Last year, families had to watch the news to see if there was a school cancellation due to inclement weather. Now, thanks to the district administration, a mass notification system to inform parents and teachers of snow days is being made possible.
“The system will allow the district to communicate with the parents and staff regarding emergencies and other important district information in a more efficient manner by delivering a large volume of messages at one time,” Chief Information Officer Ray Eernisse said.
This notification system is to keep parents up-to-date on what is going on in the district. Not only can they get notifications about school snow days, but they can also get notifications about school events. They can also choose what medium they want to receive the notifications in: text or email.
“The system has the capability to deliver any type of message; however, in year one, the district will restrict the messaging to district level information such as snow days, emergency situation and high school attendance notifications for parents,” Mr. Eernisse said.
Although this mass notification system will cost $14,800, the district administration has eliminated different outlets for spending to pay for the costs.
“The cost of the system is being offset by reallocating funds that were previously used for a survey system,” Mr. Eernisse said.
Mr. Eernisse, along with the administration, believes the notification system serves a vital role in communication efforts in a timely manner.
“Administration believes that communication is a key to successful school district and therefore recommended this tool to enhance the communication with the community,” Mr. Eernisse said. “To communicate is one thing but to provide timely communication is even more important and this system will help to ensure that important messages [are] delivered.”
Not only is the administration looking forward to the notification system, but so is Principal Sonny Arnel.
“I think it’s awesome,” Dr. Arnel said. “We desperately need a notification system to communicate important things with parents.”
