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SchoolReach News
As a leading provider of parent notification service supporting thousands of schools coast-to-coast, our clients use of our service frequently makes headline news. Below is a summary of some of the stories about SchoolReach making the papers, journals and other publications.
Date
Title
Jan 19, 2012
Our Lady of Grace in Pittsburgh, PA just won the SchoolReach Catholic Schools Week Contest. Principal Lindsey Pfister is going to use the winnings to fund a service project for her school during Catholic Schools Week.
Dec 22, 2011
Lake City Public Schools, located in Lake City, Minnesota went into lockdown after a local police officer was shot in the head. The schools used their new SchoolReach notification system to keep parents informed and children safe.
Dec 15, 2011
Here are the runners up of our latest User Story contest. So many great entries were submitted, thank you to our wonderful customers!
Dec 14, 2011
SchoolReach User Story Grand Prize Winner St. Peter Kirkwood School in Kirkwood, MO tells their story of how they called themselves in Italy and helped achieve the best survey response they've ever had.
Nov 29, 2011
SchoolReach to the rescue. A water main break on a recent Monday morning provided the Hills-Beaver Creek administration an opportunity to put their new SchoolReach program to work.
Oct 14, 2011
Last week we celebrated "Customer Service Week" here at SchoolReach and had themed events all week culminating in some fun and games in our break room. The final game was a "shake off" between all game winners. How did it end...well, you just have to watch the video to see...
Oct 10, 2011
Less than a month after the SchoolReach for Android™ App was released with much fanfare, the SchoolReach® for iPhone® App has hit the proverbial shelves. Now both iPhone and Android users have a convenient mobile version of SchoolReach in the palm of their hands.
Sep 22, 2011
The parent alert system capacity of SchoolReach is expanding! We are currently in the final stages of increasing capacity of our Dallas co-location facility that will double its broadcast capacity. This move is in response to both total customer growth and increasing phone notification use by existing customers.
Sep 12, 2011
Launching school notifications and alerts just got easier with SchoolReach® for Android™, a convenient new mobile version of SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact released today. The new application, developed by in-house SchoolReach engineers, provides school administrators with full access to their SchoolReach system from any Android-based mobile device. Apps for iPhone® and iPad® due to follow in days...
Aug 30, 2011
Schools along the eastern seaboard from North Carolina to Maine made good use of their school notification and alert system, provided by SchoolReach to alert parents and community members of school closing and reopening plans due to Hurricane Irene.
Aug 23, 2011
Waverly Community Schools, MI has entered into a school notification and alert case study with SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact. The purpose of the program is to benchmark the impact of the SchoolReach automated parent notification program on such metrics as parent involvement, average daily attendance, AYP, and negative lunch balances. The program runs throughout the 2011-2012 school year and will culminate in several case studies written around Waverly's results and experience.
Aug 18, 2011
St. Louis City Public School District made innovative use of their SchoolReach school notification system to help encourage and increase attendance on the first day of school today. St. Louis City school officials reached out to Steven Jackson, running back for the St. Louis Rams to record a message that was broadcast to all school families and parents over the weekend prior to the first day of school.
Aug 03, 2011
SchoolReach, the national school notification provider serving the K-12 market, has announced a new preferred provider relationship with School Webmasters. The program will enable School Webmasters and SchoolReach to cross promote each others services to their respective clientele.
Jun 17, 2011
SchoolReach is proud to announce our participation in the St. Louis Catholic elementary schools’ school book and school supply drive to benefit Catholic and other schools and students in Joplin that were devastated by the recent EF5 tornado. SchoolReach will be underwriting the fuel costs associated with the delivery to Joplin.
May 23, 2011
SchoolReach has announced the addition of three new features: social media integration, staff-level broadcast messaging and a new toll-free message retrieval line.
May 09, 2011
Kirkwood School District, a longtime SchoolReach customer, has earned the highly regarded distinction as having the Missouri Teacher of the Year within their walls. Congratulations Kirkwood, and congratulations
Apr 04, 2011
GroupCast, LLC, the parent company of SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact, one of the leading providers of automated school notification services has surpassed its two-millionth individual broadcast event, doubling the prior one-million mark in just over 16 months. Total broadcast volume for GroupCast, now in its ninth year of operation, exceeds 353 million recorded voice message calls.
Mar 21, 2011
As a fun way to promote the use of SchoolReach to increase fundraising efforts and attendance at special events like Fish Fry's, we invite you to submit your most creative or unique Fish Fry voice broadcast message and get entered into our contest.
Feb 22, 2011
Lead-Deadwood School District in South Dakota has begun using SchoolReach's CyberBully Hotline. It has been in place since 12/1/2010 and has received about a dozen calls form bullying victims and eyewitnesses since that time. Most incidents occured off of school grounds.
Feb 18, 2011
SchoolReach, and its parent company GroupCast, LLC, have completed a transaction to acquire the digital sign control and management technology assets of Sensory Ventures, LLC. The move provides SchoolReach access to digital sign and display management technology capable of centrally controlling the displays of PCs, monitors, smart boards, digital signs, and other internet addressable displays
Feb 17, 2011
Here are the runners up of our 2011 User Story contest. So many great entries were submitted, thank you to our wonderful customers!
Feb 16, 2011
User Story Grand Prize Winner Edge High School in Tucson, AZ. Edge HS students responded to a tragedy that happened in their backyard with an impressive community fundraising effort.
Feb 15, 2011
Between January 31st and February 3rd, 2011, a massive ice, sleet and snow storm rolled across much of the United States. The storm covered 39 states, with snowfall accumulations reaching over 20 inches in some areas, triggering a wave of school cancellations, early dismissals and late starts.
Feb 07, 2011
A lockdown announcement was triggered by Carroll County Intermediate School in Hillsville, VA after school officials were notified by a parent that a student may have brought a firearm to school. Principal Chuck Thompson alerted parents via SchoolReach that students were safe in their classrooms while police searched for the weapons and took the students in question into custody.
Jan 03, 2011
2010 ended with a bang for residents of Sunset Hills, MO. An F3 tornado ripped through the suburban St. Louis city where SchoolReach is headquartered. The need for geographic redundancy in a mass notification provider was clearly evidenced by this natural disaster.
Dec 29, 2010
ST. LOUIS, MO, DECEMBER 29, 2010 – SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact, a division of GroupCast, LLC headquartered in Sunset Hills, announced today that Tim MacNair will be its new Director of Sales. MacNair will lead the sales team, help define market strategy and outline the goals of the Sales Division.
Dec 15, 2010
As snow falls, parents in the Corry Area School District in Northwestern Pennsylvania have begun hearing the sound of SchoolReach. Corry Area School District uses SchoolReach for a multitude of reasons, only some of which are two-hour delays, school closings, early dismissals and the postponement of after-school activities.
Sep 14, 2010
Cyberbullying Hotline and “It’s Your Call” Learning Simulation Game Packaged to Aid Administrators - In response to growing pressure on school administrators to address rampant cyberbullying and student-on-student harassment, Web Wise Kids and SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact have teamed up to create a complete cyberbullying program. The program offers a bundle of cyberbullying prevention and response services which leverage the unique strengths of both SchoolReach and Web Wise Kids.
Sep 02, 2010
A significant milestone was passed in August 2010, when the Missouri Alert Network entered into its 4th year of operation. The state-wide alert program stemmed from a public-private cooperative effort between the Missouri Department of Public Safety (MO DPS), the Missouri School Boards Association (MSBA) and GroupCast, LLC.
Aug 02, 2010
The parent notification and school emergency messaging abilities for thousands of schools have been increased with release of SchoolReach 3.0. New interface speeds parent notifications and alerts.
Jul 14, 2010
The city of Clarksville, MO sent out a GroupCast alert notifying residents that they were under a boil order. Recipients of the message were advised not only to boil water but also to come to a specific location to get potable or bottled water from the city.
Jun 04, 2010
Minnesota-based volunteer network, RSVP, used the GroupCast instant notification system to help an elderly woman this winter. She was in dire circumstances as her furnace stopped working and it was 26 degrees below zero outside.
May 20, 2010
Parents at Kingsley Junior High School in Normal, IL were alerted to the sudden death of a 7th grader via a SchoolReach alert sent by a school official. The student had collapsed after what school officials called friendly "horseplay" in the lavatory between class periods.
May 17, 2010
The National Rural Education Association, it its monthly membership newsletter, spotlighted the SchoolReach EZ Lunch Balance program as means to help school districts manage lunch debt.
Apr 20, 2010
Service Helps Students Report Cyberbullying Incidents
Mar 16, 2010
Company Partners with Education Support Agencies in Colorado, Iowa, Nebraska, New Mexico, Montana and Wyoming
Mar 16, 2010
By Brenda Speer, Superintendent, Bynum (TX) ISD, Tech& Learning Magizine
Mar 11, 2010
GroupCast d/b/a SchoolReach Dismissed from TechRadium Patent Suit
Mar 04, 2010
8 Miles of Copy Paper! That’s what saved by using SchoolReach
parent notification system to eliminate mailed letters and notes sent home.
Mar 03, 2010
The SchoolReach parent notification system has announced an expanded partnership with the Southeast Kansas Education Service Center (Greenbush). Through the partnership agreement, the SchoolReach parent notification system will be made available to all Kansas schools at an exclusive discount.
Feb 22, 2010
Automated Parent Communication System Improves Parent Communication While Reducing Communication Costs
Feb 01, 2010
By Cathy Thoele
Effingham Daily News
Jan 21, 2010
Macon Schools Use Parent Notification to Inform About Emergencies, Early Dismissals or Cancellations
The Tuskegee News - Editor's note: The following information was provided by the Macon County Board of Education.
Jan 07, 2010
Service Center to use Automated Notification System to Improve Communications with Member Districts plus Extends Special Pricing and Terms to Member Districts
Jan 06, 2010
The District will also utilize a system called SchoolReach. SchoolReach allows parent/guardian contact phone numbers to be called automatically by a voice.
Dec 21, 2009
Allows Member Districts to Purchase Automated Parent Notification Service at Reduced Rates with Bundled Features
Dec 01, 2009
GroupCast, one of the country’s leading providers of instant messaging notification services, announced today that it has surpassed its one-millionth individual broadcast event, which totals over 233 million calls. This milestone comes almost seven years to the day the company was launched.
Oct 09, 2009
To ensure rapid communication to parents on the H1N1 virus, the Washington School District is participating in a notification program being offered by the Missouri School Boards Association and SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact.
Sep 25, 2009
Automated School-to-Home Communication System Available to All NREA Members at Reduced Cost
Sep 22, 2009
For Brenda Speer, superintendent of Bynum Independent School District, striking a balance between cutting expenses, but not eliminating important programs and services, lit up the light bulb over her head: Would it be possible to save the district more than $700 a month in postage expenses alone by implementing a tech-based parental notification system?
Sep 22, 2009
Catholic Dioceses Embracing Instant Communication Systems for Faster, Frequent Communications with Parents and Parishioners
Sep 11, 2009
Broadcast or mass notification systems enable administrators to efficiently place hundreds or even thousands of calls per hour and, to an extent, replace other communication vehicles, such as newsletters, Web site postings, or the weekly distribution of manila envelopes.
Sep 11, 2009
Automated Notification System Will Be Used To Enhance Communications Efforts With Members Statewide
Sep 09, 2009
MSBA and SchoolReach to Offer Service Free to Public and Non-Public Schools
Aug 27, 2009
61 Schools Activate System To Improve School-To-Home Communications
Aug 26, 2009
Parents To Receive Important Communications Via Automated Parent Notification System
Aug 19, 2009
Wilson Education Center Also Announces Selection of SchoolReach As Preferred Emergency Broadcast System; Member Schools to Receive Purchase Discount
Aug 12, 2009
Combined Solutions Will Bring Feature-Rich, Mass Notification Capabilities to Business Continuity Programs for Commercial and Government Clients
Aug 06, 2009
SchoolReach Query of Customers Shows Systems Used for More than Emergencies, Delivering Impressive Return on Investment
Jul 29, 2009
Beginning this fall, parents of Mineral County School students will be able to receive notices of school closings or other emergencies almost instantaneously, thanks to SchoolReach, the fastest-growing parental notification service used among K-12 public schools in the United States.
Jul 22, 2009
SchoolReach, the fastest-growing parent notification service used among K-12 public schools in the United States, has been chosen by Magazine Public Schools to implement the SchoolReach Instant Parent Contact system.
Jul 09, 2009
Opening the Lines of Communication with a Parental Notification System
Jul 06, 2009
Nine schools in the Catholic Diocese of Savannah — including three in Middle Georgia — are turning to an automated phone messaging system to notify parents of emergencies.
Jul 01, 2009
Automated School-to-Home Communications Program Designed to Improve Parental Involvement, Save Administrators Time Through Instant Messaging System
Jun 18, 2009
Automated Communication System Enables Schools and Communities to Coordinate Quickly and Effectively.
Jun 16, 2009
Parents To Receive Important Communications Via Automated Parent Notification System
Jun 08, 2009
Krebs Public School can now reach more parents, more quickly using a new a parent notification system.
Jun 01, 2009
Automated School-to-Home Communication System Available
to All Service Center Members at Reduced Cost
May 20, 2009
Automated Communication System Enables Schools and Communities to Coordinate Quickly and Effectively
Apr 30, 2009
Using an automated call notification system called SchoolReach
Apr 30, 2009
Using an automated call notification system called SchoolReach
Apr 29, 2009
President to educators: Close schools temporarily if you suspect a swine flu outbreak
Apr 09, 2009
Fast food chains will implement a new instant mass notification system
Mar 12, 2009
What started out as a prank phone call could end with serious consequences for two Fulton teens after they made a bomb threat regarding Fulton High School Tuesday afternoon.
Mar 04, 2009
Unexpected Benefit Leaves Entire Community Grateful for Service
Feb 24, 2009
Parent notification service provides value and discounts to all CCOSA members
Jan 28, 2009
How does a retailer morph the inadvertent selling of dangerous products and its dusty CRM program into a public relations victory? The answer is as old as the telephone. In fact, the answer is the telephone.
Dec 24, 2008
Dec 12, 2008
Nov 19, 2008
To improve communication between the school and parents with a telephone broadcast system
Oct 23, 2008
Oct 09, 2008
Oct 07, 2008
Communication system will revolutionize communications between the schools and parents, guardians and all other interested parties.
Aug 14, 2008
Barnes-Hanover-Linn to implement GroupCast’s SchoolReach system
Aug 13, 2008
Aug 10, 2008
Cameras and better locks will merge with old-fashioned communication as school staffs finalize their security plans before classes resume this fall.
Aug 03, 2008
A new system that will make getting messages to parents easier and quicker.
Jul 31, 2008
Jul 29, 2008
Jul 18, 2008
Jun 26, 2008
Jun 17, 2008
Jun 11, 2008
May 30, 2008
At least two area schools have signed on to a new service which is designed to send out notifications to parents electronically.
May 30, 2008
MT. VERNON -- At least two area schools have signed on to a new service which is designed to send out notifications to parents electronically.
SchoolReach is an instant parent contact program which has been purchased by District 80 and by the Mt. Vernon Township High School. Emergency announcements and general information calls can be made within minutes to large groups of people, according to Christine Skillian of School Reach.
May 19, 2008
Gov. Matt Blunt today announced all public and independent higher education institutions have an official contact on file with the Missouri Alert Network, fulfilling another recommendation from his Campus Security Task Force to improve communication to make our colleges and universities safer.
May 14, 2008
A new, faster way of contacting parents was approved by the Rector School Board at Monday night's meeting.
May 12, 2008
Although the gas leak near Cold Springs schools was just hot air, the scenario used during a mock emergency drill Monday made sure students and school officials were ready for the real deal.
Officials said students, teacher and administrators were able to rise to the occasion, evacuating the school quickly.
May 09, 2008
GroupCast Messaging systems, a leader in the emerging automated call notification industry, has partnered with the Crocker School District 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.
May 02, 2008
System will allow school administrators to quickly and accurately disseminate information to parents
Apr 03, 2008
A bomb threat at Pikeland Community school tested the emergency response of both school administrators and law enforcement Monday afternoon. A note of threatening nature was found near the end of the school day Monday at Pikeland Community School. The note was found in the northern pod of the building. The northern pod houses sixth, seventh and eighth grades. The note said a bomb would go off at 1 p.m. Tuesday.
Mar 17, 2008
Miles of closures and major renovation along a highway used to ferry thousands of children to school could mean countless delays over two years. But the Voluntary Interdistrict Choice Corporation is helping parents by sending pre-recorded messages on traffic delays.
Feb 19, 2008
Governor Matt Blunt has announced that colleges and universities in Missouri are now eligible to sign up for the Missouri Alert Network. The network allows state officials to notify schools throughout Missouri within minutes in the event of an emergency or an extraordinary situation that impacts student safety and security. The program is the result of a partnership between the state of Missouri and the Missouri School Boards’ Association.
Feb 12, 2008
In the past, parents were forced to wake up early in order to watch a scrolling message at the bottom of their television screen to find out if school was canceled. If the weather causes school closings this week, parents in the North Callaway School District and the Missouri School for the Deaf will receive a call from their child's principal letting them know.
Jan 22, 2008
A new emergency evacuation plan was put to the test at Hillsboro Primary School Tuesday, as 880 kindergarten, first and second graders were evacuated after a small kitchen fire. The plan included using the SchoolReach system to notify parents.
Jan 15, 2008
When inclement weather forces cancellations or emergencies strike, the Easton School District can call parents and students quickly thanks to a new communication system. The SchoolReach System allows administrators to notify parents in a matter of minutes, eliminating clumsy telephone trees and announcements run by the media.
Jan 15, 2008
If it is necessary to announce a snow day in Jefferson County, many public and private school officials turn to the SchoolReach system to spread the word. The system, from GroupCast Messaging systems, provides a recorded message from a school official to parents for emergency purposes or for a general announcement. The announcement is sent to a list of families simultaneously.
Dec 31, 2007
In December 2007 SchoolReach announced a user story contest to gather feedback from our customers on how they use SchoolReach to impact school-to-parent communications. We had many responses demonstrating a range of uses from unplanned school cancelations to requests for prom volunteers. We hope you find the collection of customer stories below informative on the many many ways that SchoolReach can impact parent and staff communications at your school.
Dec 13, 2007
A new system designed to contact Unit 5 parents and guardians in an emergency worked fairly well in its first real use. Parents generally said they were pleased about being notified about an incident involving what could have been a weapon.
Nov 15, 2007
With 12,500 students, contacting parents on short notice can be a logistical headache for Unit 5 in Normal IL officials, especially in an emergency.
Aug 01, 2007
Since the days of the one-room schoolhouse, parents have been subject to the grind of the rumor mill.
Back then, rumors spread slowly, but with today's close-knit, electronically connected parent communities, rumors spread rapidly and become a source of major frustration for school administrators. With thousands of minor incidents each year in schools across the country, abating gossip is part of a school administrator's job. This can be even more nerve-racking than the actual event.
Jul 14, 2007
School districts like Connetquot adopt websites and phone lines to help control rumors.
Jun 29, 2007
With bomb scares and lockdowns a part of the daily vocabulary in schools across the nation, automated messaging systems are just one step schools are taking to keep parents involved and aware.
Jun 28, 2007
Olympia school officials now can send telephone messages simultaneously to parents within the district.
Mar 01, 2007
GroupCast to be exclusive MSBA partner for notification systems
Jan 18, 2007
Technology allows schools to call thousands of parents simultaneously
Jan 16, 2007
Contacting the parents of Lindbergh School District student in an emergency will soon be made easier by a new call system to be provided by SchoolReach.
The Lindbergh School District has approved SchoolReach, a division of St. Louis-based GroupCast Messaging Systems LLC, to provide a call system in which parents can be alerted quickly about a district emergency or an incident at a single building.
Dec 05, 2006
Parents of St. Louis area and other Midwestern cities woke up to a phone call their kids wanted to receive and the parents didn’t – a school snow closing announcement delivered by SchoolReach, the education service division of St. Louis based GroupCast messaging.
Sep 01, 2006
Computer-generated phone calls that allowed three Meramec Valley School District principals to remind parents of registration day was a hit with parents and administrators.
SchoolReach allows schools to target a specific group of parents or students from the school computer database, record a 30-second message and have the calls made simultaneously.
Sep 29, 2004
Every school has undoubtedly had the need - or thought about it - to contact large groups of parents at the same time, often as quickly as possible. It may just be a late change in a meeting or event schedule, but it could involve a more urgent notification, such an unplanned dismissal due to weather, power outage, or school evacuation.
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