Beginning this winter, parents of students in Wheeling Township Elementary School District 21 will get a phone call or e-mail when a snow day has been called.
On Thursday, school board members approved an agreement to purchase an emergency notification system that officials hope will be in place by the end of winter break, Jan. 3.
It’s an idea that has been discussed by members of the district’s finance and communications sub-committees for at least five years, but costs were deemed to be too high at the time.
Now the price is right and the technology has improved, said Jason Klein, the district’s director of technology.
The system, SchoolMessenger, is widely used by other districts in the area, including Wheeling Township High School District 214, Klein said.
The agreement with Reliance Communications of Santa Cruz, Calif. will cost $40,000 for a three-year period.
That’s significantly less than the $20,000 annual cost estimated by the district.
It boils down to $1.90 per student per year.
The notification system allows integration with the district’s Power School information system, which already has emergency phone numbers of families. The district has not collected e-mail addresses in the past, but now will, Klein said.
It also allows the district to send messages in more than one language. To start, the district is planning to send messages in English, Spanish, Russian and Polish a list that can be expanded soon, Klein said.
Parents already receive district information both written and spoken in the language of their choice, Klein said.
The emergency system doesn’t auto-translate, which Klein said he prefers, so there’s no improper translation.
Instead, the district’s bilingual teachers will pre-record the messages for use when needed.
The system also allows for certain groups to receive messages. For example, only members of the track team would receive a message that practice has been canceled, Klein said.
Emergency school closings will still be posted to the district web site, along with notifications on television and radio.
The district won’t send text messages, since that could cost the phone user, Klein said.
“It’s an absolute vital service that we need for our community,” said board member Arlen Gould.
