On Friday November 16th we completed our first full test of the AlertNow Emergency Notification System. Not long ago, emergency communications regarding events like weather-induced early dismissals were passed down the lane via phone chains, email blasts and sneaker networks. Fast forward to today: From one web-based screen, district administrators can launch tens of thousands of simultaneous emergency message calls in a matter of minutes. While overall the first test was very successful we did have a flurry of frenzied calls from those individuals who missed the parent letter warning of the planned test call.
District staff can help improve the accuracy of the AlerNow system. Please encourage your students and parents to notify the school office when phone or address information changes. Also, because the AlertNow System utilizes phone numbers from our master human resource software system, please remember to contact the district business office when your personal contact information changes.
We still have some work to do in terms of adding additional numbers to the call list. For example, in the future we would like to include an expanded set of student contact cell numbers. In spite of some necessary fine-tuning and minor bug squashing, AlertNow is a powerful system and will help Penn Manor stay in contact with the community during times when information must flow quickly.