AlertNow - Solutions

customer support Targeted, timely communication from schools and districts is the key to engaging parents, encouraging students and demonstrating community leadership. AlertNow makes communicating simple, efficient and cost-effective. Designed specifically for K-12 educators and administrators, AlertNow helps schools reach thousands of parents, students and staff with personal, targeted messages – in minutes.

Student Achievement

Districts today have fewer resources – and significantly greater demands. New education standards require schools to deliver continuous gains in student achievement, yet shrinking budgets force educators to do more with less. Streamlined, targeted communication can help boost student achievement. With AlertNow messages, districts can engage parents and students in the educational process and create a foundation for ongoing gains in student performance.

Parental Involvement

Regular, targeted communication is beneficial to keeping parents engaged and involved. The AlertNow Access parent portal provides schools and districts with a reliable channel for speaking directly to parents. With Access, parents are able to manage and maintain all school outreach and messages. Parents can update contact information, set message delivery and language preferences and play-back missed calls.

As part of Blackboard, AlertNow also offers the Blackboard Connect for Teachers tool for teacher-to-parent communication. With Blackboard Connect for Teachers, classroom instructors can communicate one-on-one with every parent – regardless of the language they speak at home. More than a hundred comments, pre-recorded in 21 languages, address assignments and exams, classroom conduct, and work habits to help keep parents informed of what happens in the classroom.

Leadership

TTo ensure continued community support, district leaders must maintain control of public outreach, rather than relying on the media to deliver key messages. Consistent and clear district communication helps foster community relationships, establish accountability and reinforce the district’s goals for student achievement among key stakeholders.

With AlertNow, administrators can deliver time-sensitive messages about events as they happen and establish themselves as the first and primary source of information about their district.

Safety and Security

Student welfare is critical during an urgent situation. Once safety has been established, districts also need to reassure the community with timely information. With AlertNow, administrators can keep parents, students, staff and the entire community informed, alert and aware, reaching thousands in minutes with critical information.

Today’s communication methods allow for almost instantaneous dissemination of information, from fact to fiction and everything in between. AlertNow can help districts to quickly confront media spin by getting the message out first. During an emergency—a gas leak on campus, impending hurricane, or bomb threat—it’s critical to be the first to reach parents, staff, and the community with the right information.

Funding

In the midst of budget shortfalls, it is difficult to approve funding for anything new, but many districts have found AlertNow to deliver significant and tangible cost savings and revenue enhancement. AlertNow’s attendance tools can result in significant increases in funding based on average daily attendance. Hundreds of schools and districts have also leveraged AlertNow to collect overdue library fees and unpaid cafeteria balances.

AlertNow has also proven to be a quick way to reduce costs associated with traditional communications methods like mass mailings or telephone outreach campaigns. Messages can be delivered more promptly and reach intended recipients regardless of where they happen to be located. School districts enjoy increased response rates compared to traditional outreach methods, and communities will appreciate the environmental benefits associated with electronic communications.