Bradley County Schools reports progress on integrated website, messaging and app
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Summary
District technology coordinator Scott Webb told the board the new integrated platform (website, messaging, AI chatbot and mobile app) is live but needs staff training and data mapping; pilot testing of the chatbot is planned for spring.
Scott Webb, Bradley County Schools instructional technology coordinator, gave a status report on Dec. 11 for an integrated communications platform that includes the district website, a messaging system, an AI chatbot and a Bradley County Schools mobile app. Webb said the platforms are integrated with the student information system and receive nightly data syncs, but initial implementation involved data-mapping issues and training needs.
"All these platforms are fully integrated with our student information system," Webb said, and described challenges getting staff directories and other modules mapped correctly. He told the board the vendor and the district worked through messaging-platform issues and that the system is now operational; Webb said the biggest remaining work is thorough staff and school-level training.
Webb said the app is live in the Apple and Google app stores (search "Bradley County Schools") but the district has not promoted it pending additional testing and training. He said the district will pilot test the chatbot feature with a small group of teachers in the spring to confirm functionality and workflow.
Why it matters: an integrated communications platform can streamline attendance notifications, messaging, school calendars and targeted school-level news. Board members asked about earlier reported outages and whether the state data rollover affected the timeline; Webb said state timing compressed the district's rollout and required extra effort to ensure records were rostered correctly.
What’s next: staff will continue implementation and training into the new calendar year, and principals will begin testing specific modules (for example, athletics) once staff training is complete.