When 40 students didn’t show up on the first day of class at Campbell Hill Elementary, principal Jon Stadler knew there was mix up.

However, thanks to the Renton School District’s new phone system for the first time he could call the families in a matter of minutes.

The next day, each of the 40 students came to class, while in years past teachers wouldn’t see them until up to a week later, when Seattle School District students started.

Calling a select group of parents is one of the many advantages the efficient new phone system has, alongside freeing attendance secretaries from sending individual phone calls about absences through a modem.

The new system, costing about $14,000 or about $7,000 more than the antiquated system, can replace traditional forms of communicating about events, sending fliers and letters home with students, said district spokesperson Randy Matheson.

Parents should expect to receive more information from schools through phone and voicemail messages than ever possible before.

Superintendent Mary Alice Heuschel already used the system to send a welcome-back message to each of the district’s 14,000 households earlier this month. It only took about 30 minutes.

The system is especially useful for notifying parents about delays and class cancellations from inclement weather.

“It’s a way for principals or even the district as a whole to get the message out in minutes,” Matheson said.

The system can be used from home, where school officials can type messages to be read by a computer program.

The messages can also be translated into six different languages including Spanish, Vietnamese, Chinese, Cantonese, Somali, Russian and Tagalog.

Families can select the language they prefer in their school offices.

The district also encourages parents to consider what number they’ve listed as their primary number, as the system can only store one number per household.

After taking attendance each morning or class period, teachers enter the information into the computer system. Around 11 a.m. for elementary and 5 a.m. for middle and high school parents are then notified if their child was missing from class.

“This is a major improvement,” Matheson said.