Parents and students in the Knox County Schools have one more method of learning about school closings, activity cancellations, and other news and announcements from the district and their child’s school.
The district recently entered into an agreement with One Call Now to send automated phone messages to telephone numbers associated with each student’s profile. One Call Now immediately begins dialing numbers as soon as a new message is generated. The system is capable of sending hundreds of thousands of calls per hour, ensuring that any emergency messages are delivered immediately.
“We look forward to using the system not only for school cancellations but also to remind parents of upcoming events in the district,” said Frank Shelton, public relations director for the district.
One of the features of the system is notifying parents of their child’s absence.
“A few of our schools have already used One Call or similar system to alert parents their child is absent from school,” said Shelton. “Now each school in the district has that capability. We hope that it will help cut down on absenteeism that parents may be unaware of.”
One Call Now is one of several new communication initiatives in the district.
“In the past few months we have added Facebook and updated school announcements to our website. One Call Now is yet another tool we are adding to help better communicate to all of our stakeholders,” said Shelton.
Parents and students who wish to add or change the telephone number that they receive notifications at may contact the secretary or attendance clerk at their school. School cancellation messages will be sent no earlier than 6am and no messages will be delivered after 9pm.