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A Newsletter from the Department of Boards and Councils of the National Catholic Education Association
Ask any Catholic educator about the keys to school success and they will surely include "parental involvement in a child's education." Research tells us that the key to increasing that involvement is good two-way communication and a strong parent/school relationship. Further, schools that work well with families often have improved staff morale and higher staff ratings by the families.
Like all forms of communication, school-to-home communication (and vice versa) is most successful when a consistent, valid exchange of information occurs. To meet this need in the age of instant communications, more and more schools are practicing, supporting, and modeling successful school-to-home communication using parental notification systems.
When mass notification solutions first came on the market, they were purchased to announce weather-related school closures, or to alert an entire school community in the event of a rare, yet possible, emergency situation. Traditionally, school leaders and parents were dependent on commercial news media for emergency alerts. However, over time, schools wanted more direct communications to better control how the information is transcribed and when it is delivered.
Today, with advancing technologies and savvy administrators and principals, Catholic schools are finding many unique and varied ways to open the lines of communications and spread the word for enhanced parental communications.
Michael Butchko, principal at Hillside Catholic Academy in New York, is just one of a new breed of school leaders embracing the value that comes with adding technology to the communications process. After some research, Butchko opted to purchase the SchoolReach parental notification system because of its ease of use, flexibility, and most importantly, its ability to eliminate the inherent breakdowns in the traditional phone chain.
The system allows for multiple telephone lists to be developed and stored. So Butchko has created and saved more than 50 different lists including one for the teachers and staff, each class, entire grade levels, sports teams, clubs and extracurricular groups, to name just a few.
In February, Butchko used the mass notification system to remind parents that tuition was due and then again when some payments still had not been received. In March, Butchko was able to reduce the amount of overdue tuition by an astounding $19,000.
The advantages of using the notification tool in this instance are two-fold: First, it's a personal voice that is recognized, yet it's a controlled message that takes emotion out of the equation. Second, it gives schools a concrete, irrefutable record of the message itself, and that the message has been received.
"Sometimes, it's very difficult to call people when you are asking for money," said Paul Langhorst, co-founder of SchoolReach. "Our solution fosters better communications, even when the message is one the audience doesn't want to hear."
Other schools have allowed their Home and School Associations to use their instant notification systems to eliminate costly weekly mailings where printing and postage expenses can quickly add up.
Many Catholic schools are using the notification tools to build a bond with both prospective and incoming families, during the spring and summer enrollment periods. This can sometime be the difference in whether a family decides to attend your school or not -- because they feel connected and special.
Langhorst added, "No longer are parental notifications systems one or even two dimensional. The possibilities for using a notification system are limited only by one's imagination and the technology it's driven by."
But with so many choices on the market today, how do administrators know which system is right for them? Do some research. Ask questions such as "Is it hosted? Will we need additional phone lines or hardware? Is it compatible with our student information system? Can calls be launched from a PC as well as any touchtone phone?" And, "Does the system offer real-time and historic reporting?"
Also, think about how you plan to use it in non-traditional ways. By thinking outside the box, school leaders will not only able to enhance parental involvement, but they also will be able to save time and resources, and leverage a greater return on their investment.