Despite Mayor Bloomberg’s ban on cellphones in NYC Public Schools, my 10 year-old daughters carry a cellphone to school every day. Like hundreds of thousands of other NYC students, they keep them in their backpacks turned off during the school day, and then activate them after school so they can text and call me when they arrive at their various after school activities. It’s an expectation every parent has at this point – the ability to get in touch with their child no matter where they are. After the Sandy Hook school tragedy I began to think about how the various communication procedures in place at NYC public schools would work in an emergency situation. You’d think that after 9/11 all of this would be worked out, but 13 years ago when these plans were devised, cellphones were not common in schools, and smartphones didn’t even exist.
About Shelly Palmer
Shelly Palmer is the Professor of Advanced Media in Residence at Syracuse University’s S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications and CEO of The Palmer Group, a consulting practice that helps Fortune 500 companies with AI strategy, implementation and governance, as well as technology, media and marketing. Named one of LinkedIn’s Top Voices in Technology, he is a bestselling author, covers tech and business for Fox 5’s Good Day New York, is a regular commentator on CNN, and writes the popular daily business blog Think About This. Follow @shellypalmer or visit shellypalmer.com.