PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Philadelphia School District has launched new software designed to answer questions from parents and the public while scoring the quality of the responses.
It's a widget named "Let's Talk" found in the bottom corner of the district's website. It directs emailed questions from parents, employees and community members to specific district offices.
After a response, the software asks the questioner for a one-to-10 feedback score.
The software got a test in Superintendent Tony Watlington's office last school year. Watlington said he's preparing a report for the School Board on how his office scored.
"I'm going to be a bit vulnerable because I want it to be clear,” he said. “We're not asking schools and other district folks to do anything that I'm not willing to model myself.”
The district is in the second year of a three-year, $900,000 contract with "Let's Talk" developer K12 Insight. The software includes an AI chatbot feature to address frequently asked questions, but Watlington says right now he prefers human responses.