Helena-West Helena schools ask families to update contact information
Helena-West Helena schools warned that outdated phone numbers could keep families from getting urgent alerts when water or weather disruptions hit.
Helena-West Helena School District asked families to update their contact information after a water issue disrupted the community and showed how easily urgent school messages can miss their mark.
Superintendent Xavier M. Hodo Sr. said a message had already gone out to families the morning after the water problem the night before, but staff found that some phone numbers on file had changed since registration. The district’s notice, posted Aug. 20, 2025, said parents needed to make sure their contact details stayed current so they could keep receiving information when school routines were interrupted.
The request carried immediate weight in Helena-West Helena, where school schedules can be thrown off by utility failures, weather and other infrastructure problems. If the district cannot reach parents quickly, families can miss notices about early dismissal, service disruptions or other changes that affect students and transportation. In a city that has dealt with repeated water trouble, the contact list is part of the district’s emergency readiness, not just office paperwork.
The broader context is hard to ignore. Local reporting in 2025 said Helena-West Helena residents had already faced recurring water problems, including a 2023 computer-system failure and a January 2024 boil-water order. In February 2024, the city went more than two weeks without water before service was restored and the boil order was lifted on Feb. 2. Officials were also discussing major funding and infrastructure challenges tied to the water system, including tens of millions of dollars in project financing.
Helena-West Helena Water and Sewer now posts an alert page that says “Water Boil Order is Lifted” and directs residents to subscribe for alerts by email or text. That backup channel matters when a water problem spills into school operations and parents need fast notice.
The school district lists its office at 305 Valley Drive in Helena-West Helena, AR 72342, with the main number 870-338-4425 and email xhodo@hwhschools.org. For families, the message from district leaders was plain: keep school records current now, so the next urgent alert reaches the right phone the first time.
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