In an effort to ensure transparency and consolidate forms of communication, the Westport Public Schools District has banned texting between coaches, teachers and students, set in motion for the 2024-2025 school year. Instead, coaches and student communication within the district will be through ParentSquare.
This platform allows for quick messaging that will appear as a text message but also holds records of communication. On Oct. 1, Athletic Director VJ Sarullo shared his work alongside the IT Department to finalize the app.
“We’re putting the finishing touches on uploading cell phone numbers,” Sarullo said.
One of its main goals is to provide convenience to parents and students, working as one unit for Mass Notifications, Classroom Communications and School Services. While some teams previously used different apps like Remind or SportsYou, ParentSquare will be the platform for out-of-classroom discussions between Staples staff and students.
“The goal is to house everything under one centralized app for seamless communication,” Sarullo said.
Another goal of the new app is security. The act was put in place after many school districts tightened their coach and student contact policy. On Sept. 6, Superintendent Thomas Scarice sent an email update to all parents, sharing that under no circumstances are Westport Public School employees allowed to text with students.
“If they do, I ask that you report it to the building administration immediately,” Scarice wrote.
The app will store and archive all direct messages and group them by conversation chain. This is an enhancement from former messaging services that did not provide records for the school system.
“With ParentSquare, messages come up like texts on students’ phones, but they’re sent through the app, so the school knows what we are texting about,” social studies teacher and freshman girls’ volleyball coach Kelly Zrenda said.
By the end of October, the portal will be up for teachers as well to communicate with students.
“We are still waiting on two more Board meetings to finalize what this app will look like for teachers,” Principal Stafford Thomas Jr. said.
Westport’s implementation of this new system follows school districts that have already had it running, such as Fairfield and Milford.
Before Staples’ new policy, Staples teachers would communicate with students mainly through email; however, when it came to special circumstances such as field trips and clubs, it was normal to use text messages.
“All of a sudden, texting with personal cell phones became commonplace,” Sarullo said. “But having everything under one platform just makes sense for everybody—coaches, student-athletes and parents.”
Many are still unaware of the new rules; students were not sent the numerous emails about the new policy that parents received.
“I haven’t heard about this policy,” Sarah Bogdan ’26 said. “I only used email. Going back to email would be less efficient. There could be other solutions that could be easier than texting.”
Still, Sarullo remains optimistic that the transition will smooth out with time.
“There are going to be bumps in the road, like anything new,” Sarullo said. “But once everybody gets used to it, they’ll know that this is the spot where they need to communicate with coaches, and we’ll be texting, and parents, too.”
