School Cancellations, Delayed Openings, and Early Dismissals Communications

Overview

Inevitably, you will need to cancel school, open late, or dismiss school early. In these situations, it is important to communicate directly with people about these changes. Detailed below are some useful workflows to help you facilitate this communication.

Click here to read about adjustments that must be made to the school calendar when these changes in schedule happen.

Sending Composer Emails and SMS Messages

Some of the fastest methods to communicate with your parents, students, and school staff are through email and SMS (text messaging). Composer helps facilitate this communication quickly and efficiently. Read below for workflows that will help you perform these tasks using Composer.

1. From the Communications homepage, click on the Select Recipients: All People button in the "Option 1 - Recipients from Query" section.
2. In the query design, select the Group Membership field and apply as many criteria as necessary. For instances such these, we recommend the following groups be selected:
   • All Current Students
   • All Parents
   • All Staff & Faculty
3. Click the Run Query button. From here...

If Sending An Email

1. Click the Action Menu and select the Send an email option.
2. Click Go, then click the Launch Composer link. For more information about sending emails through Composer, click  here.

If Sending An SMS

1. Click the Action Menu and select the Send an SMS option.
2. Click Go, then click the Launch Composer link.
3. Follow the steps listed at the top of the screen to send the SMS message. We recommend beginning the SMS message with the name of the school.

Posting a Notice in the Parent Portal

Another way to notify parents of changes in schedule is through the Parent Portal directly. Detailed below is how to build and post a notice directly in the Portal.

1. From the Portal Admin homepage, click on the Parent Portal link in the Find Portals section.
2. Click on the Component Screens tab, then click on the Edit... link in the row beginning with Home.
3. Click the +Add button in the Region 2 section, select Notification Link, then click Add Component.
4. Fill in the Title and Text fields on the right side of the screen. This is what will display on the notice.
5. We recommend that the Hyperlink URL field is populated with a link to the school website for more information or possibly a weather site, if desired.
6. Click Edit in the Region 2 header then drag the notice to the top of the list on the right to display the notice on the top of the Parent Portal.
7. Click the Publish Screen button.