Press Release

September 28, 2005

Klein ISD Using Web-based Alert System

By KIM HUGHES
Chronicle Correspondent

With more than 39,000 students and 35 schools making up Klein ISD, it would take days to call every parent in the district to notify them of anything from a true emergency to something as simple as TAKS test reminders. With that in mind, the district budgeted $78,000 in its 2004 bond plan to purchase an automated call-out system, with the intention to have one in place for 2006.

However, the district got a boost recently when Techradium, based out of Sugar Land, offered the district a program called IRIS, Immediate Response Information System, for no charge during the 2005-2006 school year.

"We got funds through grants and private sponsorship, and are able to offer IRIS for the 2005-2006 school year to any districts in the Houston area who want to try it," said Robert Tabak, vice-president of sales at Techradium. "There is no software or hardware involved; it's a Web-based notification tool that can make several thousand calls within 30 seconds, up to 50,000 contacts in under 30 minutes."

Parents within the district have the option of filling out a registration form, providing up to three phone numbers and an e-mail address. When IRIS tries to reach parents, it won't stop calling until it actually gets a human-voice or until your e-mail has been opened. It can also send text messages to a cell phone.

"Some parents would be concerned that anyone on campus can send messages, constantly putting messages out," said Judy Rimato, executive director of facilities at Klein ISD. "But that's not how we see this working. We are training two or three people from each campus on this, in most cases, including the principal."

The system was designed after the events of 9-11 in response to a demand for more efficient ways to notify thousands of people in case of emergency, within a very short time frame.

Seeing a use for it in school districts, the system can also be used in non-emergency situations, such as reminding parents of TAKS tests or bus scheduling changes.

"For example, when we found mold in four of our schools, we could have messaged all faculty at those four schools, and all parents whose children went to those schools," Rimato said. "To tell them what we were going to do, when we were having meetings and such."

The system operates on the same levels of alert the Department of Homeland Security uses, Tabak said, and when necessary informs emergency services of situations along with parents.

"A red alert would be severe, like a fire or bomb threat," Tabak said. "Orange is high alert, where an evacuation might be necessary. Yellow is elevated, such as a school closure or suspicious character warning.

"Blue is guarded alert, maybe a reminder on something, or a weather or traffic advisory," he said. "Green is a low-alert, for general announcements. We don't want this system to be intrusive, it's a communications tool."

Spring resident Felicia Davis has two daughters at Hildebrandt Intermediate, and one daughter at Klein Oak High School.

She said she definitely sees the value in IRIS.

"I like the idea of them being able to contact me if something goes wrong," Davis said. "Like the time there was a bomb scare at Klein Oak, and the parents were all in an uproar. It's a great way to say 'OK, yes we did have a bomb scare, but it's all fine, don't worry, we evacuated the school for 30 minutes, it's all clear, don't worry.' Or, 'Yes, come and get your kids immediately.' "

Davis, as president of Hildebrandt's PTO, said she also appreciates the possibility of reaching parents in some other way besides sending a note home from school with the kids.

"I have found letters sent home from the PTO at the bottom of my kids' backpacks, three days after the fact," Davis said. "A letter I personally made, and I still didn't even get it. Sometimes parents don't get the letters that are sent home, it's just the way it is."