The short answer
ClassDojo is a classroom app that many teachers, especially in elementary school, use to share photos and updates, give students feedback, and message parents. As a parent, you join your child's class through an invite from the teacher, then follow along in the app.
Most of ClassDojo happens through app notifications, which makes it easy to keep up with and easy to get interrupted by. A few minutes in your settings, plus a plan for the school email that arrives everywhere else, keeps it manageable.
What ClassDojo is
ClassDojo started as a way for teachers to encourage good habits in class, and grew into a communication app connecting teachers, students, and families. A teacher might use it to:
- Post photos and updates from the school day
- Give students feedback points for skills like teamwork or staying on task
- Share student work that kids add to their own portfolio
- Message parents individually or as a class
- Post reminders about events, supplies, and schedule changes
Some schools use it schoolwide, with announcements from the principal or front office. Others leave it up to individual teachers. Your child might have one teacher who posts daily and another who doesn't use it at all.
How parents join
You can't find your child's class on your own. The teacher sends an invitation, usually as a printed code, a link, an email, or a text. You create a free parent account, connect to your child, and you're in.
If you have more than one child using ClassDojo, you can add each child to the same parent account. If you haven't received an invite, ask the teacher. They can resend it.
What parents can see
What shows up for you depends on how the teacher uses ClassDojo, but parents can typically see:
- Class updates. Photos, videos, and posts the teacher shares with the class, often called the Class Story.
- School updates. Announcements from the school, if your school uses that feature.
- Your child's feedback points. The skills your child was recognized for, and anything marked as needing work, if the teacher uses points.
- Your child's portfolio. Work your child or the teacher has added, like photos of projects, drawings, or short videos.
- Messages. Private conversations with the teacher, plus any class-wide messages.
You'll see your own child's points and portfolio, not other students'. Posts shared with the whole class are visible to all families in that class.
A note on feedback points
Points can be a nice conversation starter (You got a point for helping others today, what happened?
). They can also cause worry if your child gets a needs work
point. A single point is one small moment in a long day. If you see a pattern, ask the teacher how they use points and what they're noticing. Our list of parent-teacher conference questions has a few good ways to start that conversation.
Managing ClassDojo notifications
ClassDojo can notify you about new messages, class and school posts, and your child's points. Notifications are useful when a teacher needs to reach you today. They're less useful when they arrive all afternoon.
The exact menus change from time to time, so look for notification settings in the parent app or in your account settings. Here's what to think about:
Decide what's worth an alert
Most parents want to know right away about direct messages from the teacher. Fewer need an alert for every class photo or every point. Turn on alerts for what needs attention and leave the rest for when you open the app.
Check your phone's settings too
Your phone has its own notification controls for every app. If ClassDojo is too noisy, you can change how its alerts appear (banners, sounds, lock screen) from your phone's settings, in addition to the app's own options.
Look at email notifications
ClassDojo can also send some notifications by email. If you'd rather keep your inbox for school email and use the app for ClassDojo, turn email off. If you'd rather have everything in your inbox, check which email notifications are available in your account settings.
Pick a check-in time
Instead of reacting to each alert, some parents open ClassDojo once after school. It fits nicely into an after-school routine: look at the day's photos with your kid, ask about their points, and check for messages.
ClassDojo is only one of your school channels
Very few families get everything through ClassDojo. A typical elementary school parent might also have:
- A district or school platform like ParentSquare for announcements and alerts (here's what ParentSquare is and how to manage it)
- Google Classroom for older grades (see our Google Classroom guide for parents)
- Teacher email newsletters
- PTA emails about events and fundraisers
- Coaches, clubs, and after-school programs
Each one has its own app, its own sender, and its own schedule. Field trip details might come through ClassDojo while the permission slip comes by email from the office. Our guide to managing school emails covers how to bring that together.
Combining ClassDojo with your other school email
Here's a setup that works for many families:
Keep ClassDojo in the app. Photos, points, and portfolio items are made to be seen in ClassDojo. Turn on alerts for messages and check the rest once a day.
Put everything else that comes by email into one digest. This is where EmailSnapshot fits. You forward the school emails you choose (or set up an auto-forwarding rule) to your snapshot's private address. That can include teacher newsletters, office announcements, ParentSquare emails, Classroom summaries, PTA updates, and team emails, plus any ClassDojo emails you decide to receive.
EmailSnapshot reads each email and pulls out dates, deadlines, action items, things to bring, links, and schedule changes. Then it sends one digest, daily or weekly, at the time you pick. Every digest includes calendar files, and time-sensitive items are flagged as urgent alerts. You can share the digest with a co-parent, grandparent, or sitter, so the person doing pickup sees the same list you do.
To set up automatic forwarding in Gmail, our Gmail filter generator can build the filter, and our Gmail filters guide walks through each step.
A digest only sees what arrives by email, so anything that stays inside the ClassDojo app stays there. That's why the app-for-ClassDojo, digest-for-the-rest split works well. EmailSnapshot isn't affiliated with ClassDojo.
Frequently asked questions
Is ClassDojo free for parents?
Yes, parents can join their child's class and use the core features for free. ClassDojo also offers an optional paid subscription for families with extra features. You don't need it to see your child's class.
Can I use ClassDojo on a computer?
Yes. ClassDojo works in a web browser as well as on the mobile app.
Can both parents connect to the same child?
Yes. Each parent can join with their own account, usually by using the same invite or asking the teacher for another one.
Can other parents see my child's points?
Points are shared with your child's own family, not with other parents. Photos posted to the Class Story are visible to families in the class, so ask the teacher if you have questions about what gets shared.
The bottom line
ClassDojo is a friendly window into your child's school day. Keep alerts on for teacher messages, trim the rest, and pick a time each day to look at it with your kid.
For everything else that lands in your inbox, try EmailSnapshot free for 7 days. No credit card needed. Forward your school emails and get one short digest instead.