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TalkingPoints

talkingpts.org

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Spec score 8.1 #7 of 29 in School Communication Software

What it is

TalkingPoints is a PreK–12 family engagement platform for communication between schools and families. Educators and families can exchange messages, including through SMS text, and the service translates messages into more than 150 languages using AI and human translator support. Individual teachers can use translated messaging for free, with in-app tips and guidance for building relationships. Families can use the free website or iOS and Android apps; text replies are available at schools with a paid plan. Optional district offerings address attendance improvement, district communications, and academic improvement. Message Mentor helps educators draft and improve family messages. TalkingPoints integrates with Clever, ClassLink, and other student information systems for rostering. Schools and districts can use organization-wide deployment with administrative controls and integrations, with quote-based pricing. The service offers professional learning in person, virtually, or in blended formats. TalkingPoints says it encrypts data in transit and at rest, restricts access to designated users, and does not sell or rent personal information or use it for advertising or commercial purposes. The listed free plan for individual teachers costs nothing.

Spec sheet

What it does
TalkingPoints is a nonprofit PreK–12 family-engagement platform for two-way school and family communication.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Purpose
TalkingPoints is a PreK–12 family engagement platform for building partnerships between schools and families.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Intended users
The platform is designed for individual teachers, schools, and districts serving PreK–12 communities.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
API
Help documentation describes a TalkingPoints Connector live API that synchronizes roster data nightly and can pause through circuit-break protection.Read 15 Oct 2026 · intercom.help
Integrations
TalkingPoints lists Clever, ClassLink, OneRoster and other SIS integrations, plus SSO.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Security
TalkingPoints states that it uses TLS, encryption at rest, SSO, audit logs, intrusion detection and periodic penetration testing.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Compliance
Its security pages state support for FERPA and COPPA requirements; the Help Center also names MFIPPA compliance.Read 15 Oct 2026 · intercom.help
Support
Support is available through in-app or website chat and [email protected].Read 15 Oct 2026 · intercom.help
Founded
2015Read 28 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Academic Improvement
Academics at Home delivers translated PreK–3 literacy and mathematics activities aligned to a district scope and sequence.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
AI assistant
Message Mentor is an AI assistant that helps educators draft and improve messages to families.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Analytics
Administrators receive real-time analytics covering attendance, academics and family engagement.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Attendance Improvement
The Attendance Improvement solution helps schools identify and address reasons students miss class.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Company scale
LinkedIn lists TalkingPoints as a San Francisco e-learning nonprofit with 51–200 employees and a 2015 founding year.Read 15 Oct 2026 · linkedin.com
Company type
TalkingPoints is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit with EIN 47-4616102.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Data practices
TalkingPoints says it does not sell or rent personal information and does not use data for advertising or commercial purposes.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
District Communications
District Communications supports multilingual broadcasts and emergency alerts through text, calls, email, app, web and social channels.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
District solutions
Optional district solutions include Attendance Improvement, District Communications, and Academic Improvement.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Documentation
The Help Center lists separate collections for districts, schools, families, teachers, personal accounts, translation and product updates.Read 15 Oct 2026 · intercom.help
Employee rating
Glassdoor shows 3.4 out of 5 from 33 reviews, with 52% recommending the employer.Read 15 Oct 2026 · glassdoor.com
Extensibility
Administrators can generate RSS feeds or iFrame embeds for announcements and paste them into their own websites.Read 15 Oct 2026 · intercom.help
Family access
Families can use the free website or iOS and Android apps, or receive and reply to messages by text at schools with a paid plan.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Family Engagement Foundations
The Foundations product provides daily messaging with embedded guidance for building family partnerships.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Founder
Heejae Lim founded TalkingPoints in 2015 and is identified as founder and CEO.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Funding
Crunchbase lists a private seed organization with three funding rounds and three investors, including Voqal and Google.org.Read 15 Oct 2026 · crunchbase.com
Hosting
The service says it runs on Google Cloud in a FedRAMP-compliant region with encrypted databases and backups.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Limit: Apple app experience
Apple reviewers report lag, attachment and notification problems, limited direct messaging, missing dark mode and occasional translation inaccuracies.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Limit: Families Android app
Google Play reviewers report crashes, very slow performance, missing notifications, difficult text editing and SMS alerts being disabled after installation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Limit: G2 usability and reliability
G2 reviewers mention confusing translations, occasional loading or slowness, disappearing messages and support tickets being closed without resolution.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Limit: support responsiveness
The sole Trustpilot reviewer alleges that support messages were ignored for days and replies were robotic.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Limit: Teachers app outages
Teacher-app reviews describe service outages, inaccessible messages and account problems after phone or system migrations.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Messaging
The platform supports two-way communication between educators and families, including messages delivered over SMS text.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Messaging tools
The platform supports attachments, polls, surveys, scheduling, templates, office-hour auto-replies, check-ins and staff announcements.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Notable news
TalkingPoints announced a $10 million MacKenzie Scott gift on March 25, 2022.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Praise: multilingual communication
G2 reviewers repeatedly praise easy multilingual parent communication, seamless translation and quick implementation.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Apple App Store Families
4.8 out of 5 from 92K ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on Apple App Store Teachers
4.8 out of 5 from 5.1K ratings.Read 15 Oct 2026 · apps.apple.com
Rating on G2
4.8 out of 5 from 570 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · g2.com
Rating on Google Play Admins
3.4 out of 5 from 5 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Google Play Families
4.4 out of 5 from 17.5K reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Google Play Teachers
4.0 out of 5 from 311 reviews.Read 15 Oct 2026 · play.google.com
Rating on Trustpilot
3.2 out of 5 from 1 review.Read 15 Oct 2026 · trustpilot.com
Support and training
TalkingPoints offers professional learning in person, virtually, or in blended formats, with Essentials, In Practice, and Custom Packages tiers.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Teacher features
Individual teachers can use translated messaging for free, and the product includes in-app tips and guidance for relationship-building.Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Text-first access
Families can receive and reply to translated messages by SMS without an app, Wi‑Fi or login.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Translation
Messages can be translated with AI and human translators in more than 150 languages, including a K–12 glossary.Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org

Plans and prices

Families Free Free family access · translated SMS, web sign-in, iOS and Android apps Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Individual teacher access Free Free access for individual teachers · two-way translated family messaging Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org
Personal Teacher Account Free Free individual teacher version · up to 200 students · up to 5 contacts per student · up to 5 class announcements daily Read 15 Oct 2026 · intercom.help
School and District Plans Priced on request Custom quote · administrative controls · rostering · SIS integrations · optional attendance, communications and academic solutions Read 15 Oct 2026 · talkingpts.org
Schools and districts Priced on request Organization-wide deployment · administrative controls · rostering · integrations · quote-based pricing Read 30 Sep 2026 · talkingpts.org

Every TalkingPoints plan and price →

Strong points and limits

Strong points

  • Translates messages into more than 150 languages.
  • Supports two-way messaging, including SMS text.
  • Individual teachers receive free translated messaging.
  • Integrates with Clever, ClassLink, and other SIS platforms.
  • Offers professional learning in several formats.

Limits

  • Family text replies require a school paid plan.
  • School and district pricing is quote-based.
  • District solutions are optional offerings.

Who it suits

TalkingPoints is designed for individual teachers, schools, and districts serving PreK–12 communities. Families can use its website or mobile apps, while text participation depends on the school having a paid plan.

Verdict

TalkingPoints offers translated school-family messaging with free access for individual teachers and broader deployment options for organizations. Families can use the apps or website, but text replies depend on the school’s plan.

Where Specifiction places it

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