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The Albert Lea school district has rolled out a new mobile app and website it hopes will increase communication to caregivers of children in the district and the community.

Jeff Halverson, executive director of careers, technology and innovation, shared information about the updates Monday during the school board meeting.

Halverson said for much of the general public, the website is their initial visit to Albert Lea Area Schools, particularly for potential families or staff looking to come to the district.

He highlighted some of the new things on the site, including areas to showcase successes in the district, calendars of upcoming events at all of the schools and connections to live feeds on social media. It includes places to click on for prospective families looking to enroll, as well as for people who may want to apply for a job with the district. From the main page, each school also has its own page to highlight additional information.

The Albert Lea Tigers Unite App is a new platform for the district for use on cell phones and includes both a classroom category, which teachers can use to reach out to families as a class and one-on-one about announcements, class resources and other topics, and a school category, which Halverson said works like a social media wall and event calendar, providing real-time updates on important news and events.

“I’m very excited about what this will do as far as efficiencies and keeping everybody up to date as far as we can,” he said.

The district has also rolled out a new Facebook page under Albert Lea Area School District, through a Meta business account that allows staff to link to the Tigers Unite app.

Users of the app can sign up to get notifications that show them updates.

Board member Dave Klatt asked who can post items through the app, and Halverson said the system is set up where a teacher can post, and that post would be approved by the principal of the school.

He said they are also planning on using the app with the student athletes, and coaches will be able to use it to send out messages in a controlled format.

Halverson said the app is used in over 4,000 districts in the country and has been perfected and refined over the years.

Board member Kim Nelson asked if the events calendar, which showcases public events, could also list all of the school board meetings. Halverson said those could be added.

Superintendent Ron Wagner said he has heard from the board that communication is essential and that staying current is important.

He said the district will continue to move forward with the new app and enhance what they’re doing. He said he believes it is high-quality and a great opportunity to move forward.

Invites have been sent out to caregivers to sign on to the new app in recent weeks.