December 5, 2008
Dear Parent,
In our effort to improve communication between parents and school, beginning December 18th, 2008, the Festus R-VI School District will implement a telephone broadcast system that will enable school personnel to notify all households and parents by phone within minutes of an emergency or unplanned event that causes early dismissal, school cancellation or late start. The service may also be used from time-to-time to communicate general announcements or reminders. This service is provided by SchoolReach, a company specializing in school-to-parent communications. Festus R-VI will continue to report school closings due to snow or weather and will use this system as an overlay to the public announcements.
When used, the service will simultaneously call the designated phone number provided on the parent contact list (refer to attached sheet) and will deliver a recorded message from a District Administrator. The service will deliver the message live and to answering machines. Calls where the line is busy or where no one answers will be automatically re-dialed twice in fifteen minute intervals after the initial call.
Note: 1) The attached sheet will serve as your formal registration. 2) All information and contact numbers are strictly secure and confidential and are only used for the purposes described herein.
Below is additional information you should know regarding the SchoolReach service.
Caller ID: Caller ID will display [6369374920], which is the main number for the Festus R-VI School District. You may wish to add that number to your mobile phone’s memory for easy recognition. At times, the Caller ID may display the main number from one of our school sites. The number displayed signifies the location from which the call originated.
Live Answers: There is a short pause at the beginning of the message, usually only a few seconds. Answer your phone normally with ‘hello’ and hold for the message to begin. Multiple “hellos” will delay the message. Be sure to inform other family members who may answer your phone of this process.
Answering Machines: The system will detect that your machine has answered and will play the recording to your machine. The maximum number of rings before ‘hang-up’ is five. Please make sure your machine answers after four rings or you may miss the message.
Morning & Day Calls: In the event a cancellation is made the night prior, or in the early morning hours, the message will be broadcast to one (1) phone number the parent/guardian has designated prior. In the event a cancellation decision is made mid-day, the message will be broadcast to one (1) home or mobile/work number – depending upon your preference. For ‘day’ calls outside of the home phone, a cell phone is recommended.
Message Repeat: At the end of the message you will be prompted to ‘press any key’ to hear the message again. This is very helpful when a child answers the phone and hands it to a parent, who can then ‘repeat’ the message in its entirety.
Attendance: Eventually, each school site will use SchoolReach to notify parents of their child’s absences – particularly those where the school was not notified in advance of the absence.
Food Service: Eventually, each school site will use SchoolReach to notify parents when their child’s lunch balance drops below a certain amount.
For the entire service to work efficiently and seamlessly, it is imperative that CURRENT and SPECIFIC phone numbers for your home, work, or mobile are on file with your child’s school office. Without current contact information, you will not receive messages. In addition, anytime a change is made to your phone contact information please inform the appropriate school. Attached is a form for you to designate the appropriate contact information in order to receive automated messages from SchoolReach. Upon completion, please return the form to the appropriate school site. A form for each student is necessary. Failure to complete and return the contact information form will result in you not receiving automated messages. Please return completed forms no later than Friday, December 12th, 2008. There will be a ‘test’ call at a future date to be announced in advance to ensure contact numbers are correct. Watch for that information.
As with any new service, there are sure to be glitches. However, the advantages of this new system far outweigh any minor problems that may occur during the initial implementation phase. This service is provided at no cost to our families. Program fees for SchoolReach are paid for by a Federal program grant.
If you have any questions about this new parent contact system, please contact my office at 636-937-4920 or via e-mail at llutt@festus.k12.mo.us
Educationally,
Link W. Luttrell Ed.D
Assistant Superintendent