GRAVETTE — A new school district-wide communication system that will link Gravette Public Schools with parents and staff is being launched.

The announcement was made last week by school superintendent Andrea Kelly, who said, “The new software based service, called AlertNow, allows district leaders to reach families, teachers and staff with time-sensitive information.” Student attendance notifications and parental participation requests, as well as safety alerts and community outreach messages, will be some of the advantages of the service which is provided by Blackboard Connect, Inc.

Other communications can involve testing schedules,athletics and volunteer programs.

“Particularly in urgent situations, the device will allow the district to be sure that critical messages are sent quickly and accurately without delay,” the superintendent said.

“These communication channels are fundamental in improving student achievement, increasing parental involvement and even helping address the financial challenges impacting many school districts today,” said Ed Miller, President of Blackboard Connect.

“The AlertNow service enables school leaders to schedule, send and track personalized messages for up to five phone numbers and five e-mail addresses per contact,” he explained.

To ensure that important messages reach parents rapidly, regardless of their location or preferred method of communication, the AlertNow system sends messages through four different modes of communication:

◊Voice messages tohome phones, work phones, cell phones and e-mail addresses;

◊SMS text messages to cell phones;

◊E-mail messages; and

◊Messages to TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired.

Gravette Public Schools will be testing the Alert-Now service on Oct. 1. The district advises that it is testing the service based on the data provided by parents.

If a community member erroneously receives a call, they are asked to contact Gravette Public Schools at 787-4100 or [email protected] to have their number removed or a correct number added to the service, as appropriate.

For more information on the AlertNow platform, visit www.alertnow.com or contact the company at alertnowpr@ blackboard.com.

News, Pages 1 on 09/08/2010