School Alerts
By Lee Simonson

School alerts are used to communicate with parents, students and school district or college constituents by phone or text. School districts are increasingly turning to phone alerts to communicate notifications to parents and other groups. These services are used get important school announcements out quickly for school closings, meeting notices and emergencies. Very simply, these alerts are recorded voice messages (i.e. from the superintendent or principal) that are broadcast via phone to hundreds or thousands of contacts simultaneously.

With fewer parents having the ability to stay at home to be involved and/or volunteer in the schools, this has become an important tool to help keep parents informed and involved with their childrens' activities.

School alert calls and automated phone blast services can be obtained from a number of outsourced service providers. In addition, hardware and software is also available for those districts looking for an inhouse solution. Going inhouse has its advantages but start up costs can be very expensive, not to mention ongoing maintenance contracts. Most districts outsource.

When shopping for a provider, school district officials need to keep in mind that pricing should only be one of many factors they consider since pricing alone can be very misleading regarding the service you will actually receive.

As you consider various school alert services, you will find that there are fixed priced models and variable price models. In a fixed price model, you will pay a flat rate per year or a flat rate per student. This type of service is generally fixed in service as well, meaning that the service is not customizable to your needs. Instead, you essentially adapt to the parameters that are already in place by the service provider. On the other hand, in a variable priced model, you will generally find that the solution is customizable to what you want or need. It's more of an individualized service and the service provider will take a more consultative approach to offer a proposal that meets your particular needs. Moreover, you are only billed for what you use, when you use it. You never run the risk of overpaying.

As school alerts expand beyond the basic "school closing" messages, the customization of your service becomes increasingly more important. School officials have a limited amount of time to devote to "messaging," so the solution needs to address that issue.

There are several more things you need to have on your checklist to make a proper comparison and an informed decision. Here are a few:

- Can you "do it yourself" and launch the alerts yourself at any time? - Is the web interface user friendly and easy to navigate? - Can the system be used by multiple users within the district to send different messages? (i.e. closings, absences, classroom events) - How easy is it to do a voice recording? - Do you need the option of having text submitted and then converted to speech? - Is there a limit on your message length? - Can you always reach a customer service representative to help you? - Is there an extra charge for data and list management? - Does the provider have enough capacity to send all your messages in a timely manner? - Are multilingual services provided? - Does the provider offer other services as well, such as texting? (If so, you may be able to bundle services for better pricing.)

Another important issue that school districts must address is the compilation and maintenance of their phone lists. Does the district have a database of phone number of parents, employees and other important contacts? Does the district have the parents' cell phone numbers? Is there one person responsible for keeping the lists up to date? Let's face it, the lists are the foundation of any successful messaging program. Without them, districts will be unable to implement any school alert project. There is also a compliance issue. Will there be one person designated as a compliance officer to insure that the system is being used as it was intended? Will that compliance officer be required to listen to each message before it is sent out?

While school districts are pressured to reduce costs in order to meet budget needs, it's prudent for district purchasers to investigate their options thoroughly. The old adage "You get what you paid for" definitely applies.

You can get more detailed information about different school alerts service options here:
http://www.orangepoint.net/schoolalerts.html

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