DOE Launches Service For Parents
On the first day of the new school year, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Schools Chancellor Dennis Walcott announced last Thursday, Sept. 6, a new mobile texting program that will send school-related information directly to parents and legal guardians of public school students.
As announced, the new program will transmit details such as calendar updates, reminders and tips on how to access school resources. Public school parents and family members can enroll by texting “nycschools” to 877-877 to receive text messages throughout the school year.
Joining Bloomberg and Walcott in announcing the new program was Council of School Supervisors and Administrators President Ernest Logan.
“The new school year is a new opportunity to build on the important progress we have made over the last several years, and working with schools, students and their families, we will do better this year than ever before,” said Bloomberg. “That work starts by doing more to make sure parents have the information they need to help their children succeed- even when they are on the go. That’s why we’ve launched a new texting tool to keep them up to date. We expect success because we know our students can achieve it, and we are making investments to help fulfill their potential.”
“By every measure, New York City’s students have made incredible gains, and we’re going to push even harder to prepare more students to graduate ready for college or their careers,” added Walcott.
The new mobile texting program is the latest tool the Department of Education has developed to deliver information about public schools and programming to parents and families.
According to the 2010 and 2011 annual parent School Survey, receiving information through electronic communication is the first choice of parents across age-groups, boroughs, income-levels and ethnicity.
The mobile updates will include the issues parents who responded to the School Survey indicated as priority: the 2012-2013 school calendar; information on how to enroll in school programs; breakfast and lunch menus; and tips on how to log onto ARIS Parent Link-a web resource with student attendance, test score and grade data.
