Sign Up for Voice, Text & Email Notifications:

Families with children enrolled in the Ken-Ton School District can receive messages via ShoutPoint through the Infinite Campus student management system which is also linked to families’ Parent Portal accounts. Parents who have a Parent Portal account can click here for information about updating their contact preferences in Parent Portal. Parents who do not have a Parent Portal account can email icportal@ktufsd.org to update their student/family contact preferences or to be sure that your most up-to-date information is on file. 

Message Format:

There are three different types of messages used:

• Emergency: Urgent/emergency matters such as snow day cancellations and circumstances impacting dismissal
• General Notification: All non-urgent matters
• Attendance: When your child is absent from school (participating schools only)
• (Please note: Behavior, Priority Notification, and Teacher notifications are not used at this time)

There are three different ways messages are sent (Please note: You must select both the Voice and Text option to receive Voice messages and Text messages on a mobile phone):

• Voice (automated/robo calls)
• Text message
• Email

Families are encouraged to receive both Emergency and General notifications in Voice, Text and Email format.

How Messages Are Delivered:

The manner in which messages are distributed will depend on the circumstances, urgency, and time of day. Emergency Messages are reserved for urgent/emergency matters only. These are scenarios that require immediate action by families, such as snow day cancellations. General messages represent all other matters. Just because information is sent as a General notification does not mean it is not important. For this reason, all families are encouraged to receive both Emergency and General notifications.

Families are also encouraged to have at least one email address on file to receive General Notification messages that are sent via email only. Though ShoutPoint messages may not always be sent as Voice and/or Text messages, they will almost always be sent as Email messages. These will also appear in your Parent Portal inbox.

You can view more detailed information about Parent Portal at the Parent Portal Page.

Frequently Asked Questions:

How does the notification system work?

The voice, text, and email notification system is called ShoutPoint, and it is part of the district's student management system which is also linked to families' Parent Portal accounts. It is designed to notify individuals who are in the student management system as a child's parent or guardian.

I don’t have a child enrolled in the Ken-Ton School District. Can I receive phone and/or text messages?

The District will soon be implementing a mobile app which will allow anyone to receive push notifications. However, at this time, this feature is not yet available.

I didn’t receive a ShoutPoint text/email/phone notification. Why?

Be sure to confirm that your notification settings are correctly set for each phone number/email address.

If you would like to receive Voice and Text message on your mobile phone, you must have both the Voice option and Text option for that phone number. If you only have the Voice option selected, you will only receive Voice messages. If a message is sent out only as a Text and/or Email message, you will not receive this message because you are only set up to receive Voice messages, and in this case, a Voice message was not generated.

Why not send out a Voice message in every case?

When information needs to communicated, it is the goal of the Ken-Ton School District to balance the need to disseminate that information as widely and as quickly as possible while also minimizing disruption to families.

Generally, during the school day when students are in school and many parents are at work, Voice messages will not be sent unless it is an urgent situation that requires parent action (such as an emergency weather-related dismissal). Voice messages tend to be seen as more intrusive than other types of messages and can sometimes cause undue alarm for parents who might not hear the message and may assume their child’s school is trying to contact them for an urgent reason.

Also, Voice messages can result in confusion and undue alarm by individuals who may have misunderstood/misheard the message, or may not have been able to hear it in its entirety or at all. For this reason, it is sometimes preferable to disseminate messages in text format only (e.g. Text message, Email message, Social Media, Website, news media, etc.) if the message must go out after regular business hours, when families would not be able to reach the district offices or schools with questions.

That is why all families are encouraged to receive both Emergency and General notifications and to have at least one mobile phone set to receive Voice and Text messages for both. Families are also encouraged to have at least one email address on file to receive General Notification messages that are sent via email only.

An important message was sent as a General Notification message and not as an Emergency message. Why?

The District reserves Emergency messages only for urgent information that families must know right away because they require immediate action. Examples may include snow day cancellations, school lockdowns, circumstances that require action on the part of parents (such as emergency weather-related dismissal), or in the event of health/safety situations of an impending or immediate nature.

All other messages are sent as a General Notification message. This does not mean that it is not the District’s goal to get that information out to every parent. ShoutPoint is just one way the District disseminates information to families and the community. Other means will be used to disseminate this information. This may include the District website, social media, alerts to local media, letters sent home in backpacks/take-home folders, etc.

How can I adjust my ShoutPoint contact settings?

Parents who have a Parent Portal account can click here for information about updating their contact preferences in Parent Portal. Parents who do not have a Parent Portal account can email icportal@ktufsd.org to update their student/family contact preferences or to be sure that your most up-to-date information is on file. 

I can’t access my Parent Portal account. What do I do?

You can sign in to Parent Portal by visiting www.ktufsd.org/ParentPortal. If you are having trouble accessing your account, please email icportal@ktufsd.org with your child’s name, your child’s school, and your relationship to your child.