Emergency Preparedness Checklist
Are you prepared for inclement weather, lockdown, or any emergency unforeseen circumstances when you need to close school at a moment’s notice? Use the checklist below to ensure that you are fully prepared to use Communicate in the event that you need to close school suddenly and need to inform your parents and staff.
Never store your Username, Password, Phone User ID, or Phone Pin in an unsecured location.
Do you and the other Users of the program know your Login URL, Username, and Password?
Your Login URL is https://asp.schoolmessenger.com/ YourCustomerID
https://asp.schoolmessenger.com/ ________________________________________________
Have you checked the following User settings with your System Administrator to ensure that you are able to send calls outside of normal school hours and that you have all of the access that you need?
What are your Call Time Restrictions – can you send a Broadcast when you may need to?
_________________________________________________________________________
Do you have the ability to send phone calls, emails, and text messages if applicable/needed?
_______________________________________________________________________
Can you see all of the contacts that you need to see in your Lists?
_______________________________________________________________________
Do you have an alternate workstation in mind that you can use in the event that your normal workstation cannot be accessed? If so, do you have your Login URL from above bookmarked on it?
__________________________________________________________________________
Have you set up the Admin sender app so that you can send Broadcasts from the mobile phone app if needed? Do you have your Customer ID, Username, and Password to log in?
Have you ensured that you at least have saved Lists under your User Account, and if you send Saved Messages, that you have your Repeating Broadcasts set up?
Customer ID: _________________________________________________________________
Have you set up the Remote Phone Access system so that you can send phone Broadcasts from a working phone that can make calls in the event that neither a workstation or cell phone is available? Do you know the number to call, as well as your Phone User ID and Phone PIN for this system?
Remote Phone Access #________________________________________________________
Never store your Username, Password, Phone User ID, or Phone Pin in an unsecured location.
End of School Readiness Checklist
Once school has ended for the year and your usage of Communicate lessens over the summer, are you ready to wind down the program until the next school year starts, and prepare for when you start up again? Use the checklist below to ensure that you are prepared.
Have you disabled your Repeating Broadcasts, such as attendance and food service?
Note: If you have Repeating Broadcasts that are used in the SenderApp for the Send Repeating feature, it is recommended not to disable those unless they are truly not needed.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
If your data needs to be rolled over next year before school starts, have you scheduled an appointment with support to do so around that time?
Rollover Appointment with Support: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Will you be changing student information systems, or making any other system-wide changes to the way your data works or the way you use the program, such as adding more imported data? If so, have you scheduled an appointment with support to help you with these changes if needed?
Data Change Appointment with Support: ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Will you be adding more User Accounts to the program or changing existing ones before next year, and if so, do you know how to add Users or make changes to them?
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Back-to-School Readiness Checklist
When school starts back up this year, will you be ready to use Communicate? Use the following checklist to ensure that you are fully prepared.
Do you have any new Users or System Administrators that need to be added or trained? Visit http://www.schoolmessenger.com/training/communicate-webinars . If you prefer to schedule a Webinar specifically for your district, email training@schoolmessenger.com. Webinar times during back-to-school fill up quickly, so contact training as soon as possible.
Will you be adding any additional schools to your account? If so, have you made an appointment with support to assist you with this if necessary?
Schools to Add: ______________________________________________________________________
Appointment with Support to Add Schools: _________________________________________________
Will you be changing student information systems this year, or making any system-wide changes to the way your data works or the way you use the program, such as adding more imported data? If so, have you scheduled an appointment with support to help you with these changes if needed?
Changes to be made: __________________________________________________________________
Data Change Appointment with Support: ___________________________________________________
Have you rolled over your data for the upcoming year if necessary? If not, have you made an appointment with support to help you do so?
Rollover Appointment with Support: ______________________________________________________
Have you turned your Repeating Broadcasts back on, such as for attendance or food service?
Are you making any changes to your attendance or food service calls this year? If so, have you made an appointment with support to assist you?
Changes to be made: __________________________________________________________________
Broadcast Change Appointment with Support: _______________________________________________
Would you like to add SMS text messaging capability to the program if you do not already have it? If so, have you made an appointment with support to help you do so? Consider the following:
To send an SMS message from the program, it requires that the owner of the cell phone provides consent directly by replying to the short code with an affirmative statement of y or yes. We can send an initial opt-in message one time only (per number) to all of your recipients to prompt them to do so.
You will need to select a date and time that you would like to send it out (Monday through Friday, after 10:00 AM your time), and when appropriate, let your recipients know it is coming after talking with support and answering a few questions.
There are some questions that will need to be answered by a System Administrator when talking with support so that the program can be configured properly for SMS usage before the initial opt-in message is sent.
Date & Time of Opt-In Message: ________________ SMS Appointment with Support: _______________