Remind is excited to celebrate our school partners and the impact they’ve had implementing Remind on a school or district-wide level. In this series, we’ll share more about their experiences and the results they’ve achieved.
Immediately after joining Groton Elementary School as principal, Kent Maslin's goal was to improve school communication. Why? Groton's strategy relied on take-home folders, email, and a school notification system, which wasn't efficient. It was especially frustrating in urgent situations, like snow days, when it took over an hour for the school notification system to autodial parent phone numbers. “Parents are trying to move on with their day,” Kent says. “Finding out they have to keep their kids home right before school starts creates a major disruption.”
The biggest challenge was that parents had no way to engage with the school. Take-home folders got lost in backpacks, email wasn't accessible to the entire community, and autodialed phone calls went straight to voicemail. This was unacceptable for Kent, who prides himself on customer service. “I like to think of parents as our customers,” he says. “It helps me remember that I'm here to give them the best experience I can.”When Kent found out about a Remind School Plan, he appreciated the efficiency of the technology and the opportunity to improve communication. A School Plan offered features that relieved Groton's biggest pain points, allowing the school to send handouts and important information directly to parents' phones—and track which families received the information. Kent calculated that communicating on a School Plan would end up being cheaper than the paper he used to send memos home, which sealed the deal.
"I see a Remind School Plan as cost savings, not an additional expense."
Aside from saving money, a School Plan helps facilitate meaningful, two-way communication with with parents. “The future is untapped,” Kent says. “We're able to take advantage of a cultural norm—getting information on your phone—to communicate with parents in real ways.”Click here to read how Groton Elementary School uses a Remind School Plan to improve two-way communication—and save over $2,000 on paper costs.
