California School District to Launch Mass Notification App

California School District to Launch Mass Notification App

A major function of the app will send students, parents, and staff push notifications during emergencies.

  • By Jordan Lutke
  • September 24, 2018

Santa Rosa City Schools in Santa Rosa, Calif., has announced the rollout of an app following the school district’s new website, spearheading their efforts to keep up with a quickly-changing digital landscape.

A major function of the app will send students, parents, and staff push notifications during emergencies. Though the October wildfires did not instigate the creation of this app, they “did demonstrate the value of using every tool available to reach our school community,” said Beth Berk, the district’s communication director. The website redesign and app were decided upon at a district board meeting in June 2017.

The new website was designed with a “mobile first” mentality. “You’re more likely to go to our website via phone than you are a computer browser,” Assistant Superintended of Business Services Rick Edson said. This accompanies the website’s other upgrades, including a sleeker, easier to navigate design, and up to date accessibility standards.

Integration with social media is another way the school is using their digital presence to stay in touch with families, including large icons on the redesigned website linking to the district’s Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and even YouTube pages.

In a move towards going paperless, the school has employed the help of a digital service called Peachjar to send digital flyers to parents via email, in both English and Spanish.

The school district launched another app in August, SafeStop, allowing parents and staff real-time access to the district’s nearly 200 bus routes.

The school’s newest app will launch this fall.

About the Author

Jordan Lutke is an intern with 1105 Media.

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