We are to the point of implementation with School Messenger. We are dealing with two companies; the product is School Messenger, and the Skylert portion is tied to Skyward. Guidelines/criteria will be established regarding use of the system. The District Communications Team has developed a communications protocol for District-wide email; the Communications Team will be a great starting point. Principals serve as part of this team, as well as representatives from every employee group and building.
A decision will also need to be made regarding attendance dialing. Secondary schools currently use an automated system, however, elementary schools continue to do individual phone calling. Utilizing attendance dialing would free up secretarial time at the elementary buildings.
Discussion was held regarding a timeline for implementation of the system. It was suggested that a plan to have the system up and running by April would allow ample time to develop guidelines/criteria for use regarding what types of items/messages will be communicated.
Next Steps/Key Messages: The January Communications Team meeting will be held to identify the necessary talking point that will be used with staff and parents to explain the system; we will use the protocol developed for District-wide emails along with other suggested criteria. The Communications Team will work on developing an overall protocol regarding the use of instant messaging.
I will pilot the system with district-wide issues, weather closing announcements, etc. Staff will be notified first via e-mail, followed by instant messaging to parents.
