To better link parents and alumni to the Phillips Academy community, the Board of Trustees adopted BlueLink and the Parent Portal, two online methods of communication. BlueLink is an online service that allows Phillips Academy alumni to stay in touch with each other after they graduate. Parent Portal is a similar service for parents of current students to obtain information about activity on campus. Parents can access their child’s schedule and courses and remain updated on opportunities to be involved on campus. Jennifer Savino, Associate Director of Alumni Affairs, said, “Before BlueLink, a hard copy of the alumni directory was distributed; BlueLink is this directory placed online.” According to Reverend Michael J. Ebner, Director of Alumni Affairs, “Its mission is to link alumni to the academy and to each other.” Gerri Weiss ’82 said, “[Online communication] is noticeably different. This is an effective technological advance; information travels around to everyone, and it is specific about alumni events.” It was hard for Weiss to judge a change in her overall connection to the school, as she is a parent of a Phillips Academy student. Parent Portal, created in 2006, is the first source of online information specifically for Phillips Academy parents.
