The following guide will walk you through each step that should be taken to begin implementing Playground at your center. By following the instructions below, you'll be able to set up your dashboard on your own!
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Create a School
If you have not already done so, start by creating your center here. Once you've entered the required information, you'll be able to login to your newly created Admin Dashboard. The Admin Dashboard is your Playground Control Center. Only admins at your center will have full access to the Admin Dashboard.
💡 We recommend bookmarking the following website to a Chrome or Safari window so you always have access to Playground: https://app.tryplayground.com/signin/.
Set up Your Center
Create Classrooms
Start by navigating to the My School > Classrooms tab.
Click the Add Class button in the top right corner.
Enter the class name and any additional details on the classroom that you'd like.
Click Save in the bottom corner.
💡Please note that a student can only be assigned to one classroom at a time. Classroom names should be homerooms or primary classes that the student is assigned to for the majority of the day.
Add Students
If your students have already completed the enrollment process, follow the steps here to select a method of adding your students to the dashboard.
If you are a brand new center and have no students enrolled yet OR you would like students to re-enroll through Playground for a new school year, you can add students through an enrollment listing.
Add Staff
Add your teachers and other admins to the dashboard. Teachers are sent an invitation to Playground immediately. Have every teacher watch the Staff Training video to make sure they are prepared to use the app.
Invite Guardians
🚨 This is the most important step in setting up your dashboard! Playground is most useful when parents engage with it. It is best to send out invitations at least a week before the date you plan to start utilizing Playground to track attendance or collect payments.
If you plan to bill parents through Playground, we recommend adding charges before sending out invitations. This allows parents to see and pay their balance immediately after signing up.
Feel free to use the intro email to give parents a heads-up about the switch to Playground and then invite them to create an account. At the bottom of this article, you'll find two PDF attachments that are useful to send home with families once invited.
Resources to share with parents and guardians
Configure Settings
Prior to launching, configure your dashboard settings to make sure Playground runs as you'd like it to. This step is important to make sure all users have the correct permissions and users are receiving communication that you've approved.
Paperwork
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As a courtesy to all new clients, you may submit blank copies of your PDF documents to the Playground Documents team for upload and to make them fillable on your behalf. After the initial setup, you'll be responsible for creating any new fillable PDFs moving forward.
Learn more about uploading your own paperwork.
💡 Please note, that fillable PDFs take about one week to appear in your Admin Dashboard. You will see them under the Paperwork > Student paperwork and Fillable PDFs tab.
In the Admin Dashboard, click on the Get Started tab at the very top left corner.
Open up step 5 - Set up family paperwork.
Drag and drop your documents into the gray space that says Click to upload PDFs.
To ensure proper upload, please make sure you only submit PDF documents that are in the standard 8.5 x 11 page size. Documents should be a blank template copy.
To create any other types of paperwork, such as file requests or resources, follow the instructions here.
Billing
Sign Up for Online Payments
The first step in using Playground's Billing functionality is signing up for online payments. This step takes about ten minutes to complete. You'll know this step is finished when you see multiple tabs open up under the Billing header in your Admin Dashboard, as seen below.
🚨 Personal information, such as a social security number, is required in order to sign up for and utilize Playground's billing feature. Here is why this information is required and how it will be utilized.
Even if you do not plan to have guardians pay you online (credit card, debit card, or ACH), it is beneficial to sign up for billing. The Billing functionality will allow you to track charges and offline payments (cash, checks, Venmo, etc) in Playground. This also generates end-of-year tax documents for guardians.
Payment Settings
Adjust your payment settings to mimic the way you currently charge guardians.
Create Charges
Charge students for tuition, one-off charges, and before or after school programs.
Enrollment
Create a listing for your center. The enrollment listing will allow you to advertise availability at your center, track applications, fees, and waitlists, convert applicants to students and set up their account.
This link will show a step-by-step version of how to create a listing. Click the purple dots to navigate to the next step.
💡 Enrollment is not a required feature for getting started with Playground. Feel free to begin utilizing the attendance, paperwork, and billing features you've set up above prior to creating an enrollment listing. We recommend this be your next step after launching Playground at your center.
Download the Mobile App
Watch a walkthrough of the administrator version of the mobile app here.
Download the Playground School Management app for Apple or Google Play app stores.
First Day Using Playground
Congratulations! Once you have completed the steps above, your center is ready to be launched!
Prepare your QR code so guardians can scan it when dropping off or picking up their student.
Make sure all staff and guardians have created accounts and downloaded the Playground School Management app.
Watch the staff training videos and share them with your teachers to become familiar with using the app.
Teachers who are also parents will use the switch accounts function.
Create your first post.
Enable notifications for the Playground app.
Ask guardians to add additional pickup persons through their app.
Support resources
The Help Center will be a great resource for you as you begin to navigate the software. Always feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns.
If you have a request for a feature or feedback for the Playground team, feel free to submit it at the top of your dashboard.
FAQ
How will all of my students be migrated into Playground?
How will all of my students be migrated into Playground?
A roster with student data can be uploaded into Playground in order to bulk migrate all students' data into the dashboard. Students can also be added manually. If you are transitioning from another software, the onboarding team will assist in downloading a data file from your current software.
How are parents invited to Playground?
How are parents invited to Playground?
With one click, all parents are send the sign-up email. In the email, parents will be asked to create an account simply by setting up a password.
How will my staff learn to use Playground?
How will my staff learn to use Playground?
The center's administrator can choose to schedule a staff training Zoom for their staff members or they can share the 10 minute staff training video that will have teachers using Playground in minutes.
Can historical data be uploaded?
Can historical data be uploaded?
Although we recommend starting with current data in Playground, items like completed documents or historical transactions can be uploaded into Playground.
What support is available to me as I onboard?
What support is available to me as I onboard?
All administrators will have access to a dedicated Onboarding manager that you can call, email, or schedule Zoom calls with. Live chat and full access to the Help Center are also available.
Will my parents need two separate tax documents at the end of the year?
Will my parents need two separate tax documents at the end of the year?
Yes. For example, if you switch to Playground in June, you will send a tax statement from your previous software for January - June and a tax statement from Playground for June - December.