Today’s Turlock Unified School District students are familiar with the use of modern technology in their classrooms, with Chromebook laptops and other wireless devices at their fingertips. Now, TUSD is letting parents in on the action with their new smartphone app, which launched on Tuesday.
The app was primarily developed by TUSD Technology and Data Systems Supervisor Judi Green, who worked closely with Student Messenger – TUSD’s Parent Notification System – and their programmers. It took about four weeks to complete the new app, which boasts a contemporary design that directly correlates with the TUSD website.
“School Messenger had an app program and asked us if we were interested,” said Green. “We decided it was time to put this together and move forward with it so that we could give alternative ways to communicate with parents.”
Previously, parents received general notifications via telephone. The app comes after the Technology and Data Systems Department found that parents wanted to choose whether or not they received information over the phone.
District parents can now opt-out of these phone calls and download the TUSD app, which sends general notifications as an alert on the phone. General notifications can include reminders of special or minimum days and special events on campus. The alerts can also contain information about student attendance and any emergency situations that may occur during the school day.
Along with keeping parents informed, the app also directly links users to immediate information about the district, such as district events and available jobs within TUSD. Parents can also access information on school athletics, lunch menus, meal accounts, grades and assignments. Green encourages both students and parents to download the app and stay connected.
“It’s a quick way to obtain information about the school district,” said Green. “Parents can make quick contact with other links and websites – it gives them the information they need to know about their students.”
The TUSD app is available to download for both iPhone and Android devices. Search for “Turlock USD” in either the Apple App Store or Google Play Store to download the app and stay up-to-date with happenings within the school district.
