We know that educators handle much more than their lesson plans. From supervising extracurriculars to getting students in and out of the classroom every day, teachers have a lot of jobs to juggle. Both teachers and parents will agree, however, that school dismissal can be especially stressful – with long lines of cars, confused students, and tired staff staying on campus far too late.
Luckily, there’s a platform to simplify this process. Our partner Pikmykid offers a school safety and dismissal solution that keeps students safe and saves times for parents and teachers. If you’ve never considered using technology to make your dismissal process a breeze, keep reading for some of the top reasons to invest in dismissal software like Pikmykid.
1. It Reduces Staff Fatigue.
Before students even step foot into the classroom, your staff need to organize how they arrive and get home, and hopefully ensure their safety along the way. To reduce staff fatigue, it’s important to minimize redundant steps. Answering phone calls from parents who want to make dismissal changes can take hours of your staff’s time.
Instead, you can provide a way for parents to make instant dismissal changes by utilizing dismissal software with a mobile app. This gives your office staff time to focus on other tasks and have access to reports to safely account for every student.
2. It Allows Teachers to Focus on Teaching.
Most teachers didn’t get their degree in education to use walkie talkies and deal with frustrated parents in the parking lot. They love educating students. Using a dismissal software like Pikmykid streamlines the entire dismissal process, allowing your school to get rid of unnecessary tasks and reduce the number of staff needed to run dismissal.
As the car line speeds up, you can give each teacher back an average of 75 minutes per week. They can redirect this time into their passion – helping students succeed. They’ll also have more time for planning and rest, which can help improve their mental health as well, reducing burnout.
3. It Makes It Easier for Substitute Teachers to Jump In.
When a teacher is preparing a lesson plan for a substitute, they often have to dedicate a large section of their instructions to the school’s overly complicated dismissal process. This not only adds more work for the teacher but can also create a lot of confusion for the substitute.
Dismissal software empowers you to run dismissal with tools that make it so easy, your staff can train a substitute teacher in their sleep. An added bonus? Since there are less staff necessary for dismissal, it’s less likely a substitute will be needed for dismissal in the first place.
4. It Equips Staff Better for Emergencies.
During a busy school day, the last thing you want teachers to experience is heightened anxiety over confusing emergency protocols. While many of us immediately think of worst-case scenarios, like an intruder on campus, the reality is that a myriad of smaller emergencies (like changes in pickup times due to inclement weather) happen more frequently.
The current processes often leave staff unsure of how to act in the moment, especially when they only have a few seconds to react. A school safety and dismissal platform like Pikmykid takes out the anxiety-inducing guess work by giving schools the ability to clearly communicate their protocol and direct staff to take appropriate actions in the instant they’re needed.
With Pikmykid, you can prepare staff to act quickly and confidently with a suite of tools on the devices they already have in their pockets. They’ll have access to initiate emergency or last-minute notifications through a panic button, receive staff instructions to their cell phone, and enable location services to ensure staff and student safety.
5. It Allows You to Eliminate Unnecessary Tasks.
Running back and forth between the front office, classroom, and parking lot is an outdated and inefficient way for staff to use their time. In a world where you can have meals delivered via app and robots mowing your lawn, school staff shouldn’t be stuck using walkie talkies, sticky notes, and overwhelming Google sheets to coordinate the everyday process of student dismissal.
By giving your staff technology that uses devices they already have, you can eliminate dozens of monotonous tasks for them. They’ll feel respected as you acknowledge their level of education and empower them to redirect their time towards the things only they can uniquely do as staff and teachers.
Even better? Many schools have used their grant money to implement Pikmykid – and their teachers are loving it. There are more than 8 grants and funding options available for you to start with, so don’t wait until August to get started.
Request a demo to learn more and get Pikmykid set up and ready to go!
