Barren County School District has adopted the One Call Now/SchoolPointe service bundle. When purchased as a bundle, the two services are eligible for E-Rate discounts.
The Schools and Libraries Program (of the Universal Service Fund), also known as E-Rate, provides discounts to help U.S. schools and libraries purchase affordable telecommunications.
Before making the switch, Barren County’s ten-school, 5,000-student district relied on various methods of communication. They sent email reminders and hired a webmaster to create school websites. But the sites were confusing and difficult to use.
“It was very challenging,” said Melissa Moss, Instructional Technology Specialist, Barren County Schools. “Things were so complicated that sometimes important communication tasks just didn’t get done.”
Several years ago, Barren County began using One Call Now for routine and emergency notifications. Later, they signed on with SchoolPointe for school website hosting. In 2013, the district requested the One Call Now/SchoolPointe bundle.
The district now uses One Call Now for both district-wide and school-specific calls and to record attendance. Many clubs and classes use the service to reach small groups of students. Using SchoolPointe, teachers are posting agendas, class expectations, assignments, and links to educational resources.
Moss estimates that the time her team spends on communication has been cut in half, which translates to additional savings for the District. “Communications with the community, the students, and the faculty are better than ever,” Moss said.
