Google Classroom

Starting in the 2026-2027 School Year, Nantucket Public Schools will be using Google Classroom as the district's Learning Management System.

We are no longer using Schoology. We have made this move to enhance teaching and learning and to enable a more seamless integration with the Google Workspace environment.

Google Classroom is a secure online learning management system (LMS) that helps teachers organize class materials, assignments, and communication in one place. Students can access their coursework, submit assignments, receive feedback, and stay informed about upcoming deadlines using their school-issued Google account. It is one of the core digital learning tools used throughout our district and integrates directly with Aspen.

Using Google Classroom

What Will Parents/Guardians Be Able to See?

How parents/guardians will be kept informed

Classroom educators will send out emails inviting parents/guardians to receive emailed summaries of missing work, upcoming assignments, and class announcements.
These invitations will come to the parent/guardian email that is listed in Aspen. Please be sure to check that your email is correct in Family Connection as this goes directly into Aspen and Google Classroom.
If you do not receive an invitation within the first week of school, please contact your student's teacher directly.

How do parents/guardians get email summaries?

A teacher or admin sends an invitation to a parent/guardian's email on record in Aspen. Parents have 120 days to accept an invitation before it expires.
Click Accept.
If you’re not the guardian, click I’m Not The Guardian.
Click Accept to confirm.
When you accept an invitation, you and your student get an email confirmation.

What’s included in an email summary?

Missing work—Work not turned in when the summary was sent.
Upcoming work—Work that’s due today and tomorrow (for daily emails) or that’s due in the upcoming week (for weekly emails).
Class activity—Announcements, assignments, and questions recently posted by teachers.
Guardian preview links—These links allow guardians to view their student’s Classwork page through direct “View in Classroom” links in the email summary.
Grades are not included in the email summaries.

Click here to see a Guardian Preview Classwork page

Click here to see an email summary with preview links

How Do Parents/Guardians Check Student Grades?

How Can Parents/Guardians See Student's Grades?

Classroom educators will keep a current gradebook in Aspen. Parents can login to the Aspen Portal online or in the Aspen Go app to see current grades and additional info. Click this link to learn more about Aspen parent portal.

We encourage all parents to login to Aspen within the first few days of school to ensure access to student grades.

Is Google Classroom Safe?

As part of the Google Workspace for Education environment, Google Classroom is committed to protecting student and teacher privacy and provide best-in-class security for schools. Classroom provides a safe digital learning environment that meets compliance standards, including Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (COPPA), and General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

Learn More Here.

Why NPS Made the Switch

Why NPS Chose Google Classroom

Personalized learning

Teachers can create assignments for the whole class and tailor them for individual students. Some teachers even use AI-powered tools that give students personalized hints if they get stuck while working on an activity. Plus, real-time feedback helps encourage students’ critical-thinking and problem-solving skills.

Accessibility and inclusivity

Classroom supports all types of learners and helps every student learn how they learn best. It’s accessible in over 50 languages, with a screen reader, keyboard-only support, high-contrast mode, and so much more.

Classwork in one place

Within Classroom, students can access content teachers have shared, such as learning resources, reading materials, videos, links, and handouts – all in one place.

Organization and time management

With built-in interactive to-do lists and calendars with due dates, Classroom encourages students to take ownership of their learning and develop essential skills they need today and for their futures.

Improved Communication

Students can get details about class projects and more by receiving email notifications and viewing posts made by their teacher on their class’s stream. This page is available when they sign in to Classroom through a web browser or in the mobile app on iOS and Android.
Students can easily message their teacher and classmates directly with questions or comments about assignments and announcements.
In Classroom, students can quickly view all of their work including upcoming assignments, graded work, and what’s late or missing. For some assignments, students can even access their grades immediately after they complete the assignment.

Skills for the future

Google Workspace for Education tools like Classroom help students develop the soft skills needed to prepare them for college and their future careers, such as collaborating with peers on team assignments in Docs, Sheets, and Slides.

Additional Family Resources

How Students Use Google Classroom

Students use Google Classroom to view assignments, access class materials, complete coursework, and submit their work electronically.
They can check due dates, review teacher feedback, and stay organized by seeing all of their classes and assignments in one place.
Students log in using their district-provided Google account, and their activity is monitored by NPS staff.

Students: Learn How to Use Google Classroom

Join a Class

How do I get to Google Classroom?

How do I Join a Class>

Image showing how to join Google Classroom

Input the Classroom Code

The Home Page

The Stream Tab

The social hub of your class. It works like a social media feed where you can see teachers post reminders, notices, and when new work is added.

The Stream Tab is used for chatting, news, and quick updates in order of time (with the newest on top).

Announcements
Notifications
Upcoming Work
Student Comments (if allowed)

This tab will look different for every class.

The Classwork Tab

Classwork Tab

The main workspace where teachers post assignments, polls, tests, and materials.
Everything is organized by units or weeks using Classroom "topics"
The Classwork Tab is used to find, organize, and turn in actual homework and projects. This will look different for every class.
Find the following in this tab:
- Assignments
- Materials
- Topic Folders
- Google Calendar
- Class Drive Folder

The Complete Guide to Google Classroom for Students

The Complete Google Classroom Tutorial for Students

Communicate with your teacher or classmates

If your teacher allows, you can post comments and send emails in Classroom.

Start or turn in your classwork

Do the basics

Do more

See your feedback or grade

When your teacher returns your work, you can see your grade and any feedback. If your teacher uses a rubric, check your rubric feedback.

You can also check your overall grade in a class.

Explore Classroom

Explore the Home page

On the Home page, you can view and enter all your classes.

Your homepage brings your most important coursework and tools directly to the surface. From here, you can view upcoming assignments in the Due soon module, access interactive AI features in the Class learning tools module, and find all your active classes. Learn how to navigate your Classroom Homepage.

Tips:

To return to the Home page from within a class, click Menu at the top left, then click Home .
To minimize the navigation menu to a collapsed version, click Menu at the top left.

Common tasks on the Home page

Explore the Stream page

The Stream page is the class message board. Your teacher might post announcements or classwork notifications. Some teachers let students post or comment on the Stream page.

Common tasks on the Stream page

Explore the Classwork page

On the Classwork page, your teacher posts classwork and materials.

Classwork includes assignments, questions, and quiz assignments.
Materials include other class resources, such as extra readings.
The posts are organized under topics.

Common tasks on the Classwork page

Explore the People page

On the People page, you can see the teachers and students in the class.

If your school allows, you can send emails from the People page.

Common tasks on the People page

Email your teacher or classmates