Beaverton Schools -

Beaverton levels up with parent-teacher chat

Beaverton Schools is offering parents a new way to keep up with their students’ performance in the hopes of building stronger lines of communication between the classroom and the home.

Rooms is a new mobile feature in the Beaverton Beavers app that allows teachers and families to chat virtually via their cell phone or computer. Beaverton Schools is introducing the feature as the school year launches Aug. 22.

“We’re adding this feature as another way for the school and families to communicate,” said Superintendent Joseph Passalacqua. “It is by no means meant as a replacement for in-person visits or conversations on the phone. But the world is changing, and the next generation of parents expects to communicate differently. That’s why we’re expanding our options for families by adding Rooms to the Beaverton Schools app.”

In addition to the parent-teacher chat option, Rooms will offer such features as class streams and announcements. The new feature is available on the Beaverton Beavers app, which has been available since 2019 and provides district news, school updates and event announcements. Users can download the app by searching ‘Beaverton Beavers’ in either the iPhone App Store or Android’s Google Play store.

“For the past three years, the Beaverton Schools app has made a big impact in getting the word out about all the great things happening in our district,” Passalacqua said. “Now, with the addition of Rooms, we can draw that connection between the classroom and home even closer. Heightened communications is an essential component in greater student achievement, and that’s what it’s all about.”