Did you know Fort Worth ISD schools were closed? Some parents got robocalls late
An unknown number of Fort Worth school district parents and guardians may not have known in-person classes were canceled Thursday after an error in the district’s notification system made robocalls later than expected.
Late Wednesday night, the school district chose to switch to all virtual learning and close campuses Thursday. Families were alerted over social media, emails, texts and media releases, but those singed up for robocalls did not receive the automated voice message until 8 a.m. this morning, the district said. It’s unclear how many parents rely solely on the automated calls, though district spokesman Clint Bond said he had not heard of anyone showing up to a campus by mistake. More than 90,000 people are signed up for the district’s ParentLink system.
“This error certainly inconvenienced many families and for that we truly apologize,” the district said in a statement.
The call system has a default setting that blocks outgoing calls between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. so parents are not disturbed in the evening, Bond said. District officials thought the call went out shortly before 10 p.m. In the future the setting will be overridden for emergency notifications.
“It was just something we overlooked and won’t in the future,” Bond said.
District campuses are closed and there will be no in-person learning Thursday. However, instruction will follow the schedule of the regular school day. If parents have questions, they may contact their campus principal via e-mail.
