If you need to send enrollment forms only to selected families, you can follow one of these methods:
Create a Duplicate Enrollment Listing: Duplicate an existing listing and attach the specific paperwork. Share this listing exclusively with the intended families.
Manually Send Paperwork: Avoid attaching documents directly to a general enrollment listing. Instead, manually send the required paperwork to individual families upon their enrollment.
💡 Paperwork attached to an enrollment listing is shared automatically with everyone who uses that listing unless otherwise configured.
2. Sharing Paperwork with Specific Families
When sharing paperwork (such as when a student unenrolls), follow these steps to limit access to selected individuals:
Open the document and click Share to review its sharing settings. If it’s currently set to something broad, like Everyone, Programs, or Classrooms remove that permission and add only the specific families or parents you want to receive the document.
By managing the share settings, you can ensure that only specified families view the transcript.
3. Sending Notifications to Selected Families
Notifications related to documents shared via file requests are optional. To selectively notify parents:
Open the target document in the Paperwork tab.
Use the Share button and choose the specific families or parents to whom the notification should be sent.
This ensures that only selected recipients are informed, preventing unnecessary notifications to all parents by default.
4. Assigning Fillable PDFs to Specific Families for Signatures
If, for example, you need to notify specific families about a significant change or require their signature, Fillable PDFs are the ideal tool:
From the Admin Dashboard, navigate to the Paperwork tab.
Go to the Fillable PDFs tab.
Create a new fillable PDF or edit an existing one.
Assign the document to specific students by selecting their profiles.
Parents of assigned students will receive the document electronically for review and signing.
This feature enables efficient communication and avoids notifying unintended recipients.
Common Pitfalls and Best Practices
When sharing documents with selected families, a few small checks can prevent confusion later.
Double-check sharing settings before sending out any documents to avoid accidental over-sharing.
Use descriptive labels for enrollment listings and forms to avoid confusion.
Communicate clearly with parents about why they are receiving specific documents.
By utilizing these practices, you can streamline interactions and maintain privacy.
FAQ
Q: Can I disable notifications entirely when sharing a file?
Yes, notifications are optional. Simply uncheck the notification box in the sharing settings.
Q: What happens if I attach paperwork to a general listing?
All families who enroll through that listing will automatically receive the attached documents. Use a duplicate listing to target specific families instead.
Q: Is there a way to see who has viewed shared documents?
Yes, Playground’s document tracking feature allows you to monitor who has accessed the shared files.