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New Hanover County Schools NHCS is launching a free mobile app for district schools on Aug. 24 – the first day back to class – to help keep parents, students, teachers and staff better connected.
Produced by The Education App, LLC, the new app will come at no cost to the school system, thanks to the purchase of ad space by area sponsors that will appear on the mobile sites.
“This will be one more way we can communicate with parents, students and all of our other stakeholders,” Superintendent Dr. Tim Markley said. “For example, when we have to cancel or delay school for inclement weather, parents will receive a push notification on their smart phones. We will still use all of the other information tools we have, but we see this as a game changer in terms of communication.”
Each of the 43 schools will have its own app that contains, among other items of interest, all of the information currently found on individual school websites. The app will also include teachers’ websites, assignments, brochures, sports schedules and student forms, as well as information about upcoming events.
The “DocuSign” feature will allow parents to view a document via their phone, sign it and send it right back to the school with their signature.
“Smart phones and tablet devices are everywhere, and NHCS wants to enable our parents, staff and students to connect with the district at their convenience,” district spokeswoman Valita Quattlebaum said. “We know this new resource will help in terms of transparency and parent engagement.”
District staff have already completed the app for Hoggard High School and are working to load apps for the remaining 42 schools in the coming weeks, according to Quattlebaum.
Once all schools have been uploaded, apps will be available for download through a search in the Apple App Store or Google Play.
