INFORMATION REQUESTS

Information requests to inspect records may be directed to the Records Access Officer: 
Steven Smith
Records Access Officer
Westhill Central School District
400 Walberta Road
Syracuse, NY 13219
(315) 426-3000
(315) 488-6411 fax number

The records access officer will respond within five (5) business days upon receipt of the written request by issuing a written denial, or by acknowledging the request and stating the approximate date, which shall be reasonable under the circumstances of the request, when such request will be granted or denied.

Records will be made available for inspection and copying at the District Office. A charge of $.25 per photocopy will be charged for records copied at the District Office.

Notice: You have the right to appeal a denial within thirty (30) days to:
Stephen Dunham
Superintendent of Schools
Westhill Central School District
400 Walberta Road
Syracuse, NY 13219
(315) 426-3272
(315) 488-6411 fax number

Link to Freedom of Information Law web page:  http://www.dos.ny.gov/coog/foil2.html

NOTIFICATION REGARDING EMERGENCY RESPONSE PLAN
 
The Westhill Central School District has an Emergency Response Plan in place to address student and staff safety issues. The plan would be activated in the event of a local disaster or school emergency.
 
Statistics show schools are still among the safest places be on a day-to-day basis, due to the strong commitment of educators, parents and communities to their children. Nevertheless, disasters do happen and, because of that, no community can be complacent in its efforts to make its schools even safer.
 
As part of its Emergency Response Plan, the district has a designated chief emergency officer who is responsible for coordinating communication between staff, law enforcement and first responders to ensure staff understanding of the district-level safety plan. The chief emergency officer will also be responsible for communicating details to staff during an emergency.
 
Also in the event of an emergency, the district’s school information officer will be responsible for disseminating information to the public by communicating with local media and the community. Several communication methods are available to the district and will be utilized as appropriate. Such methods include text, email and telephone alerts, website updates, social media messages and media announcements.
 
The district’s mass communication system, ParentSquare, utilizes the student/parent/guardian information stored in PowerSchool. Therefore, it is imperative that parents and guardians ensure that their contact information is correct in PowerSchool. Whenever your contact information changes, be sure to contact your child’s school immediately to update your information to ensure that you receive emergency communications from the district.
 
Drills
Parents and guardians should also be aware that the district conducts unannounced emergency and lockdown drills at each school in the district throughout the school year. Law enforcement and emergency personnel may be included in these drills when possible. Visitors to school buildings will be notified of emergency situations/drills such as a shelter-in-place, hold-in-place, evacuation, lockout or lockdown.
 
The Westhill Central School District’s Emergency Response Plan will also be posted online at the beginning of each school year.
 
CHILD ABUSE HOTLINE

The New York State Child Abuse Hotline toll-free number is 1-800-342-3720.

Llame al número de teléfono gratuito del Estado de Nueva York es 1-800-342-3720.