SchoolMessenger FAQs

General SchoolMessenger Questions

• The first two contacts listed in each student’s PowerSchool record will be sent messages from the school or district. This may include texts (also known as SMS), emails, and recorded voice messages. Attendance messages are in the form of automatic voice messages; all other communications are dependent on the purpose and urgency of the message. Each of these two contacts, if they have provided an individual email to the school and it is in PowerSchool, can set up a SchoolMessenger account where the type of messages received can personalized. (Attendance calls will be sent to phones as an automatic voice message; this cannot be changed in the app or otherwise.)  See the SchoolMessenger Account section for more information. 

• As part of your ability to manage how you are communicated with, consider others you may want to receive school notifications. As a default, SchoolMessenger will only send messages to the first two contacts in PowerSchool. Perhaps you have a grandparent, step-parent or babysitter you’d like to also receive information from the school. If so, you can add them via your SchoolMessenger account. There, you can also select what type of messages they receive – for example, emergencies, but not attendance. It is important to note this does not change your contact information in PowerSchool. Updates for emergency and other contacts must be made with the school.
• If you need to make phone and email updates for contacts in PowerSchool. Please email the school's head secretary (or [email protected] and we will forward it to the school.) 

School Messenger Account

• Contacts listed in the first and second contact positions in PowerSchool for each student are considered Contact 1 and Contact 2. These contacts may set up a SchoolMessenger account using the individual email in PowerSchool. (The email ties your SchoolMessenger account to messages from your child’s school.) 
• Please note emails added to PowerSchool by your school are updated in SchoolMessenger every night. If you have just corrected or added an email to PowerSchool via your child’s school, please wait a day before creating your account so SchoolMessenger has that information. 

• The SM Account allows you to:
  1. Have another way to receive messages from your child’s school and district – via the app and web account (if you log into the account online. The app will send you alerts via your phone if you have allowed such alerts.)
  2. Download and use the SM App.
  3. Receive messages via the SM App. (This is helpful especially if you tend to get CVSD SM messages in spam.)
  4. Customized how you receive messages. (Except attendance. Those will be phone calls.) For example, if you want general (non-emergency messages) to only be sent via email but not text, you may select this option. If you want to only receive emergency messages, you may select that option, too. 
     Please keep in mind this is somewhat limited, due to how the message is sent. If only an email is sent, you won’t receive a text. However, most senders usually send messages in at least two ways. All messages will show in the SM App and online account.
  5. See the contact information that CVSD has for you. Changes must be made by your student’s school in PowerSchool. Please allow a day for PowerSchool changes to be updated in SchoolMessenger.
  6. Add an additional phone and/or email for your student who can receive messages. (For example, if a grandparent or babysitter needs emergency messages, but not general communications, this a great option.) One email and/or one phone number may be added per contact account.
     • Please note if you add a phone number to the SchoolMessenger account, the school does not have access to this number. If the school needs that emergency contact, please work with the school to add it to your student's PowerSchool Account. 

• You will need a SchoolMessenger account (free), which can be created here: http://go.schoolmessenger.com (click the Sign-Up button in the upper right) or by downloading the app available in both the App Store and Google Play. Please be sure to use the email address for you in the PowerSchool Student Information System. For the school district, enter "Central Valley School District 356".

• No. Numbers and emails added to the SchoolMessenger Account or App are not uploaded into PowerSchool. The additional contact added in SM may receive communications sent through SchoolMessenger, but the school will not see those phone numbers or emails. It is important to make sure your child’s school has updated contacts, especially emergency contacts, in PowerSchool in case they need to reach someone regarding your student. Schools do not have access to the numbers added to your SchoolMessenger Account or App. 

• Emails may be going into your spam/junk folder. Please check those folders. Adding [email protected] to your contact or VIP list may help avoid it going there in the future.
• You may have opted out of CVSD emails. If you opt out of any SM emails from CVSD, you opt out of them all. If you think this may be the case, email [email protected], and we can delete the opt-out.
• You may have opted out of CVSD text messages. If you opt out of any SM texts from CVSD, you opt out of them all. If you think this may be the case, unblock your number by texting (from that cell phone) “Y” (just the letter, not the quotation marks) to 67587.
• If you don’t think any of these are the case, or you run into other issues, please email [email protected]. Please include your child’s name, school and Student ID number if known.
• Please note getting the SM App is another way you can receive messages if phone calls, emails, and texts do not work for some other technical, unresolved reason.