Notification system to keep students, parents informed

May 1, 2004 12:00 PM

The new Raleigh Latin High School in North Carolina will implement a Web-based notification service from Honeywell Building Solutions, Minneapolis, that allows the school to deliver both emergency notification and daily messages to parents.

Administrators of the non-denominational private high school, which is expected to open in North Raleigh this fall, plan to integrate Honeywell Instant Alert into the school's emergency preparedness plan and use the service to communicate quickly and effectively with parents.

“Communicating with parents during a time of emergency is always a challenge,” says Dave Caccamo, headmaster of Raleigh Latin High School. “We will be prepared to deliver a single, clear message to parents or guardians within minutes — rather than hours — of a school emergency.”

When an event during the school day forces an early dismissal or evacuation, the school's designated administrator will initiate an alert via a Web interface or by phone and instantaneously broadcast a message to any and all contact points that parents or guardians provide, including work and home phones, cell phones, pagers, e-mail or PDAs. Parents and guardians enter and update their contact information on the Internet and specify how they prefer to be reached. Multiple points of contact can be designated based on the nature of the communication.

“The unique advantage of the system is that it is as accessible for everyday communications as it is for emergency communications,” Caccamo says. “We plan to leverage the service to communicate with parents about anything from soccer practice being cancelled to issuing reminders about parent meetings.”

The service will be funded out of the school's general operating budget.

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