If you wish you could magically have school calendar dates appear in your family calendar, you’re not alone! In fact, that’s the top choice of most parents when asked what type of calendar they’d most like to integrate directly into their family calendars. Imagine how much simpler life would be if you could automatically add school vacations, teacher conferences and early dismissal days right into your family planner.

Some schools already make calendars available to do that, but most schools don’t yet. That’s why Cozi is eager to introduce you to School Calendars Now (www.SchoolCal.org). School Calendars Now is working with parents to encourage schools across the U.S. and Canada to publish their annual calendars as Internet calendars (known as iCals) that can easily be added to the calendar programs parents use most, such as Cozi. 

With Internet school calendars, you can:

• automatically add school schedules to your Cozi family calendar with a simple click of the mouse

• receive schedule changes when your school updates the calendar or sends out a new one

• access school calendar information wherever and whenever you need it right from Cozi

• plan vacations, after-school activities, and appointments more easily

• save time and eliminate accidental double bookings in your family calendar

With School Calendars Now, parents in the U.S. and Canada can log onto www.SchoolCal.org to vote to have their school’s official Internet calendar made available, and can also notify other parents to jump on the bandwagon.  School Calendars Now will tally the votes and make requests to schools on behalf of all parents.

School Calendars Now has even partnered with a company called Intand to provide a simple way for your school to publish the annual Internet school calendar at no cost to the school. Intand also publishes other school related schedules, including sports, club, and activity calendars in the iCal format to help schools communicate schedules to families instantly and automatically.

To find out if your official school calendar is already available as an iCal, go to www.SchoolCal.org.  If you find that your school calendar isn’t yet available, you can use the site to vote to let your school know you’d like an Internet calendar for your school, and get other parents to do the same.

Join the movement of parents in supporting this effort to get school calendars now. Next fall, when your kids are heading back to school, you’ll be glad you did!