Marion County School District launched a free app to improve its communication with parents and students. The app was developed by an Oklahoma-based company that specializes in developing apps for public school districts at no charge.
"We're still kind of in the testing phase of it, but we have about a hundred users who've downloaded the app and are receiving our text messages," Marion County School District Public Information Officer Kevin Christian said. "With so many people having smartphones in their hand and instant information this is just another opportunity for us to enhance what what we're already doing."
Christian said there is a variety of school-related content available on the app, but the most important aspect of the app is the push notifications.
"It's kind of like a text message that you would get automatically," he said. "If (users) are not interested in the push notifications, then the app offers school contacts, school addresses, phone numbers. There's web links on there for lunch menus and the parent portal, so parents can access school grades."
The app will not replace other communication efforts that were in place prior to the app's creation, Cristian said.
Emily Miller edited this story online.