'School Messenger' System Improves District Emergency Notifications

On Tuesday, September 28, a fender-bender gummed up traffic on Boyden Avenue near Seth Boyden School—right about the time that students would be dismissed from school.

Within minutes after the accident, parents of Seth Boyden students were receiving a message from Principal Mark Quiles on their home phones and cell phones and in their email in-boxes. Quiles explained that the accident was not serious, but that traffic would be congested around the school and parents should figure that into their travel time if they were picking up children.

Besides being a pretty super administrator, how was Quiles able to get the information out so quickly?

He was using a new emergency notification system called School Messenger that has just been introduced by the South Orange-Maplewood School District, explained district Chief Information Officer Paul Roth.

The system replaces the old "Call-em-All" system that charged the district per call and necessitated a dialer for each school (that's 10 schools throughout the district). "We had 10 systems with hardware and software, a monthly bill and then a charge per call," said Roth.

With the new system, the district can send out voice and email messages—and soon text messages. There is a flat fee and no equipment. "We won't get charged per call," enthused Roth. "How can you lose?"

Additionally, users can access the system through a computer, laptop or cell phone—they just need their pass codes. "If the power goes down, the system still works," explained Roth. "You can pick up a cellphone and use it." Within 15 minutes, the system can contact more than 6,000 guardians of district students.

"This was a big push of the district goals," added Roth. "Communcations was flagged on our community survey."

All school district principals were trained on the system and employed it to remind parents about back-to-school nights. The district is now working on training support and administrative staff. Emergency contact information has already been sorted by grade and building (Quiles selected the Seth Boyden list). Roth is now working on breaking down the contact information by bus routes and classrooms. School Messenger has also been integrated with the soon-to-debut PowerSchool parent portal.

Quiles' notification about the fender-bender was the first use of the School Messenger system for an actual emergency.

"That's the whole purpose of having it," said Roth.

Seth Boyden parents would agree. The response to Quiles' timely notice on the Seth Boyden Strawberry Fields message board was swift and glowing.

"I was the car in front of the car who got hit yesterday," wrote Seth Boyden parent Joanna Perlman. "By the time I parked my car and walked toward the school, Mr. Quiles was on the scene, walkie-talkie in hand. By the time I got my kids and got back to the car, there was a message on my cell phone about the incident and traffic blockage. There was also a message on my home phone and a notifying e-mail. It is so comforting to know that our fearless leader is proactive and on top of things and that every measure was taken to keep us informed. Thank you!"