Send an emergency alert

An emergency alert is for closures, lockdowns, and safety news. It goes to every family right now, by text and email, and skips quiet hours.

Before you start

Only owners and admins can send an alert.

Steps

1. Go to Messages and click Send an emergency alert.
2. Under Who gets it, keep Everyone or pick one group.
3. Write The alert in 240 characters or less: what happened, that students are safe, and what to do.
4. To also phone families, check Also call every family and read the alert aloud.
5. Click Review the alert. Check the family count and the exact words.
6. Click Send to the number of families now. To fix something, click Go back and edit.

After it sends

You land on the delivery report. Families it could not reach are at the top. If you chose calls, the report shows calls placed, waiting, and failed as they happen. Click Download CSV to keep a record.

Good to know

• It emails every family whose address works, even ones who unsubscribed from routine mail.
• Texts and calls go only to families who agreed to texts and never texted STOP.
• A call reads the alert aloud twice, to a person or to voicemail.
• A low credit balance does not stop an alert. Your balance can dip below zero to get it out.
• If calling is not set up for your account, the page says so. Texts and emails still go.