In case of a weather-related delay or closure, Bethel Park School District’s priority is to notify stakeholders directly through ParentSquare, the district’s school-to-home notification system. The four primary groups that the district looks to reach in those situations include district students and their families, district employees, non-district employees who work with Bethel Park School District students, and families of students who live in Bethel Park and rely on BPSD school buses for transportation but do not attend Bethel Park Schools.
- District students and their families can ensure they receive these notifications by verifying that their contact information is current in their child's Home Access Center, which syncs with ParentSquare. They can do that in just a few minutes online or by calling their child’s school office.
- District employees’ contact information is synced through Prosoft, the district’s employee records system. If their information is accurate in our employee records system. that should be reflected in their emergency communication contacts.
- We have a number of stakeholders who work with district students but are not technically Bethel Park School District employees. That group includes food service employees, crossing guards, AIU therapists and specialists, substitute teachers, etc. If you are a non-district employee who wants to be notified of school delays or closures, you must join our District Opt-In Group, which can be done here in less than a minute.
- Families of students who use BPSD transportation but do not attend Bethel Park Schools and who want to be notified of school delays or closures are also required to join our District Opt-In Group.
We understand that not everyone regularly checks their email or text messages and that technology can occasionally fail. Therefore, we also post weather-related alerts on our Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) feeds. Additionally, school weather notifications are prominently displayed on the main page of our website.
We also inform the local television stations (KDKA, WPXI, and WTAE) and multiple area radio stations about any delays or closures that we declare. This provides additional avenues for families to receive information.
With these multiple communication channels in place, there are ample ways for you to stay informed about potential school delays or closures. If you wake up to inclement weather and do not see a notification in your email or text messages, please check these other sources before heading to school.
Bethel Park School District’s priority is to notify stakeholders directly through ParentSquare, the district’s school-to-home notification system, in case of a weather-related delay or closure.
The four primary groups that the district looks to reach in those situations include district students and their families, district employees, non-district employees who work with Bethel Park School District students, and families of students who live in Bethel Park and rely on BPSD school buses for transportation but do not attend Bethel Park Schools.
That is why we remind everyone, including families, staff, and non-contract employees, to ensure your information is accurate and up-to-date in the respective databases syncing with our school-to-home communication system.
FAMILIES:
ParentSquare draws its family contact information directly from our Student Information System (SIS), eSchool Plus. Do not make contact information changes in the ParentSquare app, as they will not be sustained. Changes can only happen through the SIS.
Please check with your child's building secretary to ensure they have accurate contact information in our student database. That includes your family's preferred email addresses and telephone numbers. If the information is not listed in our Student Information System or listed incorrectly, the chances are high that you will not be notified in the event of an emergency.
EMPLOYEES:
Employee contact information is drawn from ProSoft Technology, Inc., the district's system for payroll and other key employment functions. If a mobile number is listed as your primary contact number, you should receive a text, but you will not receive a phone call. This is most people’s preferred notification method. If a landline is listed as your primary number, you will receive a phone call but not a text.
NON-CONTRACT EMPLOYEES AND OTHERS:
Non-district employees work in our schools but do not work for Bethel Park School District. Crossing guards, substitute teachers, AIU therapists, and food service employees can be included. This list also applies to non-district families who rely on BPSD for transportation. Those folks should sign up for district-wide notifications by completing this form for our Non-District Employee Opt-In Group, which asks for your preferred email and mobile phone number. It takes just seconds to complete.
We recommend downloading the ParentSquare app to your mobile devices for your convenience. You ARE NOT, however, required to download the app to receive emergency notifications. Also, any contact changes made through the ParentSquare app will not last very long due to our syncing processes.
Also, we want to remind everyone that in addition to ParentSquare, we post weather-related alerts to our Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter) feeds. Weather-related notifications are also prominently displayed on our website for those who are not regular social media users. School delay and cancellation information can also be found by tuning into KDKA, WPXI, or WTAE or visiting those television stations' websites.
There are many ways beyond ParentSquare to verify our status during inclement weather. We strongly recommend you refer to any of the aforementioned alternative sources before heading to school in potentially unsafe conditions.
Should you have any specific questions regarding your account, please send them to [email protected]. We will do our best to address them promptly.