EveryDay Labs vs. Parent Square

Effective communication is likely a key part of your attendance improvement strategy, and perhaps you are looking for a partner to support this important work. With numerous options to choose from, it may feel overwhelming to determine which direction to take and which solution will work best for your district. 

EveryDay Labs and ParentSquare are two widely used platforms for school-home communications and complement each other well. Both reach families at scale to help keep conversations going and strengthen connections. Read on to see how they compare and how they may both fit into your efforts to decrease chronic absenteeism and support student success. 

Similarities: Multi-Channel Communication and Data-Driven Resources

Both EveryDay Labs and ParentSquare help districts communicate with families in timely, relevant ways and implement effective interventions. This includes the following shared capabilities:

Multi-channel outreach: Reaching families where they are and cutting through the noise is critical to effective communication. ParentSquare offers text, email, phone, and app communication options, and EveryDay Labs offers text, phone, mail, and email beginning Spring 2026. Both platforms offer a view into what messages have been sent, how many, and when, and both offer translation capabilities so that messages are accessible and understood by all families.  

Attendance data dashboard & intervention tracking: Both platforms provide clear and robust attendance data dashboards, making it easy to view which students and families need outreach and intervention. Additionally, both provide space to track intervention progress and transparency across teams for efficient work.

Data-driven messaging with built-in templates: Both platforms intend to make family outreach easier and more effective by providing messaging capabilities informed by real-time attendance data. Sending these targeted messages is faster with various templates that address common attendance challenges, including illness and attendance patterns.

While there’s clear overlap, the evidence base, family support and client success resources that each partner provides are different. 

Key Differences: Evidence, Mailings, Family Support, Professional Learning, and Customer Support

Evidence Base

EveryDay Labs was founded by two behavioral scientists who set out to reduce chronic absenteeism at scale with a mail and text intervention featuring evidence-based, behaviorally informed nudges and notices. 

Tested through numerous randomized controlled trials, chronic absenteeism nudges from EveryDay Labs are proven to reduce chronic absenteeism over and above any other district initiative, which is why their intervention is the only one to be given the “Strong Evidence” distinction under Johns Hopkins’ Evidence for ESSA. 

To support districts restoratively stay in state compliance of truancy laws, EveryDay Labs’ truancy notices also have the evidence-backed advantage. These clear and positive notices are proven to be 40% more effective than standard truancy notices, which are often punitive and confusing. 

ParentSquare was originally built as a unified communication platform for all school-home needs (announcements, two-way messaging, forms, sign-ups, etc) and now offers a dedicated Attendance module. The attendance communications leveraged are not informed by the same level of research as those sent through the EveryDay Labs program.

Mail Capabilities 

One of the most surprising parts of what makes the EveryDay Labs program effective is our use of mail. That’s right: we send truancy notices, chronic absenteeism nudges, and targeted letters in the mail! While it may seem antiquated, mail in fact has the advantage of cutting through the noise of digital communications and serving as a “social artifact,” a tangible item you can hold in your hand and even place on the fridge as a reminder.  Receiving attendance communications in the mail helps encourage long-term change in family and student behaviors, while adding in text messages provides timely reminders that encourage short term positive actions. 

‍Family Support Features

Both EveryDay Labs and ParentSquare understand that families are a critical part of student success. And while ParentSquare offers myriad ways to communicate and stay connected with families, it does not provide the same family support at EveryDay Labs. Alongside the platform’s capability to send family communications, EveryDay Labs adds several additional layers of family support to help districts strengthen family-school partnerships. This includes: 

• 24/7 Family Support Bot: Upon responding to a chronic absenteeism text nudge, families are instantly connected to our Family Support Bot. Designed to help families overcome barriers to attendance, it serves up district and community resources to help make getting to school easier, including transportation, wellness services, and food distribution. 
• Multilingual Family Support Team: Whether referred by the Family Support Bot or the dedicated phone number on the mailed chronic absenteeism nudge, families can find additional support via the live, multilingual Family Support Team. Ready to answer questions about student attendance and direct families to the right resource, no other attendance solution provides tailored support with a human touch quite like our Family Support Team

Professional Learning

Both ParentSquare and EveryDay Labs are dedicated to supporting educators in promoting family partnerships and student success. This includes a forum for users to connect, celebrate, and seek out advice from other practitioners dedicated to attendance improvement. 

EveryDay Labs also supports educators with ongoing professional learning throughout the school year to help educators build capacity for more efficient and effective attendance work. This includes monthly live webinars led by resident attendance experts, along with a pre-recorded series that coaches educators on best practices for a tiered approach to attendance improvement. 

Customer Support

We often hear that our level of customer service is one of the big things that stands out for our partners. Attendance improvement work is difficult, which is why EveryDay Labs provides each of our partners with a dedicated Customer Success Manager, available for regular meetings and ongoing guidance throughout the year. Additionally, users can reach our dedicated support team via email or chat directly within the EveryDay Labs platform, with a response time of usually 12 hours or less. 

Better Together: How EveryDay Labs and ParentSquare Partner

But wait! You don’t need to choose between EveryDay Labs and ParentSquare. Many districts use both to maximize their impact. 

For example, ParentSquare can be used as a tool for everyday communications, strengthening family-school partnerships with newsletters, social media integrations, and two-way communication. EveryDay Labs can then be leveraged specifically for attendance work, knowing that the evidence-based communications sent via mail and text, dedicated family support, and a trusted partner with you every step of the way will help you see real attendance results.

Interested in hearing more about how EveryDay Labs can support your attendance efforts? Reach out anytime! 

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