We are excited to welcome back staff, students and families for the 2022-2023 school year. There are a number of things that are new or updated for the new school year that we want to make sure that you are aware of:
ParentSquare
Rockwood uses ParentSquare for district and school communication, primarily with email, text and app notifications. ParentSquare automatically generates an account for each parent, using their preferred email address and phone number. We encourage parents to access their accounts so they can download the mobile app and update their preferences on when and how they are notified. By default, if parents don’t access their account, they will receive a daily digest of messages from the school and district via email each evening. Learn more about ParentSquare, including tips for parents and guardians and links to self-paced training courses.
Students in grades 6-12 also have access to StudentSquare, a safe and secure tool that Rockwood staff will use to communicate with students using posts or direct messages. Students can appreciate and comment on a post and initiate direct messages with teachers and group owners. Other helpful features for students include Calendars and RSVPs, Appointments, Sign-Ups, and Student Groups.
SchoolPass
Rockwood has contracted with SchoolPass to implement a new visitor management system for the 2022-2023 school year as part of our continuing efforts to enhance security at our schools and buildings. Visitors, volunteers, vendors and students who are late or leaving early sign in and out via an intuitive mobile or web-based app. Each visitor can be screened against the national sex offender list, and alerts are sent to administration and staff for risks. Robust reporting allows Rockwood to see who is on campus, why and for how long. Not only will this new system improve the safety of our schools and streamline the check-in/check-out process, it will enable the district to effectively communicate with everyone in a building in the event of an emergency. Parents, watch for an email on Aug. 19 from SchoolPass that contains your digital ID for quick sign in at your child's school.
School Meals
We are encouraging our families who qualify for free/reduced meals for the 2022-2023 school year to fill out a meal application. Please note: If you filled out an application before July 1, 2022, you need to reapply for this school year under the new eligibility guidelines. The quick and easy application, as well as the new eligibility guidelines, can be found on the Free and Reduced Meals page. To add funds to your child’s account, visit MySchoolBucks. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact our Child Nutrition Services office at 636-733-3250.
Hazel Health
As part of continuing efforts to provide services that support student wellness, Rockwood has expanded its partnership with Hazel Health to offer free mental health teletherapy visits for students. With Hazel HEART, students can meet with a licensed therapist from school or at home in a matter of days, bridging the gap until local therapists become available. The referrals can come from school personnel or directly from a parent or guardian. Like all Hazel telehealth services, parental consent is required.
Peachjar
New this year, Peachjar will be available to for-profit groups to share information around services that are beneficial to kids. Peachjar will now be used for all community flyers, and all school/PTO flyers will be shared via ParentSquare. For more information, visit the district website.
Incident Reporting
New this year, the Rockwood Tipline is now available through Courage2Report. This is a statewide school reporting system facilitated through the Missouri State Highway Patrol where students, parents, staff and the community can pose concerns and questions on a variety of topics. According to the participant’s preference, the Rockwood Tipline can be anonymous, or the participant can share contact information for a personal response. Coming soon, Rockwood will be sharing a new Harassment form with staff and families as well to ensure all concerns are documented and appropriately followed up on. Stay tuned for more information.
Safe Together Update
On Aug. 4, Superintendent Dr. Curtis Cain gave a Safe Together update to the Board of Education, outlining plans for mitigating COVID-19 in our buildings in the new school year. Dr. Cain shared that we will start the school year mask-optional and that we will not engage in contact tracing.
“We will continue to work with our health professionals, and we will lean on our Communicable Disease policy to make a pivot in a building if that becomes necessary,” shared Dr. Cain. “But we are in a different place today than we have been with vaccine availability and percentage of those vaccinated, and we are well equipped to respond to COVID as we have to other illnesses in our schools.”
We look forward to seeing you all back on our first day of school, Aug. 22! Enjoy your final days of summer break!
Be sure to check out these other helpful "Back-to-School" articles as well: