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ParentLink® Releases iPhone® App for Parents of K-12 Students

PROVO, Utah, Aug. 30, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- ParentLink® today announced the release of its newest iPhone application for K-12 users of the ParentLink notification service. Called Mobile Parent, the new application is the first of its kind in the industry and was recently approved by Apple for download from the iPhone App Store.

Parents in districts and schools that use the ParentLink communication system can now access all school messages as well as their account information and school directories--all from their iPhone. This new app makes it even easier for parents to be immediately aware of what is going on at their child's school and never miss an important attendance, classroom or emergency notification.

"We are very excited to release our newest iPhone application," said John Graff, ParentLink's President. "We spend a lot of time talking with our partners in schools around the country and know that our Mobile Parent app will be a tremendous tool for parents. One key reason we developed this application was to meet the needs of some of our very large school districts where many households may not have Internet access in the home but the parents and students access the Internet on their smartphones."

Reflecting the continued rapid growth in usage, more and more parents are now relying on their smart phones for communication and Internet access. According to a recent Nielsen report, smartphone users now account for 37 percent of all mobile subscribers in the U.S., with the largest percentage of those using the Apple iOS. "Growth in Smartphone data usage is clearly being driven by app-friendly operating systems like Apple's iOS and Google's Android," Nielsen writes. The ParentLink Mobile Parent app provides those parents with a powerful way to stay engaged in their children's educational activities. Studies have consistently shown that the greatest predictor of student achievement is increasing parental engagement. Those same studies also say that schools must interface with parents at many points and over long periods of time. ParentLink provides the tools to make this a reality, both for parents and for the schools.

The ParentLink notification service is used by thousands of schools and hundreds of districts, including 5 of the 10 largest districts in the country. The Mobile Parent app gives parents the ability to remain informed and engaged regardless of time or location. Once the app is installed, parents simply use their existing ParentLink account to log in and choose whether to review messages and alerts, update their contact details, or access the school directory.

The ParentLink Mobile Parent app is free and available immediately from the iPhone App Store. For more information about all of the solutions from ParentLink, please visit: http://www.parentlink.net.

About ParentLink®

ParentLink is the complete communication solution for education, providing the tools to link schools, parents, students, and the community in one common objective--to improve the educational process. Exclusively serving the K-12 market for over 20 years, ParentLink provides administrators with a communication platform that will keep parents engaged and students achieving. ParentLink is the central communications hub for all of a district's various information systems, allowing educators to communicate the right information in the right way and at the right time. Every week, thousands of schools use ParentLink to securely send millions of messages to students, parents, and the community, in the form of phone calls, emails, SMS text messages, Facebook and Twitter posts, printed letters, and fax messages, or via the web. ParentLink is the all-in-one communication solution, helping educators improve parental outreach efforts and enjoy the benefits of increased student achievement.

Media Contact:
Mark G. Child
mark.child@parentlink.net
+1.801.373.9669 x203

SOURCE ParentLink