How to use Outschool as a parent

Tips, tricks, and guidelines for getting the most out of Outschool

Updated over a week ago

Here's a collection of tips to help you get the most out of your Outschool experience.

Choosing classes

  • Fully read descriptions of any classes you enroll in, and ask the teacher if you have any questions or concerns. You can reach the teacher through the "ask a question" button on the class listing page.

  • Message the teacher before enrolling if you have questions or if you wish to enroll a student outside the listed age range.

  • Understand that teachers use schedule request to help plan their classes, and may take up to a few days to respond to requests individually.

  • Enroll each participating learner individually. Read more about enrolling multiple learners in the same class. 

Preparing for class

  • Check your learner's class schedule by logging in to your Outschool account and clicking the Schedule tab.

  • Subscribe to your 'enrolled classes' calendar to easily see your learner schedules in your calendar app.

  • Check the “supply list” section of the class listing page to make sure your learner has everything they need to be ready for class.

  • Test a live meeting with Zoom before the class begins.

  • Provide an appropriate place for your learner to join the class, including a quiet location and background that is not disruptive to the class or other learners.

Taking classes

  • Be on time.  Put your class on your calendar and check your calendar.  Provide advance notice if you’ll miss class.  You are not entitled to a refund if you miss class.

  • Provide appropriate monitoring for your learner so they are not disruptive to the class or other learners.

  • Do your best to stay off-screen during class time and wait until after class to ask teachers questions. If this isn’t possible (for instance, if your learner requires hands-on assistance from an adult throughout the class), please message the teacher before class to explain your situation.

Managing enrollments

Requesting Transfers

  • To transfer into a different class section, click the Transfer button under your learner's name and follow the prompts to select the time you want to move to.

  • Click the Request Transfer button to send a request to the teacher. A banner at the top of the page will confirm your submission and link your transfer request message.

  • Granting transfers is at the teacher's discretion, so using this feature does not guarantee a transfer.

Staying in touch after class

  • For safety reasons, learners cannot message other learners directly on our platform.

  • However, if your family would like to stay in touch with another family in your learner’s class, parents/guardians can message each other directly.

  • From the enrolled view, click on the mail icon next to the name of the parent you’d like to message.

  • Type your message and click “Send.”

  • Responses will be sent to your email, and you can see and respond to messages from your Conversations page.

Working with teachers

  • Be kind and respectful in communication.

  • Let teachers know in advance if there are particular ways that they can help your learner be successful in class.

  • Reviews: Give thoughtful, honest, constructive feedback.

Working with Outschool

  • Message the teacher first with any concerns or issues. Contact Outschool if the teacher doesn’t resolve the issue.

  • Share questions, ideas, and constructive criticism 

If you have suggestions to add to this list, please share them with us!

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