Superintendent clarifies new notification app
The Associated Press - December 7, 2017 10:49 am
Superintendent Shelley Arrott
Ponca City Public Schools Superintendent Shelley Arrott clarifies the Ponca City Public Schools app:
“If you do not have the Ponca City Public Schools app on your phone, you will have to download it from the Apple Store or Google Play. It is free! Once downloaded you will have to go to page 2 of the app (swipe left). Find the Parent Portal icon, and click on it. Your User ID is your employee number, which may be found on the Employee Portal. Click reset password to create your own password.
“Once you have logged in, you are logged in, so you do not have to log in every time you enter the app. (Some of you did this back in early Fall when you received the email from Ponca City Public Schools with the info. If you have already downloaded the app and have logged in, you are good to go.)
“Last night, Jason Ridenour, IT Director, did a test with me and I received an automated phone call from the Board of Education, a text, an email, and there was an alert on the homepage of my PCPS app. If you want all of the notifications I received, you have to have your emails and phone numbers entered correctly. To do this, go to: http://pcps.parentlink.net.
“You will login in with your employee number and may have to create a new password IF you have not created one on the PCPS app. If you have created a password on the app, you will use that password. (If you change your phone number, the app will not know of the change unless you change it following the directions above.)
“If you just want a notification on the app and not the call, text, or email, you DO NOT have to be logged in to the app; the app just has to be downloaded.
“If parents call and have questions, they have to log in to the app with their Parent Portal number and follow the process detailed above. If they do not know their Parent Portal number, have them call their child’s site secretary. Barbara Nowlin, our webmaster, sent all site secretaries this info on an Excel Spreadsheet early in the Fall.
“Any patron who downloads the app will receive a notification if school is closed for inclement weather. However, parents and employees can log in and receive the automated phone call, a text, an email, and the app notification. We will run a test on Friday, Dec. 8, and may even run multiple tests to ensure all issues we may experience are resolved.
“If you do not have a smart phone, my recommendation would be to check our website first, www.pcps.us. If we are not having school, there will be a message scrolling across the top in large, red font. If it is not convenient to check the website, we publicize on multiple outlets.
“Another option, if you cannot download the app, is to connect with a colleague who would be willing to call you or allow you to call them if you are not sure if we are in school or not. If school is closed, there are employees in this office extremely early. You can always call (580) 767-8000.
