TELECOM Digest OnLine - Sorted: Boston Schools Get New System to Notify Parents in Emergency

Boston Schools Get New System to Notify Parents in Emergency

Monty Solomon (monty@roscom.com)
Sun, 28 Aug 2005 02:30:13 -0400

By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | August 25, 2005

Out with scrolling words at the bottom of television screens and form
letters crumpled at the bottom of backpacks. The next time Boston
public school principals need to notify parents of an emergency,
they'll pick up a phone, record a message, and in relatively short
order, thousands of parents will be called on their home, work, and
cellphones.

That means spreading the word faster if students are held hostage,
involved in a bus accident, or even if one is missing from school,
officials said yesterday.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino's office announced yesterday that Boston public
schools will start using the automated system -- computer software
combined with phone lines and the Internet -- this fall to more easily
connect with parents.

The school system has received a nearly $250,000 federal grant from
the Mayor's Office of Homeland Security to improve its communication
system in case of terrorist attacks, said Carlo Boccia, the director
of Homeland Security for the Boston metro region.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/08/25/boston_schools_get_new_system_to_notify_parents_in_emergency/

Post Followup Article Use your browser's quoting feature to quote article into reply
Go to Next message: Monty Solomon: "Colleges Struggle to Combat Identity Thieves"
Go to Previous message: Monty Solomon: "Who'll Mind the Mainframes? / Few Students Learning to Run"
TELECOM Digest: Home Page