Chippewa Hills has begun using text messages for weather and emergency notifications for parents and guardians. Text messages will come from 98900, so please add us to your contacts or safe senders list. We will only use texts for urgent notifications, but you can choose to opt-out by texting “Stop” or “Opt-out” to 98900. You can always opt-in by texting “Start” or “Opt-in” to 98900.
All Chippewa Hills parents and guardians with a valid cell phone number should receive the text messages from the district. We’ve done 3 tests with text messages during our initial roll-out in October. If you are still not receiving our text messages, we’ve outlined a few troubleshooting tips to help ensure messages are being delivered to you.
Verify Your Cell Phone Number
In order to receive text alerts, it is essential for parents and guardians to have their cell phone numbers on file with the school. You can verify your cell phone information by checking Skyward Family Access, calling your student’s school office, or filling out this form.
Check Text Filters (iPhone Users)
iPhones have a built-in feature to filter messages from unknown senders. Please check your Unknown or Spam filters to see if messages from Chippewa Hills are in that file. Please add us to your contacts list to prevent our messages from being filtered. To check the filter settings on your iPhone, go to Settings > Messages > Message Filtering.
SMS Messaging
In order to receive texts from the school, you will need to ensure SMS messaging is enabled on your phone.
iPhone users: Go to Settings > Messages > SMS/MMS > Toggle on SMS/MMS Messaging.
If you are using a third-party SMS filter, you will need to add us (98900) to your contacts in order to prevent our messages from being blocked. To remove a third-party SMS spam filter, go to Settings > Messages > Unknown & Spam, and remove the filter from the list.
Android users: Open messaging app > Settings > Enable SMS.
Opt-In to 98900
If you’ve had filters on, or did not have SMS enabled on your phone, you may need to opt-in to start receiving messages. Simply text “Start” or “Opt-In” to 98900. You should receive a welcome message from Apptegy Messaging (this is the platform we use to send texts).
Cell Phone Updates
Be sure your phone’s software updates are completed, as missing software updates can cause issues. You may also need to power down your phone and then power it back on to help clear any “stuck” issues and reconnect to the mobile network. You may also need to reset your phone’s network settings.
Contact Your Cell Phone Provider
Please contact your cell phone provider to ensure the carrier (Verizon, AT&T, etc.) hasn’t blocked the message. Carriers can block messages from being delivered if they believe the messages are spam.
For More Help
If you’ve checked all of the above and continue to have trouble, please contact Mindy Simon, our Communications, Marketing & Data Specialist, at 989-967-2220 or msimon2@chsd.us for help.
You can view these troubleshooting tips on our website here: https://www.chsd.us/o/chsd/page/text-troubleshooting
Text troubleshooting can also be accessed through the CHSD app by going to the Documents tab under the District page.