Our Mission

Working together as a team, we will end the predictive value of race, class, gender, and special capacities for our children’s success through high quality teaching and learning for all. We seek to build relationships with families and communities to ensure that every student succeeds. We will know every student.

Our Mission

BrightArrow Support for Families

How We Use BrightArrow

Albemarle County Public Schools partners with a company called BrightArrow to deliver important information to families through voice, email and text messaging. Your child's teacher may also send messages to families using BrightArrow's secure two-way instant messaging app called BrightChat.

How to Enroll

Parents/guardians have the opportunity to sign up for electronic notifications (including voice, email and/or text messages) when they initially register their child for school and at the beginning of each school year when they review the registration and contact information on file for their child. You may also enroll to receive electronic notifications or update your contact preferences at any time by contacting your child's school.

You Must “Opt in” to Receive Text Messages

To receive text messages through BrightArrow, you need to opt in. You can opt in to text messaging at any time by sending the word Yes or Sí to the short code 87569 or 79041. Once you opt in, BrightArrow will send you a confirmation that your phone number is opted in.

Note: You must have your mobile phone number on file with your child’s school to receive text messages.

Download the BrightArrow App to Receive Instant Messages

In order to receive instant messages from your child's teacher through BrightChat, you need to download the BrightArrow Mobile 2.1 app from the app store for your mobile device:

BrightArrow Mobile 2.1
Apple App Store | Google Play Store

Note: While BrightChat is available to all schools as a communication tool in the 2023-24 school year, only some schools have started using BrightChat to send instant messages to families. If you have a question about if or how your child's school is using BrightChat, please contact your child's school principal.

Helpful Tips

Voice Messages

When we call you with a voice message, the Caller ID will display 434-974-5777. If you ever need to hear the last voice message sent to one of your numbers, you can dial 855-994-4242 from any number that received the call and replay the message.

Email Messages

Email messages will come from Notification-Do_Not_Reply@target.brightarrow.com.

Text Messages

Once you’ve opted in, all text messages will come from the short code 87569 or 79041.

Translation

BrightArrow uses every student’s “home language” to automatically translate our email, text, and text-to-speech voice messages. The translations are machine-generated and include a link to read or listen to the original message in English. We hope that this is a helpful service for families; however, if you would prefer to receive messages only in English, please contact your child’s school and let them know.

Updating Your Contact Information

If you need to update your contact information or change your communication preferences, please contact your child’s school.

Need Help?

If you need assistance, please call the ACPS Service Desk at 434-975-9444, Monday-Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

More About BrightChat

BrightChat provides a fast, easy and safe way for our teachers to send instant messages to families, and through the app, recipients can respond to the group or privately to the sender. BrightChat allows users to type, record audio, attach documents, and even share photos and videos. Examples of how our teachers might use this tool include sending group messages about homework assignments or classroom needs, and sending private messages to share student work or communicate with you about your child’s needs.

Safety is a priority. Unlike text messaging, BrightChat protects the contact information of both the sender and the recipient, and as an added measure of safety, all conversations are recorded and can be accessed by a school administrator, if needed.

Also, within the BrightChat app, users can select their own language preference! This feature allows you to receive and respond to messages in the language of your choice.

Getting Started with BrightChat

For assistance learning to use BrightChat, please see the instructions below:

BrightChat Documentation for Families Documentación de BrightChat para Familias