PELL CITY — Duran North Junior High School history teacher Roy Bliss said it normally took the entire school year to contact the parents of 150 students.But that’s not the case anymore.
“Here we are,” Bliss said standing outside his classroom. “We’re not even though September, and we have 659 contacts already — and most of those contacts were positive.”
Bliss was able to contact so many parents through the new TeleParent Communication System, which is getting high marks by local educators.
“My personal goal is 2,000 parent contacts with TeleParent,” Bliss said.
He said last week he notified parents twice about a test he was giving Monday to students, once on Wednesday and again on Friday.
“It generates positive interest,” Bliss said. “It’s definitely a great tool.”
Duran North Junior High School Principal Tony Dowdy said he learned of the TeleParent Communication System last fall when he was attending the National Middle School Association Conference.
“They had this product available, and we were looking for a tool to increase the communication between the parents and the school,” Dowdy said.
He said Duran North Junior High School teachers gave it a trial run the last three months of school last year.
“I loved it,” Dowdy said. “I was going to find a way to continue the product here.”
The junior high is continuing to use the communication system, and now other Pell City schools may incorporate the new TeleParent Communication System.
“I introduced it to the other principals and showed them what it could do,” Dowdy said.
The communication system sparked interest among other principals, and now teachers from every school may start making more parent contacts through the TeleParent Communication System.
“It doesn’t replace the personal phone call,” Dowdy said.
But he said not only teachers like the system, parents do, too.
He said the system helps keep parents informed about what’s going on at their child’s school and in their classroom.
“It’s user-friendly,” Dowdy said. “It was developed by teachers. It’s very quick and easy to use.”
He said the TeleParent Communication System is capable of making 4,500 calls within five minutes, and the system does not tie up school phone lines.
Dowdy said teachers who have Internet access at home can log onto the TeleParent Communication System site and send messages to parents from home.
“Our teachers are using it,” Dowdy said.
Through the TeleParent Communication System, teachers can inform parents about upcoming tests, homework and behavior issues, and even set up conferences between the teacher and parent.
“It’s not all bad messages,” Dowdy said. “Good messages can be sent home, too.”
He said the new communication system is also capable of sending out emergency messages to parents, as well as conducting online surveys to see how parents feel about certain education or school topics.
“It’s a great product,” Dowdy said.
The Pell City school board is expected to vote on whether to have the TeleParent Communication System used systemwide at its Oct. 18 board meeting.
The communication system costs about $3.75 per student, per year, or a total price tag for the school system of $15,701.
