Special to Northeast News
Jan. 13, 2010

The Kansas City, Mo., School District has unveiled 418-NEWS, a new phone message line created to provide weekly updates to the community.

Callers will receive a message with summaries of important school and district calendar events for the current week. The creation of 418-NEWS (816-418-6397) is geared toward families and community members whose busy schedules make it difficult to visit the district Web site, www.kcmsd.net, to view the official calendar. The service also benefits families who may not have access to the Internet and the district’s electronic communication tools.

In this time of reduced budgets and resources, the phone message line comes at a minimal cost to the district. The message line uses an existing district phone line and requires a single employee to record the message weekly.

“The District needs the support of our community, and the best way to ensure that buy-in is to keep it well informed,” Superintendent Dr. John Covington said. “When combined with our other means of communication, this new phone line is just another way we can engage our families and patrons.”