Learn how d

1. Effective K-12
Communication
in Action
ADDRESSING KEY CHALLENGES FACED BY
TODAY’S DISTRICT LEADERS

2. 2
Presenters
Blackboard Connect
Jennie Breister
K-12 Product Marketing Manager
jennie.breister@blackboard.com
Brandywine Heights Area School District
Ross McGovern Director of Instructional Technology and
Food Services ross@bhasd.org

3. 3
Key District Challenges
Teacher accountability,
prof. dev. & evaluation
Meet needs of diverse
learners, all levels, in and
out of classroom
Maintain safe and secure
schools with limited
resources
Increase parental
involvement as
cornerstone of student
success
Improve student achievement
& graduation rate
(despite budget crisis, high stakes testing &
standards assessments)

4. 4
• Enhancing student achievement with greater parental
involvement.
• Keeping your community safer and more secure.
• Improving attendance and enforcing accountability.
• Maintaining funding to better serve students, staff
and families.
• Strengthening support from the local community.
Respond to challenges by:

5. 5
In just a few clicks Send a notification to
your community
And connect with
confidence
!
VIA
SMS . Phone . Email . Social
Media . RSS . TTY . CAP .
Fax . Pager . Desktop Alerts
REACH
Everyone .
Targeted Groups .
Geo Regions
USING
Internet .
Dial-in Card .
Smartphone
Improving District Communications
Using targeted notification services

6. 6
RETURN ON INVESTMENT
Recouped nine times the amount
invested in Bb Connect with .75%
improved attendance rate and
$450K additional ADA funding
$18,600 yearly savings in cafeteria
balance collection costs (labor and
mailing)
Student achievement outcomes equivalent to $1000 in pupil
spending, just by parents staying involved in studies & activities
70% reduction in unexcused
absences by implementing daily
attendance calls at all middle and
high schools
AlertNow K-12 district
Federal Way Pubic Schools
Cornell/UNH study
La Mesa-Spring Valley SD
Cut paper and printing costs by $2880
per year for every three mailings to 1000
families replaced by Bb Connect
messages
Bb Connect client survey

7. 7
7
Director of Instructional Technology
and Food Services
Former Transportation Director, Food Service
Director
Has continually maintained two or more
departments over the course of his career at the
district
Ross McGovern

8. 8
• Located ten miles west of Allentown, PA
• Three campuses, 1,750 K-12 students
• 275 professional and support staff
• Population 99% Anglo-Germanic
• Rural area, mostly farmland, low industry

9. 9
Recent surveys show that 90% of our
households have DSL or cable/internet
connectivity.
BHASD has been rolling out a paperless
strategy for the past six years.
E-mail and the district website account
for more than 50% of our
communications
BHASD logo Leveraging technology
to improve district wide
communication:

10. 10
Key Challenge: Parent Involvement
Challenge:
How to effectively and efficiently
notify parents of upcoming events to
keep them informed and engaged in
their child’s education.
Communication solutions:
Principals use Bb Connect to
communicate weekly with parents
concerning building-level events.
District news delivered via monthly
“Letter from the Superintendent”
“The emails are
convenient and I can
refer back to them at
anytime.”
-- Parent

11. 11
Key Challenge: Attendance
Challenge:
Although a relatively small district,
we were still wasting valuable
support staff time making individual
attendance calls.
Communication solution:
Each campus has an attendance
secretary. The instructors load their
attendance into our SIS which is then
picked up by the secretary. Instead of
two hours on the phone, the task is
completed in as little as fifteen minutes.
“With budget cuts and
reduced staff resources,
every hour we can save
counts, freeing us up to
be more available for our
students & parents.”
-- Principal, Brandywine Heights
Elementary School

12. 12
Key Challenge: Cost controls
Challenge:
As with attendance, a support staff
member spent hours making
individual phone calls to chase
pennies for over-due library books.
Communication solution:
The task can now be completed in as
little as fifteen minutes each day by the
library aide on each campus, saving
thousands of dollars each year in staff
hours district wide.
“Time IS money.”
- Ross McGovern

13. 13
Key Challenge: Safety & Security
Challenge:
A recent train crash that occurred
right through the center of town (and
in proximity to all three campuses)
required immediate communication
with families that students and staff
were safe and secure.
Communication solution:
With Blackboard Connect in place,
principals were able to simultaneously
inform parents that their children were
safe within ten minutes of the incident.
“It could have been a
complete disaster fielding
calls from hundreds of
worried parents. The system
works, period.”
-- Principal, Brandywine Heights
High School

14. 14
Questions?
Brandywine Heights Area School District
Ross McGovern Director of Instructional Technology and
Food Services ross@bhasd.org

15. 15
Our Latest Technology
Smartphone App and
Dial-In Card:
Send messages
from anywhere

16. Evolving K12 Technology Needs