Overview
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The Fox Chapel Area School District utilizes a number of media to connect with members of its school community, including the district's website, email, social media accounts, and the quarterly IN Fox Chapel Area magazine.
Media Requests
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Members of the media with questions or who wish to interview a Fox Chapel Area School District staff member should contact Bonnie Berzonski, the district's coordinator of communications, at (412) 967-2452 or via email at bonnie_berzonski@fcasd.edu.
Members of the media must be accompanied by an administrator or assigned staff member when in district buildings or on school grounds unless prior permission is granted.
The federal Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) permits parents or students to opt out of the release of certain information. Therefore, some Fox Chapel Area School District students may be exempt from appearing in any form of media. The district will evaluate all media requests to protect exempt students from inclusion in publications, broadcasts, or any other medium.
Other Information
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School Delays/Cancellations
When there is a school delay, cancellation, or early dismissal, parents/guardians in the district will receive a phone call via the district’s school messaging system. Additionally, an announcement will be placed on the district’s website, as well as on social media. Please note that during a power outage it may not be possible to place an announcement on the district’s website and/or social media. Delay, cancellation, and/or early dismissal announcements will also be placed on the following television stations: KDKA-TV, WPXI-TV, and WTAE-TV.
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Requests for Media Exemption
Our schools are public buildings, and our students, educational programs, school events, and community-oriented activities are sometimes made the subject of recording by video, audio, photography, livestreaming, and the like for use as instructional and informational tools. In addition, our students’ work is sometimes published in print and/or electronic media. The district will allow students to be recorded, interviewed, livestreamed, and/or photographed, and students’ work to be published for legitimate public purposes. Additionally, our students and their work may also be featured on social media.
Throughout the 2022-2023 school year, your child may be recorded, interviewed, livestreamed, and/or photographed by representatives from newspapers, television stations, and radio stations, as well as district communications office personnel or their designees, and these items may be publicly displayed. Students and their work and photographs may also appear in print media and/or electronically in places such as public websites, social media, and broadcasts.
If you object to such publication, you must file a written objection. The district will not deliberately publish your child if you have filed a written objection. The district will also make a reasonable effort to avoid publication by any third party. It is understood that the district certainly has no control of the news media or others outside of the school organization. Student participation in school activities, especially athletics and other competitive events, as well as extracurricular activities, increases the likelihood of publication of stories and images of those students. Additionally, please note that the written objection does not preclude your child’s voice from being livestreamed for instructional purposes related to in-person instruction.
Please address written objections to Bonnie Berzonski, Coordinator of Communications, Fox Chapel Area School District, 611 Field Club Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15238. If you have filed a written objection in the past, you still must file a new letter of objection each year. All written objections must be filed with the district’s communications office by Friday, August 19, 2022. If you do not file a written objection, your silence will serve as implied consent.
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IN Fox Chapel Area Magazine
The Fox Chapel Area School District contributes content to each issue of IN Fox Chapel Area magazine, which is published four times a year. Please click here to view the latest school news or previous district inserts.
Contact Us
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Bonnie Berzonski
Coordinator of Communications
(412) 967-2452
bonnie_berzonski@fcasd.eduJill Leonard
Community Engagement Specialist
(412) 967-2453
jill_leonard@fcasd.edu