Call Center Scheduling Featured Article
Leon County, Florida Opens Call Center for Parents and Students
Across the United States, many school districts are preparing to open their doors. Schooling in the COVID-19 era is expected to look very different to school prior to the global pandemic. Schools are changing routines, processes, technologies, bus routes, meal service and even hallway procedures in order to keep students safe. As a result, these changes are leading to a lot of questions from parents, who are concerned about changes and how those changes will affect their children’s day.
To handle the onslaught of questions and concerns, some districts are setting up call centers to handle parent queries. Leon County Schools in Florida has taken the step of creating a call center that will be staffed by subject matter experts on everything from transportation, to health and safety, even academic services, according to a recent news spot by local news source WTXL. The teachers and academic developers manning the phones will be prepared to answers several frequently asked questions.
"What will be the plan to make sure that those kids continue to receive their instruction," LCS Safety and Security Chief John Hunkiar told WTXL. "That's why, as we speak, as it relates to devices the priority is for our students to have devices, not just the digital Academy student, so that if in fact there is a closure and we do need to pivot from brick and mortar to completely digital, that those teachers and those students can still continue the instructions seamlessly."
Many schools are forecasting that if a critical mass of students test positive for COVID-19, in-person learning may need to be shut down quickly in favor of distance learning, which will lead to more questions and confusion.
WTXL reported that the new call center will be staffed from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m. through at least the first week of school, extending the time frame as needed based on call volume. The call center will also employ technology experts to help parents with accessibility and technology questions about logins and passwords.
Edited by Maurice Nagle