This year, the Butler School District partnered with its families to update students' information online. Sixty percent of families participated.

In early August, the district began a campaign to encourage parents to participate in the project. By Aug. 24, families had provided information on about 4,680 students. Those who did not will be contacted by mail.

A Cranberry marketing firm, Prosource, built 7,800 mini-websites — one for each student — using the same kind of secure technology banks and businesses use, said Jerry Slamecka, assistant superintendent for personnel, technology and federal/state programs.

Families gained access to individual websites using the student identification number each child receives, Slamecka said.

Inside, they provided the district with demographic information and emergency contacts, signed off on the district's "acceptable use" policy for school computers and got a digital version of the student handbook. Demographic information the district requested was expanded to include an e-mail address.

"We think we have more accurate information," Slamecka said.

When surveyed in 2007, 92 percent of secondary students said their families have computers with Internet access at home, Slamecka said.

Prosource charged $8,400 for the project, including costs for a letter and post card the marketing firm sent to each family as part of the campaign to encourage participation.

The district followed up with two phone calls from its automated emergency phone message system. Slamecka said the district minimized its use of the emergency system for the campaign.

Including mailings that will be sent to families who did not go online, Slamecka believes the district's costs for updating student information are the same as in prior years, when postal services were used. Costs will fall as greater numbers of families participate, he said.

The district's savings include reduced man hours required to prepare mailings and type information into its Student Information System and lower copying, paper and mailing fees.

Before families accessed the websites, the district uploaded information from its Student Information System to automatically fill in some of the data. The district downloaded the information once the campaign ended.

Slamecka plans to begin the process for next year in July 2011

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