Communication

When possible, the decision to close or delay the start of school will be made by 5:30 a.m. and communicated shortly thereafter. 

• District website

• Automated call, email and text

• Facebook and Twitter

• News stations: WCCO, KSTP, KMSP (FOX 9) and KARE 11

Brooklyn Center Community Schools utilizes a mass notification system to communicate with families and staff members through voicemails, email, and text messaging. While there is an option to opt-out of receiving these text messages, we recommend that all families stay connected with us to receive important severe and winter weather related messages and/or emergency communications.

In the case of weather, street conditions, snow removal at school buildings, projected snowfall, temperature, wind conditions, time of day, traffic, and conditions in surrounding districts.

All decisions to close or delay school are made by the superintendent or her designee. The superintendent consults with the director of operations as well as surrounding area superintendents. As a parent you reserve the right to keep your child home if you believe the weather is too hazardous (even if the district does not close). If school has not been canceled and you choose to keep your child home, please call the school absence line and the absence will be an excused absence.

• Have a backup plan for your children in the event school is closed, closes early, or is delayed
• Discuss your backup plan with your children so they know what to do
• Make sure your contact information is up to date with your child’s school
• Ensure that your children are dressed appropriately for winter weather conditions

For families that receive transportation through Northwest Suburban Integration School District, please click here to view Northwest Suburban's transportation guidelines in the event of school closings. 

HOLD: “Hold” will be used in a situation where students and staff will temporarily stay in their classrooms due to an incident/situation in the building. Within the classroom, the school day will continue as normal until the hold is lifted.

SECURE: “Secure” will be used in a situation where there is a potential threat outside the building. All doors will be secured and limited access to visitors will be granted. During a secure, the school day will continue as normal inside the building.

LOCKDOWN: “Lockdown” will be used in a situation where there is an immediate threat inside the building or potentially approaching the building. All doors will be secured, no access to visitors will be granted, and all normal school day operations will stop. 

EVACUATE: “Evacuate” will be used in a situation where conditions within the building are not safe. All students and staff will evacuate through the nearest exit and meet in a predetermined location.

SHELTER: “Shelter” will be used in a situation where weather or environmental conditions are not safe outside the building and sheltering in the building is required.

 

Additional Resources

• Haga clic aquí para leer este mensaje en Español. (9/18/2023)
• Nias rau ntawm no los mus nyeem tsab ntawv no ua Lus Hmoob. (9/18/2023)
• Halkan guji si aad u akhrido dhambaalkan oo Af-Soomaali ah. (9/18/2023)
• Click here to view the posters that hang in our school buildings.
• Click here to view the parent informational handout. (Translated versions coming soon).

Brooklyn Center Community Schools (BCCS) has developed a comprehensive emergency plan with the help of local law enforcement, emergency management and public health officials. The emergency plan incorporates all four phases of crisis management:

• Prevention/Mitigation
  • To prevent critical incidents from occurring, BCCS routinely conducts site assessments at all buildings, including technology and security infrastructure reviews and updates. Additionally we work to build relationships with our student and community so that if a safety concern is presented, we can take appropriate action to prevent and mitigate.
     
• Preparedness

  • Drills are routinely held in all BCCS sites to prepare students and staff for emergency response.  Each site is required to do 11 drills throughout the school year. Those drills are evacuation, shelter in place, lockdown and severe weather shelter.
     

• Response

  • BCCS has partnered with the I Love You Guys Foundation to implement five universal response actions that can be implemented quickly.  Each school has a Building Crisis Response Team that leads staff and students through an emergency. In the rare event of an emergency, the school principal, or their designee, will implement one of the following actions as needed: HOLD, SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATE, or SHELTER.
     

• Recovery

  • If an evacuation takes place, families will be notified of the reunification site. At the reunification site, parents should be prepared to have their identification with them. We ask parents remain patient to account for the safety of all parties involved.

  • Following a critical incident, district and school administration will meet to assess the situation, response and learning points for continual growth and improvement.

     

In almost every scenario, the response from first responders typically looks like this:

• Notify law enforcement (calling 9-1-1)
• Respond to immediate needs of students and staff
• Notify district safety team
• Additional resources will be coordinated to assist students, staff and emergency responders

In the event an emergency, communications will be sent out to families as soon as possible. This could include:

• The type of action that was taken (i.e. HOLD, SECURE, LOCKDOWN, EVACUATE, SHELTER)
• The duration of the action and reasoning (when applicable)
• Any implications the action may have on end of day procedures
• Relocation site and re-unification information (if needed)
   

Parents, guardians, and families can expect to receive emergency communications in the following ways:

• Phone Call
• Text Message
• Email

Parents, guardians, and families can expect to receive emergency communications via phone call, text message, and emails. To ensure your email and phone number is up-to-date in the district's database, log into your ParentVue account and update your contact information.

While there is an option to opt-out of messages from the district, we recommend that all families stay connected with us to receive important severe and winter weather related messages and/or emergency communications.

Set up your ParentVue account:

1. Click here to navigate to ParentVue or StudentVue

2. Select I am a parent. 

3. Select Request Account Activation. Enter your information exactly how it appears in our school information system.

4. Check your email. You should receive a communication from synergydata@bccs286.org with a link to activate your account. 

5. Complete your account set up and set an account password. 

If you have any issues, please contact mford@bccs286.org.

On the computer:

1. Go to bccs286.org

2. Click About Us and  select Stay Connected.

3. Click the link to reach ParentVue and select I am a parent. 

4. Use the username and password you created to log in

*You can only update your contact information from a desktop computer, not the mobile app. If you need to update your home address, please contact the main office of your student’s school. 

On your phone:

• Download ParentVue from your phone’s Play or App store

• Open the app and swipe to add your school location (Your phone may find our school by location, or search by our zipcode: 55430)

• Select Brooklyn Center Community Schools

• Use the username and password you created to log in

Students:

1. Click here to navigate to ParentVue or StudentVue
2. Get your login information from your advisory teacher or school counselor.

STEP 1: Generate a Pairing Code

1. Open the Canvas Student app on your student’s district provided computer

2. Find "Settings" on the left menu under "Account"

3. Select "Pair with Observer"

4. Copy the pairing code (Note: The pairing code is case-sensitive)

STEP 2:Activate Your Observer Account

1. Open a new browser window and enter bccs286.instructure.com/login/canvas

2. Click "Need a Canvas Account? Click Here, It’s Free!"

3. Complete the fields and create your password

STEP 3: Pair Your Observer Role with Additional Accounts

1. Open the Canvas Student app on your student’s district provided computer

2. Find "Settings" on the left menu under "Account"

3. Select "Pair with Observer"

4. Copy the pairing code (Note: The pairing code is case-sensitive)

Download the App & Set Your Communication Preferences

1. Download the "Canvas Parent" App (available for Android and iOS devices)

2. Find your school by searching "Brooklyn Center Community School - Parent/Guardians" and log in

3. Set your communication preferences by updating your contact information in "Account" and click "Settings"

4. Set your notification preferences in "Account" and click "Notifications"

Recommended Notifications: Announcements, Grading, invitations, Conversation Message, Appointments, Send weekly summary

Canvas Calendar

Set up your Canvas Calendar and your student’s assignments. By accessing the calendar you can view everything that your student(s) has to do for their courses. If an assignment is crossed out, that means the student submitted it.

1. Go to "Global Navigation", choose the Calendar Icon

2. On the right hand side, make sure your student’s active courses are turned ‘ON’ byselecting the box next to the course name

3. Color code the courses (you can color code based on student or course)

4. Click directly on the assignment to see it’s details

Your Dashboard

When you log into Canvas, you land on the dashboard where you can see all or most of the courses your student is enrolled in, those are called course tiles. Drag, drop, hide, and organize courses as needed.

Connect to Seesaw:

1. Download the Seesaw app (available for Android and iOS devices) or go to app.seesaw.me on a computer
2. Look for an email invitation from your classroom teacher. If you haven't received an email from your classroom teacher, please reach out to them directly.
3. Follow the instructions to create an account or sign in. 

How to use Seesaw:

• Adjust Account Settings and connect to Seesaw Journals for additional children

• View and engage with recent posts from your child(ren)

• Use messages to communicate with teachers