Connect-Ed to keep parents at N-W connected

by Larry Austin
Niagara Wheatfield Tribune, October 12, 2006

Niagara-Wheatfield has a new way to keep parents connected with information about the school.

Niagara-Wheatfield Superintendent of Schools Dr. Judith Howard told the N-W Board of Education at their monthly meeting last Wednesday that an automated calling service will simplify phone calls home to parents.

The system, called Connect-Ed, can call 10,000 numbers simultaneously, eliminating the laborious secretarial task of looking up home phone numbers individually and dialing the number.

During a trial run, Howard sent out a community education message on Sept. 28 targeted to a specific database.

The system will handle attendance calls to home when a student is absent, but the district will not use the system as a way of notifying parents of snow day cancellation of school, Howard said. One reason is that so many people rely on the television and radio stations already.

“I close school at around 5 or 5:30 except in extreme cases,” Howard said. “So I’m making the call that early, and our elementary parents may not appreciate a call at 5 in the morning.”

“They’re all automated and it is impossible for me to isolate the building now,” Howard said of radio and television policies. “I have to call the station and have to beg the reporter to say, ‘This is only for Errick Road School.’ And what invariably happens is they get it wrong, and people think that Niagara-Wheatfield is all closed.”

The district can conduct a survey with the system, targeting parents at specific schools to learn their opinions.

In the event of an emergency, Connect-Ed will call five phone numbers, whoever is listed on the student’s emergency information card. The system can detect a live pickup or whether a message was left on voice mail.

“I think it has a lot of potential,” Howard said of the system.