By MARK NEWMAN Courier staff writer
October 19, 2007 11:11 pm
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DES MOINES — This winter, a heavy snow may prompt parents to check their e-mail even before they turn on the television.
That’s because the state’s new Iowa School Alerts program lets superintendents log into a secure web site, create a message and instantly send it to everyone who has signed up to receive notices.
Iowa School Alerts was developed by the Iowa Department of Administrative Services (DAS).
“Many of us are parents and we were familiar with having to stick by the TV or radio when the weather was bad, to see if our child’s school was going to close,” said Darrell Fremont, information technology project manager at DAS. “When you’re at work, it’s harder because then you have to keep checking Web sites, or find someone with a radio, or you may not even realize the weather’s bad enough to cancel classes.”
In Albia, Superintendent Kevin Crall has already taken the technological plunge.
“I’m really excited about it,” Crall said. “And it’s free, which helped.”
Crall had received a brochure from the state.
“Our rational is anytime we get a chance to communicate with our parents, we’re going to jump on that,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of working parents who would appreciate that service.”
Because there’s been no threat of bad weather yet, Crall said he still has time to work out the specifics of using the system. And for now, at least, he plans to use it only as a supplement to his current methods of alerting the district.
Deb Madison-Levi, the spokesperson for Iowa DAS, did say the state has not used the system yet during a snow day. Still, this is only the first year it’s been offered.
“I think everyone will do it once it gets off the ground,” Crall said.
Or they’ll at least be looking into it.
In Ottumwa, Superintendent Jon Sheldahl wants to review the mechanics of the program before committing to participation.
But he said if it can help families, he feels an obligation to check it out.
“Anything we can do to be a better service provider, we would look at very seriously,” Sheldahl said.
While it may be useful for canceling classes before school, Crall said it could be more useful once school has started.
“I see this as working really well with the early outs; if we decide to cancel for some reason at 10 o’clock, this service will help alert parents who are at their work stations,” he said.
Notifications can be sent to parent’s e-mail in box or to an e-mail-enabled cell phone.
Letting parents know via e-mail could resolve some current problems.
“It’s just the whole flurry of schools calling in to all these media outlets. And on the other side, the media outlets with their phone lines jammed up,” said Madison-Levi.
Sometimes, it’s parents calling in to find out if school is canceled — meaning superintendents may not be able to get through to actually cancel school.
But, Madison-Levi stressed, it’s just a supplemental way to get information.
“It’s not meant to replace anything already in place,” said Madison-Levi, “[but] a lot of people have called to sign up for it.”
For information on the program, go to https://schoolalerts.iowa.gov.
Mark Newman can be reached at 683-5358 or by e-mail at mgnewman@mchsi.com.
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