News : Vinton-Shellsburg CSD changing contact system

The Vinton-Shellsburg CSD has decided to discontinue the School Alerts notification system do to the adoption of a new system, School Messenger and the unreliability of the old School Alerts system.

Many were contacted in multiple ways on Monday, Nov 19 with both systems. It was good to know that all were informed of the schedule change for the day and understand that some of it was overkill for many. The district appreciates your patience as they make the switch to the new system.

Notifications are sent out in multiple ways to make sure everyone is contacted. Some only have a home phone, some only have a cell phone. The School Messenger system can't determine which is which, so all numbers in the PowerSchool data feed are contacted. The district will only use the email feature for early outs in the future. They've already had many requests on how to change where these notifications end up. See below for information on how to get the information the way you want it.

TEXTS MESSAGES: If you want to get the Text Message notifications from the school, you need to send a text to the number 68453 with the word "subscribe" or "opt in." You will get a response letting you know if your attempt was successful. ALSO make sure your information in PowerSchools is up to date.

NO MORE CALLS!: This has been the most common concern people have had. If you don't want phone calls to your home or cell phones please send those numbers in an email to kim.meyer@vscsd.org and they will be added to the "block call list." You will still receive text messages IF you have signed up for the School Messenger texting service (as instructed above).