Schools

Smithtown Schools Could Soon Have an iPhone Application

The company developing the application says it could be ready for use by the upcoming school year.

An iPhone application specific to the Smithtown Central School District dedicated to providing current information to students, parents and locals was introduced at Tuesday's Board of Education meeting.

Digital Natives, the company behind making the application possible, features three graduates of the district.

Chef Marketing Officer of Digital Naives Jonathan Jacobs, a 2007 High School East graduate, presented the application – named "Whisper" – and its functionality, stating it would provide safety, simplicity and publicity to its users who aren't in front of a computer but have their iPhone with them.

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"There are districts that have similar applications but there's nobody who's done it properly and there's nobody who's created an application like we have that follows the best privacy standards of design and functionalities," he said after the meeting.

Jacobs said that what separates this phone application from the applications from other districts is that it will provide current information, not static information.

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During Jacobs' presentation, he announced that the application would feature things such as emergency alerts and one-tap emergency contacts while also providing news and information, directions and district contact information, a calendar of events and more.

The application would be iPhone specific. Jacobs said during the presentation that one-third of high school students are currently using iPhones.

Being a Smithtown graduate, Jacobs said after the meeting that the opportunity to give back to the district was exciting. 

"We owe so much of what we're able to do being able to start and the experiences that we had [to the district]," he said. "We are a team of four and two of us are High School East graduates and one's a High School West graduate, so it's really exciting to come back and be a part of everything going on here."

Superintendent Edward Ehmann said after the meeting that he's proud to see students help the school district they came from and help bring the district further into the digital age.

"It's great to see graduates come back and contribute to the technological evolution of the district," he said. "I think parents are going to appreciate having that increased level of communication. We're very excited and hope it works out."

Jacobs said he hopes to have it complete and ready by August for use in the upcoming school year.

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