On Thursday, December 15, beginning at 6 pm, the district will send a test phone message to all parents who have a student enrolled in the Dearborn Public Schools. The new phone messaging system is capable of sending thousands of calls in a matter of only a few minutes. The system will call the number that parents provided in the fall when they completed emergency card information for their student. Parents with more than one child enrolled in the district should only receive one call. Caller ID information will vary depending on the type of answering machine found in the home or the company providing cell phone service but most likely will show up as “Dearborn Public Schools” or “827-3000.”
The district is using TeleParent, a web-based notification system that allows for easy communication with parents, students, and staff. TeleParent allows the district to quickly and easily create custom messages and send those messages to designated groups or to the entire district. Messages can be sent in both English and Arabic. The high schools and some middle schools are already using this system to notify parents about student absences and lunch account balances. The goal is to have all schools using the system.
When schools are closed due to severe weather, if there is an emergency situation, or there is a need to remind people about a district event, the phone messaging system will be used to notify staff and parents. The district will also continue to post information on the district web-site, cable channel, facebook, twitter, and notify all local radio and television stations.
This system will provide the district with an excellent communication tool that can be used to keep parents informed about general events or, in that rare circumstance, an emergency situation.