Parents on P.E.I. will be able to receive school emergency alerts through text soon

Parents on Prince Edward Island will soon be able to receive emergency alerts through text messages from school administrators when necessary.

The Department of Education and Lifelong Learning is launching the alert system to get important messages on time sensitive situations as quickly as possible to parents and guardians.

"This new system is designed to inform parents in situations such as school evacuations, early dismissals or school bus accidents," Minister of EducationNatalie Jameson said in a statement.

"We are also working to see if this new tool could be used to support the COVID-19 response when we have an exposure at a school."

Parents who have shared their cellphone numbers with the schoolscan opt in to receive the notifications by texting "Y" or "Yes" to 978338 for Canadian-based numbers or 61569 for U.S.-based numbers.

"They will receive a text message next week for February 7, asking them to opt in," Jameson said.

Jameson said there were no additional costs in creating the system because it's part of the province's PowerSchool system.

"This is just an added feature within the PowerSchool system and again, a really great opportunity to help communicate with our parents and families."

PowerSchool is a software which tracks student attendance, marks, and helps with other school management needs.

A test of the school emergency alert system will happenFeb.11 at 4 p.m.

Parents and guardians who do not receive a text, or those who have questions can reach out to their school to ensure their mobile number is correctly recorded.