Teacher messaging architecture: CMS vs. Mass Communication
Edlio provides four distinct surfaces for teacher communication across two product platforms:
Personal Pages (CMS): Teacher profile, biography, syllabus, supply lists, and classroom post announcements.
Classes (CMS): Specific course homework assignments, due dates, class files, and syllabus outlines.
Subscriptions (CMS — Passive Daily Digest): Automated notification system. Teachers do not compose or dispatch subscription emails; the server generates a single consolidated daily digest at 5:30 PM school time whenever new content is published.
Newsletters (CMS — Active Broadcast): Structured email newsletters created in Communications → Newsletters. Classroom subscribers automatically populate a teacher's Contact List.
Direct messaging limitation in CMS: Teachers cannot send direct one-off or bulk emails to parents from the standalone Edlio CMS. However, schools licensing Edlio Mass Communication can grant teachers access to send multi-channel messages (Email, Voice, and SMS Text) directly to their Classrooms and authorized Groups.
When do subscription emails send?
All email subscriptions in the Edlio CMS are processed and dispatched on a standardized automated schedule:
The 5:30 PM Automated Digest Window
Subscription digests begin processing at 5:30 PM local school time every day. Emails are generated and delivered in batches between 5:30 PM and 6:30 PM.
Why 5:30 PM?
The 5:30 PM cutoff time provides critical operational benefits for both teachers and families:
Allows teachers full school-day editing flexibility: Teachers can post homework in the morning, update assignment due dates during prep periods, and add post-school club announcements without spamming parents with multiple emails.
Prevents inbox fatigue for multi-child families: If a family has three children across different grade levels, updates from all their subscribed teachers and classes are consolidated into one single daily digest email delivered as families arrive home.
Zero alerts on quiet days: If a teacher does not post or edit any public content during the day, no email is sent. Subscribers only receive emails when new information exists.
Same-day cutoff rules
Content published before 5:30 PM: Included in that evening's daily digest email.
Content published after 5:30 PM: Queued automatically and included in the following day's 5:30 PM digest.
Can I customize the time?
Yes, the digest is customizable in Settings: Simply go to your Settings -> Subscription Emails
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