The start of the school year is a good time to review emergency communications to:
- remind you of how important it is that we have current and accurate contact information for you
- ensure you know how we communicate in emergency events and weather situations
- remind you of the terminology used in emergency situations
- request that you not call or text your child during an emergency
Can ACPS Reach You in an Emergency?
One of the most important things you can do to ensure that ACPS can reach you in an emergency situation or weather event is to return the Student Information Update Form from your Welcome Packet to your school as soon as possible.
When you do, please make sure it includes, at a minimum, a current and accurate home phone number, cell phone number (if you have one) and an email address where you would like to receive messages from ACPS, usually during the school day. Our ability to contact you is only as good as the information available to us. Without this information, we may not be able to reach you.
You can also update your child’s information and back to school forms online via Parent Access (PowerSchool).
Make Sure You Are Set Up to Receive Alerts
Emergency notifications and weather alerts are first posted on the ACPS website. If they pertain to a specific school, an alert is posted on that individual school’s website, sometimes both the school site and the ACPS website.
Depending on the nature and timeliness of the situation, we may also send an email, text message and/or robocall.
Notifications may also be made on or through:
- ACPS Social Media: Twitter | Facebook
- ACPS Hotline: 703-866-5300
- ACPS-TV, Cable channel 71 in the City of Alexandria
- City of Alexandria eNews: Subscribe to this email announcement list via the City of Alexandria website
- Local television and radio stations
Information about Emergency Situations
In 2017, we began implementing new emergency procedures. Please review the frequently asked questions about these new emergency procedures and weather alerts and emergency notifications.
In the event of an emergency, we ask that you not call or text your child. The first priority for staff is to address the threat and ensure that all students are safe. Phone calls can distract from this priority and may potentially alert an intruder to the location of a student. The ACPS Office of Communications will communicate with families as soon as possible via the methods indicated in the list above.
Thank you for helping to keep our schools and students as safe as possible. Please take a moment to make sure your information is up to date.