Parent Support Central

Index of Topics You’ll Find Below…

  • WELCOME AND PURPOSE
  • PREVENTION
  • CONNECTIVITY
  • ELEMENTARY RESOURCES AND ASSISTANCE
  • SECONDARY RESOURCES AND ASSISTANCE
  • IF ALL ELSE FAILS

WELCOME AND PURPOSE. The purpose of this page is to provide a central location for parents to get information to help their students be successful during extended campus learning.

Westside Community Schools has a team of 16 professionals providing technology support and technology integration training for a community of over 7000 students, teachers, administrators, and staff members. The number of requests for assistance that we receive during the start of the school year will be large. We will endeavor to respond to them all as quickly and efficiently as possible.

The information below might help you make a technology support request unnecessary, allowing us to address more serious issues.

PREVENTION. One leading cause of downtime is the loss of a device or damage to it. When the laptop or iPad are at home:

  • Establish routine locations for the use of Westside devices such as a specific desk or table.
  • Make sure that liquids and other potentially damaging material are kept far away from this location.
  • Make sure that charger cords don’t make a “trap” for someone passing by that might cause personal injury or that might pull a device onto the floor.
  • Establish a routine location for the safe storage of Westside devices when they are not in use. This location should not be on the floor, on chairs/couches, or near an area with a lot of traffic/activity.
  • Make sure that visitors and pets have limited access to Westside devices to help lower the chances of loss or damage.
  • Device chargers should not be used near sleeping areas or where flammable materials might cover up and cause a heat build-up.

SUPPORT RESOURCES

The resources below provide introductory information to parents. Please review these resources before contacting us with support requests.

CONNECTIVITY. With extended campus learning, having an internet connection will be very important. If you do not currently have access to internet in your home, you might consider the following options:

  • Cox Connect to Compete program. Other connectivity providers may have similar programs–this is the one that we have the most information on.
  • Westside-provided Sprint cellular hot spots. Westside has a number of Sprint hotspots that can provide basic (2 GB of high speed data per month and then unlimited data at slower speeds after that). Please email hotspot.request@westside66.net with a subject line of HOTSPOT NEEDED to make arrangements for one of these hotspots.

ELEMENTARY RESOURCES AND ASSISTANCE. The Westside Technology Integration team has created a valuable Parent Resources for Digital Learning-Elementary page that provide guidance on getting started with Webex (our video conferencing solution), Seesaw (our lower elementary Learning Management System), and Google Classroom (our upper elementary Learning Management System).

NOTE: If you still need assistance after reviewing the elementary-oriented resources mentioned immediately above, please email your student’s classroom teacher and ask them to submit a Technology Helpdesk ticket on your behalf.

SECONDARY RESOURCES AND ASSISTANCE. The Westside Technology Integration team has created a valuable Parent Resources for Digital Learning-Secondary page that provide guidance on getting started with Webex (our video conferencing solution), Google Classroom (Learning Management System used by WMS teachers and some WHS teachers), and Blackboard (Learning Management System used by some WHS teachers and all West Campus teachers).

If you still need assistance after reviewing the secondary-oriented resources mentioned immediately above, please email one of the addresses below as appropriate from within your student’s email account. This will create a trackable Helpdesk ticket that best guarantees efficient handling of support requests. NOTE: Messages from a parent’s email account to these addresses will not be accepted by the addresses listed below:

If All Else Fails…

If you have reviewed the documents listed above that are relevant to your situation, have utilized the avenues for requesting additional assistance, and you are still stuck, send a text to: 402.302.2516.

NOTE: If you are on an SMS/Text-capable device, you should be able to just click on the link above.

ADDITIONAL NOTE: You could also call the phone number above, but a SMS text message with 1) an explanation of the problem–along with 2) your name AND 3) your student’s first and last name will make for the most efficient handling should we experience a high volume of this type of requests.