Cut District Costs and Collect Unpaid School Lunch Balances 

The Public Schools of Robeson County, NC The Public Schools of Brookline, MA

Cutting Costs and Increasing Funds

District

Opportunities

District

Challenges

Adoption

Outcomes

Administrators are responding to the current and anticipated funding and staff shortfalls with remarkable speed, creativity and precision. Many schools and districts are harnessing technology to overcome their challenges to increase student success and maximize efficiencies.

• Fiscal challenges and funding cuts • Staff reductions - school districts are cutting all types of jobs, from

instructional teaching positions and librarians to nurses and support• Negative public perceptions of acquiring new technology• Need to meet/exceed state and federal performance assessment

• Automated technology– increases attendance, improves staff efficiencies, recovers funds, reduces paper and printing costs

• Technology is a strategic resource for entire district:• Delivers significant, tangible cost savings and revenue

enhancements• Serves as an updated and modern communication vehicle• Improves teaching, learning and many daily district functions

• Open lines of communication amongst parents, students, teachers and administrators

• Increase parent participation in academic, district and school level activities

• Streamline communications to reduce costs

• Deliver real-time performance assessment

• Overcome language barriers by communicating in native languages

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How Can You Effectively Respond to Today’s District Challenges?

COMMUNITY

We provide the software and services that K-12, Higher-Ed and other education institutions use to build a better

education experience for their students and teachers.

We provide the software and services that K-12, Higher-Ed and other education institutions use to build a better

education experience for their students and teachers.

Our Business

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Our Community

BLACKBOARD SERVES MORE THAN 8,700 EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS FROM

AROUND THE GLOBE INCLUDING:

• 4,800 K-12 SCHOOL DISTRICTS• 2,700 COLLEGES & UNIVERSITIES • 1,200 CORPORATE / GOVERNMENT

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Blackboard Connect

• Fully-hosted notification and alert solution for reaching millions in minutes through Voice, Email, SMS, Text, TTY, Wireless, and PDA capabilities.

• 2,600 clients in K-12, Higher Education, and Government.

• 800 million messages delivered in 2010. 99.99% uptime, 24/7/365 client care.

Multi-Modal Alerts & Notifications

The Public Schools of The Public Schools of Robeson CountyRobeson County

Child Nutrition ProgramChild Nutrition Program

Craig LowryCraig Lowry

Nutrition DirectorNutrition Director

District Size: 42 SchoolsDistrict Size: 42 Schools 23,971 Student Population23,971 Student Population 81% Free/ Reduce81% Free/ Reduce Demographics:Demographics:

– American Indian—41%American Indian—41%– African American—29%African American—29%– White—15%White—15%– Hispanic—10%Hispanic—10%– Other—5%Other—5%

County participates in multiple food County participates in multiple food programsprograms– The National School Lunch Program (The National School Lunch Program (NSLPNSLP))– National Breakfast Program (National Breakfast Program (NSBPNSBP))– Kindergarten Breakfast, and After school Kindergarten Breakfast, and After school

Snack ProgramSnack Program

Our schools receive a USDA Grant for Our schools receive a USDA Grant for reimbursement of mealsreimbursement of meals

Child Nutrition ProgramsChild Nutrition Programs

Participation in the fresh Fruit and Vegetable Participation in the fresh Fruit and Vegetable Grant ProgramGrant Program– 5 schools participating in this program5 schools participating in this program– Introduces students to all fruits and vegetablesIntroduces students to all fruits and vegetables

Back Pack ProgramBack Pack Program– This is a food take home program on the This is a food take home program on the

weekends for studentsweekends for students– We have 4 schools participating in this programWe have 4 schools participating in this program

Child Nutrition ProgramsChild Nutrition Programs

Average daily Breakfast/Lunch attendance Average daily Breakfast/Lunch attendance is 22,741 students. is 22,741 students.

Average daily After School Snack Average daily After School Snack attendance is 881.attendance is 881.

Average daily Kindergarten Breakfast Average daily Kindergarten Breakfast attendance is 1,337.attendance is 1,337.

Meal DataMeal Data

Previously using letters and phone calls to Previously using letters and phone calls to inform parents of past due balances for inform parents of past due balances for student meals.student meals.

Ineffective for our district - letters were not Ineffective for our district - letters were not received by parents.received by parents.

Notifying Parents of Balances

In April of 2010, we began sending school lunch In April of 2010, we began sending school lunch balance messages to parents via Blackboard balance messages to parents via Blackboard ConnectConnect

Reduced the districts charges for meals by Reduced the districts charges for meals by 40%40% for for 2009-2010 school year.2009-2010 school year.

Currently calling parents on a weekly basis for Currently calling parents on a weekly basis for overdue chargesoverdue charges

Expecting charges to be reduced by additional Expecting charges to be reduced by additional 20%20% for the 2010-2011 school year with the continue by for the 2010-2011 school year with the continue by calling parents directlycalling parents directly

Reducing School Lunch Balances with Blackboard Connect

Informing parents about activities:Informing parents about activities:– School activities, PTA meetings, and more.School activities, PTA meetings, and more.– Parent involvement meetings held monthly.Parent involvement meetings held monthly.

Inclement weatherInclement weather School emergencies School emergencies

Other Uses

Sonya Elder, PhDDirector of Food Services

The Public Schools of BrooklineBrookline, Massachusetts

Using Blackboard Connectin Food Services

District Information

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Town of Brookline, Massachusetts

Just west of Boston

Approximately 60,000 residents

School District Size = 9 Schools

• 8 K-8 Schools

• 1 High School

Student Enrollment = 6,627

District Information

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11% Free and Reduced Meal Eligibility

Diverse Population

• 7.2% African American

• 18.0% Asian

• 9.3% Hispanic

• 58.5% White

• 6.9% Multi-Race

Department of Food Services

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Breakfast and lunch served at all 9 schools (plus lunch at 1 satellite school)

Fully-functioning kitchens at all 9 schools

Our Mission

Our Service

Our Food

To provide healthy, tasty, high-quality, affordable meals to the students and staff of the Brookline Public Schools

Focus on scratch cooking and good nutrition

Including more locally-produced foods: produce, all-natural hamburgers, pasta, bagels

Incorporating nutrition education: Make It Meatless initiative, Visits from celebrity chef Ken Oringer, etc.

Department of Food Services

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Participation rate:

• Approximately 10% for breakfast

• Approximately 40% for lunch

Financially stable for past 3 years

Revenue comes from:

• Meal sales (student and adult)

• Federal and state reimbursements

• Some catering and vending

Outstanding School Lunch Balances

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Average of $25,000-$35,000 in outstanding school lunch balances, representing 1000-1500 accounts

Prior to using Blackboard Connect, Food Services used a number of methods to remind families about negative lunch balances:

• Letters from Food Services or school administration

• Notices/calls from Kitchen Managers

Switched to using Blackboard Connect approximately 3 years ago

Now use Community Outreach, as a Blend-It Phone call

• Phone calls made every 2-3 weeks

Outstanding School Lunch Balances

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What we communicate:

Hi, this is Sonya Elder, the Food Service Director for Brookline Public Schools. Your child currently has a negative lunch account balance. Please deposit money in your child's lunch account and maintain a positive balance. Please wait for your child's balance at the end of this message. Thank you for your attention to this matter. If you have any questions, please call 617-730-2415.

As of today, the balance for:

Text-to-Speech:

[FIRST_NAME] is [FLEX_FIELD].

Outstanding School Lunch Balances

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See burst in payments immediately after phone calls

Benefits of using Blackboard Connect:

• More efficient

• Consistent message

• Control at district level

• Works well in combination with other reminders

Marketing

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We need to publicize our program!

We use Blackboard Connect for:

• Monthly email announcements of menus

• Email announcements of special events in Food Services

• Email distribution of Food Services newsletters

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Q and A

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Thank you for joining us today!

For more information from Robeson County: lowryc.psrc@robeson.k12.nc.us

For more information from Brookline Public Schools:Sonya_Elder@brookline.k12.ma.us

To learn more about increasing funds and ways to improve district efficiencies, contact Blackboard Connect: www.blackboard.com/connect or 800-213-7168