At the beginning of the school year, District 225 made changes to Glenbrook communication by launching new initiatives to improve interaction between the community and the schools.

According to a district press release, the new forms of communication include an online calendar, e-newsletter, a Facebook and a Twitter account.

“I think that it’s a really great way to try to connect with kids in a time when we’re communicating more and more through the Internet,” senior Michael Galperin said. “I like the idea of an online calendar and a Twitter account to get information about school events or sudden things like school closings, but I’m not sure if I would subscribe to a Facebook page.”

Parents and students will be able to download the online Google calendar to get information about upcoming events and activities. Newsletters are also being changed to an online format, which will also save the district approximately $10,000 annually in printing and mailing costs, according the Karen

Geddeis, head of district communications, said. “Each of [the new communication methods]provide more timely, efficient information for our school community,” Geddeis said.

The next district survey for parents and students to evaluate the effectiveness of the new methods of communication is set for May 2013 but may be assessed sooner.

“The good news is that the online newsletters and social media both have tools built in that help us see which items are being read more often and the preferences of our school community,” Geddeis said. “This will inform immediate decisions on the types of information we provide in future publications.”

The district has high hopes for these new communication initiatives.

“Different people are accessing information in different ways, and as much as we can set up things that are more like the way information is really being disseminated today, and that is instead of going through the whole paper to figure out what is relevant, the relevant pieces come to you,” Principal Brian Wegley said. “We want to make sure that we are continuing to leverage as many communication vehicles as possible.”

Some South students have responded positively to the new communication initiatives added by the district and describe the changes as beneficial update to the District.

“I believe that such advances in technology are absolutely successful,” senior Hyengi Lee said. “As most people in the modern age now depend on the Internet for ever everything, new measures should be available to the public.