BEL AIR, Md. (AP) - AP Video
Parents in Harford County don't have to turn on the radio this winter to see if the latest snowstorm has closed schools.
A new service being used by school officials automatically calls students' homes and plays a prerecorded message, much like the robo-calls used by political campaigns and telemarketers.
While there has only been one countywide snow closing so far this school year, officials say they've quickly discovered other uses for the Internet-based system, including reminders of school events and scheduled early closings.
School officials said they even used the system to alert parents of about 4,000 students who had not received newly required immunizations. Without the vaccinations, the children wouldn't be allowed into school, so 'we had all of the schools pull their data of those who were not in compliance and we send out a call,' said Teri Kranefeld, a school system spokeswoman.
The homes of absent students are also automatically dialed -- at random times so a skipping student can't easily intercept the call. The system inserts the student's name into a prerecorded message, saving administrators time each day.
Fliers with reminders for parent-child events or other advisories don't have to be sent home with students any more, and messages can be recorded in various languages with each home receiving the appropriate one.
Jennifer Handlin, of Fallston, has a daughter, Kay-Lee, in sixth grade and a son, Patrick, in kindergarten. She said the system has helped her keep track of their schedules.
'All parents now, especially me, have a very busy schedule. So, it's very nice to actually receive calls two, three days in advance reminding me that my child will be coming home early from school,' Handlin said.
The school system contracted with Raleigh, N.C.-based Saf-T-Net, one of three main companies in the field, to use its AlertNow Rapid Communication Service.
Saf-T-Net President Robert Bruce said the company has contracts with 700 school districts covering about 3,000 buildings and 2 million students, and the company's Web site says its customers include school systems in Maryland, Connecticut, North Carolina, Ohio, South Carolina and Virginia.
The company is one of three big players in the industry, which has plenty of room for growth -- there are 60 million students in grades K-12, Bruce said.
The phone-calling service, which costs $80,000 a year, is accessed through a Web page onto which the phone numbers -- and details such as school name and a student's home language -- are loaded along with the messages.
Even school bus drivers have their own messages. 'Hi, this is Norm,' the school system's transportation manager says in one message to the bus drivers. 'There will be a two-hour early dismissal today.'
Copyright 2006 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.