School news arrives from everywhere at once: emails, a [school portal], a class app, a booking site for clubs and meetings. Grades appear in one place, deadlines in another, and the note that needs your signature is buried in a long newsletter. A bot is good at exactly this kind of patient checking. It can read the school mail and portals every school day, tell you only what needs you, keep a weekly summary per child, and help you get ready for parent-teacher meetings. It is not a teacher, it doesn't decide anything about your child, and it never writes to the school on its own. This guide sets up a separate school bot that reads and reports, keeps your children's details private, and drafts anything outgoing for your yes. If you already get a morning brief, this is a different job: it is only about school, per child (see "Let your bot write a morning brief built around your own products" on this shelf).
A bot you can chat with, set up as a new bot just for school.
The email account where school mail lands, such as [your email].
Your logins for the [school portal] and any class or booking apps, for example ManageBac, ClassDojo or SchoolsBuddy.
About 30 minutes for the first setup.
How it works
You send a prompt, the bot does the work, and you approve what matters.
Highlighted [brackets] are yours to replace. Copy keeps them in the prompt.
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Step 1. Give the school bot one clear role
Prompt to send
You are my school assistant for [Child A] and [Child B]. Your job is to read and report only. Never reply to a teacher, submit or upload work, book anything, pay anything or delete anything without asking me first. Keep everything about my children private: don't share it with my other bots, don't save it to shared memory, and don't use their full names in anything you write for me. Before we start, repeat these rules back to me in a few lines, and tell me what you'll need from me to do this job.
Why you're sending it
Children's grades, comments and health notes are some of the most private things you have. A separate bot with written rules keeps them in one place and stops them drifting into your work or family bots. Saying "read and report only" up front means the bot never has to guess whether it may act.
What you'll get
A short summary of the rules in the bot's own words, which you can correct, and a list of what it needs next: which email account, which portals and who each child is, using placeholders like Child A and Child B.
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Step 2. Connect school mail and portals safely
Prompt to send
Help me connect what you need to read. First, connect my [email provider] account at [your email] so you can read school mail, and only read it. Then, for each of these, ask me to save the login in your password vault, never typed into this chat: [school portal], [class app], [booking portal]. When each one is saved, sign in once and tell me what you can see, such as grades, assignments, messages, calendar or bookings. Don't change any settings.
Why you're sending it
A login typed into a chat can end up in logs or memory. The vault keeps it out of the conversation, and the bot fills it in only when it signs in. A first test sign-in shows you what each portal really offers before you rely on it.
What you'll get
A connected mailbox, saved logins for each portal, and a plain list per portal of what the bot can read there, plus anything it couldn't reach, such as a sign-in code sent to your phone.
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Step 3. Tell it what counts as a concern
Prompt to send
Here is what counts as a concern for me: any grade below [C], any score below [60%], any comment like "not yet meeting expectations", any missing or late work, and anything that asks me to sign, pay, reply or attend. Save this as my concern list. From now on, put concerns at the top of every report, say which child and which subject, and quote where you saw it. Ask me if a grading scale is new to you instead of guessing.
Why you're sending it
Without a line in the sand, the bot either reports everything or decides on its own what matters. Your own list, in your own words, keeps the reports short and the worries in front. Asking about unfamiliar scales stops it misreading a grade.
What you'll get
A saved concern list you can change any time, and from now on reports that open with concerns, each one linked to the child, the subject and where it came from.
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Step 4. Put a daily check and a weekly summary on a schedule
Prompt to send
Set up two routines in [my time zone]. First, a short check at [time] on school days only: new grades, deadlines in the next 7 days, and anything that needs me. Check email, the portal's notifications tab and its calendar. If nothing is new, send nothing. Second, every [Friday at a set time], update a dashboard Page with one tab per child and a separate fees tab, showing grades this week, upcoming work, concerns and anything I still need to do. Keep it private to me.
Why you're sending it
A daily check catches the urgent things while there is still time, and staying quiet on calm days keeps you reading when it does speak up. The weekly Page gives you the bigger picture per child in one place, and a separate fees tab keeps money matters from getting lost among grades.
What you'll get
Two saved routines and a dashboard Page you can open any time. On school days you hear from the bot only when something is new, and each week the Page shows one tab per child and a fees tab with what is due.
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Step 5. Get ready for parent-teacher meetings
Prompt to send
Parent-teacher meetings are coming up in [booking portal]. I'm free [day, from time to time]. Show me the open slots for each teacher in that window and suggest a plan with breaks between meetings. When I say yes, book them. Then, for each teacher, for example Teacher X, draft two or three questions based on that child's recent grades, missing work and teacher comments. If I want to email a teacher, draft it on a card for me to approve, and don't send anything until I say yes.
Why you're sending it
Meeting slots go fast, and walking in prepared makes a short meeting worth much more. The bot already has the grades, missing work and comments, so it can turn them into questions in minutes. Booking only after your yes, and drafting emails instead of sending them, keeps you in charge.
What you'll get
A proposed meeting plan for your free window, bookings made once you approve, a short list of questions per teacher with where each one came from, and any emails as drafts waiting for your approval.
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Step 6. Draft friendly reminders for your kids
Prompt to send
Each school evening, if anything is due in the next two days, write me a short, friendly "don't forget" note for each child, written so a [age] year old would read it. Keep it kind and light, no pressure. Give me the note to copy into their messenger myself. Don't send it to them and don't mention grades.
Why you're sending it
A reminder in a friendly tone lands better than a list of deadlines, and you know your child best. You copy the note yourself, so you can change it and decide whether to send it at all.
What you'll get
On evenings when something is due, a short note per child, ready for you to copy into their messenger. On evenings with nothing due, nothing.
All in one (optional)
Prefer one prompt? Send this instead.
Prompt to send
Be my school assistant for [Child A] and [Child B]. Read and report only, never reply to teachers, submit work, book, pay or delete anything without asking me, and keep my children's details private, not shared with other bots or shared memory. Connect my [email provider] at [your email] to read school mail, and ask me to save each portal login in your vault, never in chat: [school portal], [class app], [booking portal]. My concerns are grades below [C], scores below [60%], "not yet meeting expectations", missing work and anything I need to sign, pay or attend. Run a short check at [time] on school days only, including the portal's notifications tab and calendar, and stay silent when nothing is new. Every [Friday], update a private dashboard Page with a tab per child and a fees tab. For parent-teacher meetings, book slots in my free window only after my yes, draft questions per teacher, and draft any emails for my approval. On school evenings, draft friendly "don't forget" notes I can copy to my kids. Pause after each step to show me what you did.
What your bot will always ask you first
Replying to a teacher or the school, or sending anything under your name.
Submitting, uploading or changing any schoolwork.
Booking, cancelling or paying for anything.
Deleting messages, files or anything in a portal.
Sharing anything about your children with anyone else, including your other bots.
It bundles its questions, so you're not pinged all day.
Start with the first prompt. It only sets the rules and changes nothing.