Partnership enhances communication

By DEBBIE BEHRENDS

Friday, December 12, 2008 9:28 AM CST

SOMONAUK -- The Somonauk School District has partnered with GroupCast Messaging systems, a leader in the emerging automated call notification industry, to implement GroupCast's SchoolReach system. The SchoolReach system, already in use in many school districts nationwide, was designed to provide a recorded message from a school official to parents for emergency purposes or for a general announcement.

SchoolReach allows a school official, such as the principal, to record a brief message, which is sent to a list of parents simultaneously. Greeted by the friendly voice of a familiar school personality, parents know right away that the message is important.

The system had its first districtwide test late last week, according to Superintendent Susan Workman.

Once the message is recorded, it only takes a few minutes to distribute to parents. The system then generates a report that tells officials which parents answered, when an answering machine picked up and whether those who answered listened to the whole message. Replacing older forms of communication, such as phone trees and sending notes home with students, the system allows for effective, and timely dispensing of important information.

"Right now, we're going to use it just for emergency notifications like school closings and athletic contest cancellations," Workman said. After the system is tested and the reports are analyzed, she said it may be used for other notifications.

"We will continue to put information out on the emergencyclosings.com (Web) site and on WSPY until we know the system is working properly," Workman said.

"SchoolReach allows a school administrator to more effectively and efficiently contact parents with important announcements," said Paul Langhorst, GroupCast vice president of operations.

"Schools struggle with day-of or night-before notices to parents; SchoolReach serves this need perfectly and requires no hardware, software or phone lines for use. We are very pleased that Somonauk School District recognizes the need for such a communication tool and has selected GroupCast as its partner."

In schools already using the SchoolReach system, officials have found that it is an ideal way to provide parents with important information, such as school closings or registration reminders. It also works well in emergency situations or for rumor abatement.

This system allows officials to send out messages to the entire student body or a select group affected by the announcement, such as a class or sports team. It also allows officials to call parents at work, home, or even on their cell phones if they prefer.

Workman said the district has a two-year contract with GroupCast at a cost of $2.50 per student. The cost of $2,575 per year allows the district unlimited usage of the system, she said.

Officials decided to engage GroupCast after interviewing four firms. Workman said GroupCast's system worked well with the district's student management system already in place.

More information about GroupCast or SchoolReach can be found at www.groupcast.com and www.schoolreach.com.