School System Works to Resolve Problem with Automated Calls

If you were one of the parents whose child didn't attend school on the Friday before winter break in Anne Arundel County, you probably received an automated call from the school system regarding your child's attendance. Perhaps you received multiple calls—thanks to a technical problem with the automated system that schools use to communicate with parents.

Anne Arundel County Public Schools (AACPS) notified parents on Thursday that they are still working with the vendor that hosts the automated system to ensure that the problem is resolved.

The message stated:

We are running more tests today in order to be absolutely sure that the problem that occurred on December 21 has been rectified by the vendor before we resume calls to parents. Therefore, we will not be sending absentee calls today or tomorrow. We expect to resume those calls on Monday, January 7, 2013.

Parents of middle and high school students who receive absentee email alerts through ParentConnectXP will continue to receive those alerts.

We apologize again for the issue that resulted in multiple calls on December 21 and for the inconvenience it created. We appreciate your patience as we work through this issue to ensure the problem is not repeated.

Nearly one-third of students in Anne Arundel County didn't attend school on Dec. 21. Patch previously reported that some absences can be attributed to students taking the day off to travel before winter break but there were other factors related to the Newtown tragedy, rumors about , worries about the "end of the world" and power outages.

TELL US: Did you receive multiple calls from the school system about your child's absence? Leave a comment to let us know.