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Today marks the start of National Preparedness Month. Spearheaded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), in partnership with Citizen Corps and the Ad Council, National Preparedness Month is an initiative to encourage all Americans to take the necessary steps in properly preparing for urgent situations. After last week’s string of natural disasters, now is a great time to review and revise any and all emergency response plans.

The events of the past week have the Blackboard Connect team working in overdrive. Beginning late last week and continuing throughout the weekend, schools, universities and local governments used the Blackboard Connect™ platform to send out nearly 6.9 million messages with updates and the latest information about Hurricane Irene. While Hurricane Irene was kind enough to offer a bit of warning prior to her arrival, Tuesday’s earthquake, with its 5.8 magnitude, had clients quickly turning to Blackboard Connect, sending out nearly 1.5 million messages to residents, students, parents and faculty offering reassurance and relief information.

With summer winding down, the Blackboard Connect team is gearing up for the back-to-school season, just as our clients are. As students return to classrooms, many of educators and administrators are sending messages to parents, faculty and staff in preparation for the upcoming school year. As studies and research findings repeatedly show, the degree of parental involvement in a child’s education can dramatically affect student success and achievement. Additionally, back-to-school ‘welcome back’ messages can help district leaders share information and reminders to help ensure a smooth start on the first day of school.

Recently, in conjunction with American Association of School Administrators and National School Public Relations Association, we had the pleasure of presenting the 2011 Leadership Through Communication Award at this year’s NSPRA conference in San Antonio. The Leadership Through Communication Award is given to K-12 leaders who are responsible for enhancing school-to-parent communication within their district. This year’s award went to Steven T. Webb, superintendent, and Thomas R. Hagley, Jr., executive director of community and government relations, of Vancouver Public Schools, located in Washington State.

The Blackboard Connect team had quite the week last week. ‘Eventful ‘doesn’t even begin to describe it… We started in San Antonio at this year’s NSPRA National Seminar, where we officially announced Blackboard Connect 5, the next generation in mass notification service. The annual conference, hosted by the National School Public Relations Association, brings together K-12 administrators and communications professionals to attend workshops and share best practices for effective communication within schools and districts. Between the conference sessions, covering topics such as social media, crisis communication and parental involvement, we had the chance to talk with school leaders about the challenges they face when communicating within their district and to show them how Blackboard Connect 5 can help.