According to a recent Nielsen study, a typical U.S. adult will spend over 34 hours per month on the internet using their smart phones. 64% of the U.S. adult population is using smartphones, and the number is climbing.
Of course, included in that 64% are parents of school aged kids, who are using their smart phones increasingly to text, organize their days and download apps that will help them save time and make their lives easier. That includes their kids’ school correspondence.
Schools, especially private and charter schools striving to remain competitive, are under increasing pressure to keep up with the tech savvy demands of a new generation of parent who is busy, on the go, and expects to be able to quickly access key school updates and information about the performance of his or her child. This means meeting a new set of communications demands that schools need to take seriously:
- Information must be in real time and up to date (forms, calendars, announcements)
- Information must be instantly accessible online and via smart phones
- Information must be easy to access in a single location
The new wave of mobile communications for school-parent communications is not only here, but it is already having an impact on schools’ recruiting efforts. Schools need to carve out an integrated communications program and find the technology that can centralize all communications and make it available both on the internet and on the smart phone. For those responsible for school technology and parent communication, it’s a homework assignment that can’t be put off any longer.