8 Miles of Copy Paper Saved!

8 Miles of Copy Paper Saved

by Paul Langhorst, Chief Marketing Officer, SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact

8 Miles of Copy Paper! That's what St. Agnes School in Pennsylvania, saved by using their SchoolReach parent notification system to eliminate mailed letters and notes sent home. The copy paper is only half the story; many of those sheets were tucked into envelopes with an expensive postage stamp on the outside totaling thousands in annual savings.

"My office copy paper supply closest is still full!" commented Ann Davis, principal of St. Gabriel's in St.
Louis.

Same concept, same results; Principal Davis is guiding the school to use their SchoolReach
notification system for more than school closures and is enjoying the financial results. "I used to refill my office copy paper supply closet right before Christmas and I just noticed that it's still full," explained Davis. "Parents like getting information electronically so they can organize it on the computer. No more papers buried in the deep black hole of a student's backpack!" said Principal Davis.

A Growing Trend. These are but two examples of a growing national trend where school notification
systems are being rediscovered as a source of substantial savings. By eliminating more costly forms of
communication and converting others to voice or email broadcasts, Catholic schools across the country are savings thousands of dollars and freeing up money to be spent in more critical areas.

The savings manifest themselves in the following areas:

Reduced paper consumption
Reduced print supplies consumption
Reduced postage and mailing costs
Recovered labor
Increased collections, donations, and payments

End-of-Year Communications. The school year is fast coming to a close where parent communication needs can spike. Parent notification systems represent an ideal tool for reaching parents effectively during the latter part of the year. Would you like an early read on your enrollment next year? Send a broadcast phone survey asking parents for a quick yes/no on their plans, or simply remind them to turn in registration forms early. High school placement test reminders, First Communion, school picnics and graduation plans all require massive amounts of communication. A parent notification system can do it faster and cheaper.
For every sheet printed, stuffed, folded, mailed and handed out, there is human cost and energy spent.
Today's instant parent communication systems can represent a return on investment between 300% and 700% when used properly and wisely. Most importantly, schools report that their parents love the service. They love the increased communication; more timely communication; and the elimination of reading pages and pages of words to find the important times, dates, and meetings to remember.
Your efforts to research and implement a parent notification system will be rewarded many times over, both financially and in the form of improved parent involvement and appreciation. It's a simple solution with big results.

(Correction in the original article: St. Agnes Catholic School in Pennsylvania reported a paper savings of 8400 feet. St. Monica's Catholic School, in Mercer Wa, reported reducing budget numbers from $1200 to $200 in paper and ink costs.)

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