By Linda Dillman
Staff Writer
A new way to share communications with the Hamilton Local Schools community will replace paper-in-hand notifications students previously towed home from school.
Peachjar is a form of Electronic Flyer Communications that trades places with traditional paper flyers previously given to students to take home and share with their parents that were posted to social media channels and websites.
“We will be utilizing this platform to share information from our district, schools, and community organizations,” said Hamilton Schools Public Relations Director Vince Payne. “We plan to use Peachjar to inform our students, parents, and stakeholders about school-related items as well as community resources that our students and district families can benefit from. Some examples of those items include upcoming events, class or testing schedules, parent/teacher conference information, extracurricular activity opportunities, etc.”
Peachjar provides each of the district’s schools with a page that displays flyers specific to a school’s students and families. Flyers are approved on a weekly basis and once that process is complete, parents will receive a weekly summary of items approved for distribution .
The system is monitored by the district’s public relations department and is provided at no cost to Hamilton Local Schools.
“We wanted to streamline this type of communication because we would hear from parents who tell us that they never received information from the school that was sent home with their child,” said Payne. “We spoke to area districts about Peachjar and they had rave reviews about the product while letting us know their students and parents appreciated receiving one weekly email summary. It also saves our district any printing costs related to the physical distribution of school flyers.”
Parent and guardian e-mail addresses connected with Peachjar will not be shared or used for any purpose other than district approved. Every attempt will be made to only approve flyer notifications one day per week so only one notification per week regarding available flyers will be sent.
According to the Hamilton Local Schools website, the district also offers the opportunity for non-profit organizations and local businesses to provide flyers for distribution to students, providing the materials are activities or events related to regular academic programs; promote the intellectual development of children (plays, concerts, lectures, crafts); and/or the physical development of children (dance, exercise programs, sports programs).
Activities or events on Peachjar can also include ones promoting personal and social development of children (dancing, scouting); discounted activities or events for families (movies nights, rewards programs); and/or by coaches employed by the district distributing flyers for any camps they hold directly related to their coaching assignment.
