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Parent Notification System

BLACKBOARD CONNECT NOTIFICATION SYSTEM  

**excerpted from LAUSD Parent-Student Handbook
 
The Los Angeles Unified School District uses a District wide notification system called Blackboard Connect to personally communicate with parents and staff, regarding emergency situations, attendance, school events and other important issues impacting you and your child. The Blackboard Connect service allows us to send personalized voice messages to your family's home, work or cell phones, and also contact you through email, text messaging and social networks. We are able to reach everyone in the District within minutes based on Blackboard Connect‘s capabilities which improves school and Districtwide communication with parents and employees. Keeping parents more informed and involved leads to higher student achievement and student safety. Please help us by ensuring we have your current contact information. You can specify on which phone you receive general notification, attendance and emergency communications by completing the Student Emergency Information Form.   WE RECOMMEND PROVIDING YOUR CELL PHONE NUMBER IF YOU HAVE ONE, SO THE MESSAGES COME DIRECTLY TO YOU.
 

What Numbers Should I Provide for Blackboard Connect?

There are many instances when the school will attempt to reach you.
 
  • General notification messages are sent during the early evening. These messages are non-emergency in nature and announce upcoming events or reminders.
  • Attendance notification messages are generally sent during the school day and in the early evening. These messages are sent to inform you that your child has been reported as an unexcused absence or tardy for one or more periods or an entire day of school. The most appropriate number is a daytime telephone number. If you are a working parent, this is most often your work number or cell phone number. If the parent is home during the day, this is the home telephone number. It is recommended that the attendance number not be the home number if no one is there during the day.
  • Emergency notification messages are of an urgent nature and are sent anytime during the day. The number you should provide is where you are most likely to be reached during the majority of your waking hours. Blackboard Connect will call every number stored including the numbers for general and attendance notifications to ensure that the parents are reached. This number should be for the parent or guardian and not the alternate contacts provided on the Student Emergency Information Form. The information on the Student Emergency Information Form will be utilized should the school not be able to reach the parent or guardian.
  • Teacher Messages are sent to inform you of your child's academic standing, general behavior and work habits, and classroom reminders and notifications.
 

Important Call Delivery Tips:

  1. When a call comes from the school (or District), the message recipient's caller ID will display the school (or District ̳s) name or phone number.
  2. When listening to a message, background noise may cause the system to stop and start. Blackboard Connect is carefully tuned to determine whether a person or an answering machine/voicemail has been reached, and background noise may affect the delivery of the message. If possible, move to a quiet area, or press the mute button on your phone.
  3. If you missed any part of a message, please stay on the line and press the "*” (star) key on your phone to hear the entire message again. Alternatively, you can rehear the latest message by dialing (877) 737-5291.
  4. Please be aware that the Blackboard Connect service cannot currently dial an extension (this will be available in the near future), so be sure the numbers you provide are direct lines.
Please have your child return the completed Student Emergency Information Form to the school as soon as possible. Should your contact information change or need to be corrected, please contact the school directly. Only the school has the ability to change your contact information. It is important that the school has your current contact information so that you can receive these important messages. As the notification system is used for emergency communications, the District has established a no opt-out policy for students, parents and employees. All personal information is maintained in the strictest confidence and in compliance with District's Security policies. 
 
We look forward to connecting with you in the very near future.