Delphian has a long tradition of fostering a tight-knit community in which communication plays an integral part. There are many ways of communicating with our parents, students, and with fellow staff—maybe too many. (WhatsApp, WeChat, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, and on and on…).  Our new app's chat feature is designed to bring the school community closer together by offering a central place for all conversations, making it easy to use and refer back to, and providing automatic translation so everyone can communicate in their preferred language. 

• Parents can send a direct message to teachers and other parents.
• Students can send a direct message to teachers and other students.
• All users can reply to direct messages.
• All users can message multiple users at once by creating small groups.
• All users can send files, photos, and fliers.

Chat users are asked to be mindful of staff and faculty schedules, and understand they might be unable to reply immediately when they are in class or outside of school business hours. Teachers may mute their chats during classroom hours to avoid disrupting our students’ educational environment. Chat messages can be expected to be replied to in the same time frame as emails. 

For both one-to-one and group, chats are available for communication between:

• staff-to-staff 
• staff-to-parents
• parents-to-staff
• parents-to-parents
• staff-to-student
• student-to-student

Group chats can be created by staff for clubs, teams, and classrooms and are ideal for sharing information relevant to multiple people, such as class announcements or event details.  

If you need to discuss a concern, a problem, or a sensitive topic, the chat can be used to set up a phone call or share email contact information for a more in-depth conversation with the appropriate faculty member. Phone calls and emails are better for these topics because they allow for more detailed conversations.  

We want to assure you that privacy and security are top priorities.  We strive to maintain a safe chat environment for productive engagement between users and Delphian staff.

• Users should not share personal information about students, parents, or teachers in group chats. That includes everything from contact information to photos or specifics regarding a student's academic program.
• Content shared within a group chat should apply to all members of the group. Direct messages are available for one-to-one communications and can be created by all users.  
• All users are asked to help maintain a friendly chat environment and to communicate respectfully and professionally, which means avoiding slang, inappropriate language, and disparaging comments. 

Note: You must be logged in to use chat.

As you are reading chat messages or direct messages, report communication that is offensive or troublesome. Here's how to report communication:

• Hold down on a piece of communication until the quick menu appears.
• Tap Report.
• Select the reason why you are reporting this communication. Delphian administrators will review and take action on reported messages.

Our moderation system includes proactive measures to ensure appropriate interactions:

• Active Monitoring: Continuous oversight by school administrators.
• Flagging and Blocking: We utilize filters and blocklists to manage different types of content in the form of text, images, and videos.
  • Flagging for Review: Text, images, and videos flagged by our AI model for toxicity, threats, or inappropriate language are reviewed by administrators.
  • Immediate Blocking: Messages containing profanity are blocked before sending, with the sender notified of the violation.

All chat messages are archived and stored automatically by the school, ensuring that important information is preserved and can be reviewed if needed. This means that all conversations, whether they're between teacher and parent, parent-to-parent, student-to-teacher, or within a group chat, are recorded and stored securely as part of Delphian’s records. Because of this, the chat is not intended for casual or non-school-related conversations between users. 

Automatic filters are set up to detect and block offensive words and phrases from being sent. The system will notify school administration and the sender that the content violates guidelines and is being flagged for review.  

Content subject to review or immediate blocking includes:

• Spam and promotions: Repetitive or promotional content not aligned with educational objectives.
• Personal information: Attempts to direct conversations away from the platform by sharing sensitive information.
• Toxicity and threats: Messages containing threats, insults, or attacks based on identity or protected characteristics.
• Obscenity and explicit content: Including sexually explicit material or vulgar language.

Delphian Chat employs extensive measures to maintain appropriateness:

• Blocked words: A comprehensive list of 10,000 prohibited words managed by AI to prevent their use.
• Blocked users: Repeat offenders will be automatically blocked, and an administrator will be notified. The admin will review the behavior to decide whether to lift the temporary block or make it permanent. Blocked users require admin approval to regain access.  

Email: apps@delphian.org