Perry County School District 32 has added an additional digital tool to keep parents informed about emergencies on campus.
The V Alert Mobile App is tied directly to the emergency push buttons at all District facilities. These buttons are activated by staff to sound alarms and provide instructions to students and staff in the event of an emergency on campus.
Those who download the V-Alert Mobile App will automatically be notified via a push notification on the app when a district school activates an emergency button.
“This initial, automatic alert will let parents, staff, and emergency responders know that an intruder or lockout alarm has been activated at a certain building on our campus,” said Communications Director Kate Martin. “It provides parents with reminders that they should not come to campus or call the school office during the immediate emergency to allow emergency responders and administrators to focus solely on protecting students and staff during those first vital minutes of a crisis.” The lockout and intruder alert messages are pasted below.
Please note: V-Alert would NOT have been activated during the Jan. 11 evacuation of the middle and high schools. This is because no emergency button was pushed; the district was informed of the threat by local law enforcement.
If the V-Alert notification is used, follow-up messages with additional details and instructions for parents will be sent as soon as possible during a crisis, as usual. For instance, parents received information during and after the Jan. 11 evacuation of the middle and high schools at 7:51 am, 8:03 am, 9:16 am, 10:48 am, and 4:11 pm.
This tool is one that the District 32 technology team added in early January, but it had to be tested before the launch of the app. That testing was completed on Jan. 27.
“District administration and our safety team are committed to communicating clearly and quickly with our families, staff, emergency management partners, and community,” Martin said. “This real-time messaging will improve our joint response to emergencies, and provides another level of safety for our students and staff.”
Download the V-Alert App
You can find the V-Alert Mobile App is available in the app store for Android and iOS. Once installed, you will be asked to enter the site code, which is pcsd.valert.io, and then select Connect To Service. You do not need to enter profile information and may Skip that step.
The messages
The following are the messages V-Alert App users will receive when an intruder or lockout emergency button is pressed on campus:
Lockout Message
“A precautionary lockout alert has been activated due to an issue near campus. This means no parents or visitors will be allowed to enter any school buildings. Please do not come to campus or call the school office. Additional information will be provided through the school’s automated messaging system.”
Intruder Message
“An intruder alert has been activated at BUILDING NAME. This means no one will be allowed to enter any school buildings. Please do not come to campus or call the school office. Additional information will be provided through the school’s automated messaging system.”