• Blackboard Mass Notification – Communication, Planning and Engagement – Nash County Public Schools

     

    Shamokin Area School District currently uses Blackboard's Mass Notification service. Using this service, the district can send out important information by phone, text, and social media within minutes.  All information is gathered from our student information system.

    For more information on the product, please click here.

     

    Please keep in mind that there are many factors involved in how the mass notification system works and it will never be 100% in the delivery of notifications.  If any situation arises and you did not receive a call, you can find the information in other locations, such as our Main Website Homepage and our Facebook page.

     

    FAQs

    QUESTION: How were my numbers and email address assigned to the system?
    ANSWER: All contact information is gathered from our student information system.  If you have moved or received a new phone number, please update your information within ParentVUE or by contacting the office.

    QUESTION: Can I have more than one phone number for my child?
    ANSWER:  Multiple phone numbers are stored for each student but only the main number (household phone in our system) is used for outreach messages (which includes weather alerts).  In a case of an emergency, all numbers from the primary contact will be used to try to make a successful connection.

    * We only send alerts to the main number (household phone) and the phone numbers of the primary contact for each student.

    QUESTION: I would rather not receive calls about school closings. Could I opt out?
    ANSWER: Yes.  However, once your number is put on the do not call list, you will not receive alerts regarding weather delays/cancelations at your student's school or any other notifications that are sent out through the system.  Emergency calls go out to all numbers regardless if you opt out.

    Follow the prompts at the end of a call to opt out.  If you opt out accidentally or wish to opt back in, please notify your school office.

    QUESTION: I would rather have my cell phone listed as my student's main number (household phone), is this possible?
    ANSWER: Yes.  Please update the phone number within ParentVUE or contact the office.

    QUESTION: I received the call but I missed the information. What should I do?
    ANSWER: While you are still on the call, you can replay the message by pressing star (*) on your phone at any time.

    QUESTION: I received the call but my answering machine cut it off. Why?
    ANSWER: The system attempts to detect whether it is a live person or an answering machine that has picked up the call. In rare instances, such as when an answering machine message involves a period of silence, the system will detect an answering machine as a live person and start to deliver the message prior to the beep. Sometimes, a message is cut off by an answering machine simply because its duration is longer than the machine allows for a single message. Generally, an answering machine will cut off a message after one minute.

    QUESTION: I received the call on my cell phone but it kept looping/repeating. Why?
    ANSWER: The system does its best to detect whether there is a live person or an answering machine picking up the call. Sometimes, when there is ambient noise, the system inappropriately detects a live person as an answering machine. When this happens, it continues to wait for the answering machine’s beep followed by a brief moment of silence before starting to play the message from the beginning. The parent can prevent the message from looping by minimizing background noise or pressing mute on the phone.

    QUESTION:  Will there be other attempts to reach me if I am unable to pick up the call?
    ANSWER: Yes, the system will make up to three attempts to reach you or your answering machine (depending on the options selected by the sender). If it is unable to reach you within two hours, it will stop calling and be classified as no answer.