Beach Schools will send alerts to parents via cell phones

By Lauren Roth

VIRGINIA BEACH

This fall, parents at Beach schools will be one phone call away. Every school will be able to send out mass alerts for emergencies, events, delays and closings with a system called "AlertNow."

Ten schools tried it out last school year.

When Corporate Landing Elementary, a year-round school that was part of the pilot program, used the system to announce a back-to-school ice cream social over the summer, attendance tripled, said Principal David French.

"We had to go out and get extra supplies," he said.

AlertNow is also used at his school to inform parents when a child is absent and when a bus is running late, French said.

"It's a great tool as long as it's not overused," he said.

Kim Balsitis, who has two fourth-grade boys at Corporate Landing, said she loves the convenience of getting announcements on the phone.

"Hopefully we won't ever have to use it in an emergency," she said. But as a parent, she feels reassured that the system is there.

Last year, Superintendent Jim Merrill used the system to send a message to high school parents after a spate of text message threats spread among students.

And at Salem High School, AlertNow was used after the school was locked down in the spring. A student fired a gun in the school parking lot, and the school sent out a message describing what happened.

"Know that Salem staff reacted quickly and followed all Safe School protocols. No students were injured," the message read in part.

The Beach School Board offered support for an alert system after the Virginia Tech shootings that claimed 33 lives, including the killer's, in April 2007. They wanted schools to be able to reach parents quickly.

Calls can be sent to multiple phone numbers and e-mail addresses, and schools can send less important announcements to primary phone numbers, said school division spokeswoman Kathy O'Hara.

The tryout last year at Birdneck, Creeds, Corporate Landing, John B. Dey, Shelton Park and Strawbridge elementary schools, Corporate Landing and Lynnhaven middle schools and Bayside and Salem high schools cost about $50,000.

Starting this year, it will cost about $133,000 annually to serve all Beach schools.

As the start of school nears, parents around the city will begin getting messages from their children's schools.

On Thursday, a message went out reminding Kempsville Middle School parents to have their rising sixth-graders vaccinated.

Lauren Roth, (757) 222-5133, lauren.roth@pilotonline.com.