Elementary schools in Portland, Beaverton, Hillsboro and North Clackamas, Oregon will use autodialed phone calls to alert parents or guardians if a child does not report to class.

Since the disappearance of Kyron Horman’s from the Skyline School in Portland, school security systems have been cracking down on visitors and monitoring of the children during outdoor activities.

With extra measures taken to ensure all doors are locked except one visible to school employees, instituting badges, as well as using auto dialers to phone home, schools are visibly enhancing security systems in place. The North Clackamas auto dialer system will call the parent or guardian on home, cell, and work phone numbers until the adult is made aware of the child’s missing status.

Schools cannot afford to install expensive surveillance cameras and technology, although this option is the most ideal. Auto dialer systems are relatively inexpensive for a school budget combined with an attentive staff.

Portland public officers relayed that the auto dialing system will help parents remain in the loop about their children throughout the school day. One system even requires adults who enter the building, though it might be just to bring their children lunches, wear badges and in some cases get background checks.

The measures might seem extreme, but so far there have been no objections.

Juliana Kenny graduated from the University of Connecticut with a double degree in English and French. After managing a small company for two years, she joined TMC (News - Alert) as a Web Editor for TMCnet. Juliana currently focuses on the call center and CRM industries, but she also writes about cloud telephony and network gear including softswitches.

Edited by Juliana Kenny