Connect-Ed is an automated phone calling program designed to provide important

information to parents. Please rest assured you will not be receiving calls at dinnertime every night. Principals and other district administrators will personally manage the message system to make sure you receive only very important and timely calls.

The main purpose of the system is to provide notification during emergency situations at school. For instance, if school is being dismissed early due to inclement weather, an emergency call will be made district-wide by central administration. If there is an evacuation or lock-down at one school, the principal can easily have the system call all parents within minutes with up-to-date information and instructions. An emergency call will call ALL phone numbers of legal guardians on record in PowerSchool, our Student Information System. This often includes home, work, and cell phone numbers. If you have more than one child in the EASD, only one call will be sent to each number on record. (EASD staff members that are also parents of EASD students, will receive two calls in these emergency situations.) Connect-Ed calls during school hours will be restricted to emergency situations only. So if you receive a call during the day, it is recommended that you promptly answer the call if possible.

The Connect-ED system also allows for community outreach calls concerning upcoming special events such as state testing, end-of-the-year activities, or other important information parents need. These community outreach calls will be sent after school hours to the guardian’s home phone only.

Some EASD schools will be using the system for attendance calls as well. When your child is absent from school, parents are asked to call the attendance secretary and report the absence. If a call is not received, the school will call home to confirm that you are aware of that your child is not in school. The Connect-Ed system allows for this phone call to be sent automatically. In the cases that this is used, one call will be sent to the home phone during the school day.

As always, in case of any kind of emergency, it is important to make sure that all of your emergency phone information is correct at the school site. If you have recently moved or changed phone numbers (home, work, or cell), please call your child’s school and ask the grade level secretary to update that information in PowerSchool.

We believe this new addition to our parent communication/notification program will provide important information to parents concerning their students. Because of this, opting out of receiving these phone calls or customizing which numbers the system calls is not something that district is currently considering. Please understand that your child’s safety and education is our priority in using this system.

If you have any further questions about how your child’s school will use Connect-Ed, please contact the building principal. If you have any questions regarding the district use of Connect-Ed, please email connect-ed@eastonsd.org.

We are pleased to announce that this school year the Easton Area School District began implementation of a parent phone notification program entitled Connect-Ed. Recently, schools with Connect-Ed were able to provide immediate updates to parents concerning school closures and the cancellation of activities. Providing timely information to parents continues to be a top priority for the district, and Connect-Ed will help with that goal.