Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google


Missouri School Board Offers SchoolReach for Flu Alerts

  • By Dian Schaffhauser
  • 09/22/09

To prepare for potential outbreaks of Swine flu in its schools, the Missouri School Boards' Association (MSBA) is collaborating with SchoolReach to make a parent notification service available to every school in the state that doesn't already have one in place.

SchoolReach, a St. Louis-based company, provides a web-based service that delivers phone, email, and text messages from schools to parents. For schools that use the free service, messages will be limited to those that involve information about the flu, including H1N1 alerts, policy, directives, school closing, school reopening, or other related matters. The maximum call allowance per school will be 10,000 alerts during the 2009-2010 school year.

"We're delighted to partner with SchoolReach to offer this service, which will enable every school district and private school in the state to contact parents about H1N1 issues immediately," said MSBA Executive Director Carter Ward. "Effective and timely communication will be vital for schools and communities as they cope with a possible flu outbreak in the coming weeks. This service is an important tool in that effort."

Ward said that he knows of no other state that has developed a similar service to help schools communicate quickly with parents regarding the H1N1 flu.

The state's Department of Public Safety will be using the same technology at no cost to alert schools to changing pandemic flu guidelines for school closings.

Recently, the company announced a partnership with the Missouri Parent Teacher Association, in which the PTA will use SchoolReach to deliver notifications to its 425 statewide units and councils.

About the Author

Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.

Featured

  • Businessman using laptop analyzing data and growth graph chart

    Report: AI Budgets in Education Show No Sign of Decline

    The vast majority of education organizations (98%) expect their AI infrastructure budgets to either increase or hold steady over the next year, according to a report from cloud storage provider Wasabi.

  • circuit patterns

    Anthropic Intros Lower-Cost Claude Sonnet 5

    Anthropic has launched Claude Sonnet 5, positioning the model as its most autonomous mid-tier offering to date and a lower-cost alternative to its flagship Opus 4.8 system. The company said the model can plan multi-step tasks, operate tools such as browsers and terminals, and complete agentic work at a level that previously required larger and more expensive models.

  • Neon blue security locks with a single red highlight

    With AI, Cybersecurity Focus Shifts from Finding Flaws to Fixing Them

    For decades, one of cybersecurity's biggest challenges has been finding vulnerabilities before attackers do. A growing number of security professionals now say artificial intelligence is changing that equation, shifting the focus from discovering flaws to fixing them quickly enough to prevent exploitation.

  • Man offers stem word sign on virtual screen

    Immersive Workforce Development Initiative Connects Students with Real-World STEM Careers

    The Center of Science and Industry, a science museum and research center in Central Ohio, has launched The HIVE, a workforce development initiative designed to help students across the country explore real-world career pathways in aerospace, advanced manufacturing, engineering, and emerging technologies.