Free Parent Teacher Calendar App helps schools connect with their communities

Hundreds of schools around New Zealand are taking advantage of an app that makes it simple, and free, to connect with parents and caregivers.

Launched in 2012, more than 300 schools around the country now use the Parent Teacher Calendar App, free for schools and parents, as a way to share important information with their communities.
A New Zealand first, the Parent Teacher Calendar App can be used on any smartphone and allows parents to stay up to date with school news, events and classroom activities.

Parents can also report absences to the school via the app, download school newsletters, and receive instant messaging push notifications for cancellations and emergency situations, including a school lockdown.

Parent Teacher Calendar App managing director Sharlene Barnes was driven to develop the app after seeing how time consuming it was for teaching and office staff to communicate school news to the community in a relevant and timely way.
“Schools always work really hard at communicating with their community, to make sure everyone knows exactly what is happening and when,” Sharlene says.

“Email is a traditional way to communicate with parents and distributing newsletters via email or print, but all of those activities can take time, and if there is an urgent need to share an update to an event date, such as a wet weather cancellation, often the school is unsure if the parent receives the news.

“We thought how much easier it would be if the school had a key source of important dates and information, that was easily accessible on something we all use every day – our smartphones.

“In today’s busier-than-ever-world, many parents and caregivers juggle multiple roles at work and with family, or just as busy parents, and as we do this, smartphones become the way we keep abreast of important information. It made sense to develop an app to make it easier for everyone and importantly, that did not incur additional cost to the school.”

Interest in the app continues to flow in from schools around the country as they learn of its usefulness and benefits for the school budget.

“Any school from preschool to secondary, regardless of size can use the Parent Teacher Calendar App, it works perfectly in every situation,” she says.

Sharlene says revenue from the app is derived from advertising, which generally is secured from businesses in the local school’s community. This model allows the app to be provided free to schools.
“Schools and parents like the app for its usefulness and the fact there is no cost attached, and local businesses support it because they have an opportunity to promote their services and products to the local community in a widely-used format.”

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