“We have such a gorgeous building, and we wanted to spruce up our landscaping,” said Pat Phillips, principal. “Using the outcall system seemed to be a perfect way to attract members of our school family to help with the work.” 

   The system, manufactured by Dialogic Communications Corporation (DCC), allows principals and other authorized district employees to create personalized telephone messages that are delivered to selected groups of recipients -- in this case the family of each student and staff member of the school.  The system has been used several times over the summer by the district’s principals and other staff.

   “"I love using the Communicator NXT Telephone System, said Karen Malatesta, assistant principal. “In this case we were able to coordinate planting mums and laying down new mulch for our beautiful grounds at Petway prior to the start of the school year.”

   “We also have been sending personalized messages to our parents in our communities, and our staff regarding fundraisers, back to school night, and uniform orders,” she said. “We have noticed by using this new telephone outreach system, parent involvement has doubled in participation.”

   “We love the personalized voices of Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Malatesta (in the messages)” said Gloryvee Ruiz, a parent volunteer. “They keep us well informed about what is happening at Petway. If we miss the call, we can hear it on our answering machine too.”

    Installation of the system and training of operators was carried out by Ric Marino, the district’s senior telecommunications technician.

  “Many thanks to Ric for his guidance and training,” said Malatesta