Los Gatos-Saratoga High Students, Parents to Get Emergency Texts

Chances of missing back-to-school night, graduation and other important high school announcements will become slim coming Friday when the high school district launches a new text emergency information system.

Effective April 13, the will begin the new service that will deliver the important news via text to parents and its 3,142 students. 

To take advantage of the service, participants must opt in. They will not automatically receive the messages without providing their mobile phone number to the school and following these steps:

1. Text the number 68453
2. Enter any of the following: subscribe or opt in or yes
3. If successful, you’ll receive the following reply message:

“You are registered to receive aprox 5 msgs/mo. Txt STOP to quit, HELP for help.”

1. Repeat the opt-in process for any wireless numbers you wish to include.

The service is free, but the district noted on its website that participants may incur fees for sending or receiving texts. Officials advised students and parents should contact their wireless carrier for information regarding possible charges. 

"We want to limit its use so that parents/students recognize that a text from the district/school is important and not just one of many," said district assistant to the superintendent Jane Marashian.

The district's current notification system, provided by schoolmessenger.com, had texting available and now the district has opted to enable, Marashian added.

The service is also not being implemented in response to the Sierra Lamar school's failure to send her parents notification in timelier manner about her disappearance.

Lamar, who vanished March 16, missed her 7:15 a.m. bus and teachers logged her into their computers as absent throughout the day, but her parents only found out at about 6 p.m. when Sobrato High School sent an automated email and phone call to the mother.

"This was not done in response to the Sierra Lamar incident, but from a commitment to timely communication with parents/students/staff," Marashian noted.

However, the district is also about to begin sending automated messages regarding absences twice a day, at lunch time and after school, Marshian indicated.

But the safety measure is being taken "more out of heightened awareness that informing parents earlier about absences could impact a situation like that of Sierra and the outcome," she said.