St. Michael-Albertville Schools Improves Emergency Communication, Parent Outreach and Response with Implementation of Connect-ED® Service

Alert and Notification Communication System Built Specifically for K-12 Education Allows School Leaders to Reach Thousands of Parents in Minutes

Over the summer, St. Michael-Albertville Schools will implement the Connect-ED communication service by Blackboard Connect Inc. (formerly the NTI Group, Inc.) to provide STMA leaders with the ability to reach all parents, faculty and staff with time-sensitive information within minutes.

“Today we are forced to prepare for emergency situations that years ago we never could have anticipated happening,” said Dr. Marcia Ziegler, Superintendent. “We recognize the important role that immediate communication plays in safety as well as with ongoing parent outreach initiatives and have selected Connect-ED because of its successful track record and multi-modal capabilities that will allow us to keep parents and staff informed.”

The Connect-ED service enables STMA leaders to schedule, send, and track personalized voice messages at up to six phone numbers and two e-mail addresses per person. In all, the multi-modal service helps officials reach out to parents and staff via:

• Voice messages to home phones, work phones, cell phones, and even e-mails
• Text messages to cell phones, PDAs and other text-based devices
• Written messages to e-mail accounts
• Messages to TTY/TDD receiving devices for the hearing impaired

“It’s crucial that we are able to notify parents immediately in emergency situations because up-to-date communication helps minimize the spread of misinformation, restore order and provide direction,” Dr. Ziegler said.

The system can be used to inform parents and staff members of school closures and contingency plans due to inclement weather, issues arising from pandemics, or other late-breaking developments. The Connect-ED service has been successfully used for communication by schools across the country during events such as Hurricane Katrina, Hurricane Ernesto, school shootings, and to help locate missing children. It is also an effective way to keep parents informed about important events in their child’s education.

STMA will be testing the Connect-ED service in August. This test will also allow the district to test the data given to the school by the parents. If you are a community member who erroneously receives a call, please contact the STMA Helpdesk at 763-497-6500, ext 4357 and your number will be removed from the service immediately.

More information about the Connect-ED service is available online at www.blackboardconnect.com.