by Dr. Thomas Jefferson, Superintendent of Schools

Last year I was visiting a first-grade classroom on an afternoon when we had a late school opening due to bad weather. One little girl looked at me and said, “I know you. You’re the man who called my house this morning to say school would be delayed.” Quickly, several other youngsters chimed in that I had called their houses too and asked if I had called everyone in the school. Actually, I had.

Through the Connect-Ed phone messaging system, which we installed last year, the district now has the ability to record messages and send them simultaneously to any or all groups within our student and faculty databases. This technology is similar to what is currently used by many public safety offices in their “reverse 911” calls. One obvious school use has been to notify parents and faculty of school cancellations or delays. Different grade levels have also used the system to target messages that are grade-school-specific, such as a field trip reminder or information about upcoming meetings.

An important but seldom used feature of Connect-Ed is its emergency outreach capacity. While informational messages are typically sent to the primary home phone, we have the capacity to reach up to six numbers per student in the event of an emergency—typically parents’ work and cell phone numbers. This feature would only be used if we needed to cancel school once it was already in session or if a crisis existed that required immediate community notification.

Many thanks go to Harvard realtors, Sotheby’s (formerly Turner Pieters & Hazel), and Harvard Realty for their sponsorship of this program. Their generous donations helped get the program off the ground and continue to provide ongoing support. This year, the second year of using Connect-Ed, the Harvard PTA has funded the lion’s share of the cost.

Another communication method that has been greatly expanded is the district website, www.psharvard.org. A team of staff and students, including community member Liz Woods and teacher Martha Brooks, helped revamp the site, making it more user-friendly and information-rich. Two features that people have found valuable are the parent and community link on the home page and the daily bulletin, which is housed on the Bromfield site. The daily bulletin updates families on the myriad activities going on at Bromfield, including sports, music, club, and departmental information. A separate parent section is often included as well. Links on the home page include transportation, special services, superintendent/central office, parents and community, athletics, school committee, and one for each school. Included in those pages are items ranging from bus routes and calendars to curriculum documents and email contacts. The School Committee is currently in the process of reviewing its entire policy book and making it available on ine for the community. We invite residents to visit our site and welcome your feedback as to how we might improve it.