For the front desk

The register stays on paper. Parents know by nine.

Teachers mark the paper register as they always have. The front desk photographs it, Dehreen reads every row, and the person at the desk approves it. Then messages to parents are drafted, read and sent on WhatsApp.

رجسٹر کاغذ پر، والدین کو نو بجے تک خبر

08:16Last of 20 registers in, on 1 October
08:32Every family of the 48 absent children had a message
21 of 22School days in September every family was asked before nine

A morning at the desk.

  1. Registers arrive

    Each class sends its paper register to the desk. Nadia photographs it, one photo a class.

  2. Read, row by row

    Present, absent, and the teacher's signature. A mark that could be A or P is flagged, not guessed.

  3. The first families asked

    Nadia approves 7-B. Dehreen drafts a message to each absent child's family, in the language they read. Nadia reads both, changes a word, and sends them on WhatsApp.

  4. Every family asked

    The last register came in at 08:16. By 08:32 the families of all 48 absent children had a message, each read by Nadia first. Replies come back to the same desk.

  5. An admissions enquiry

    A parent asks about two children on WhatsApp. A family record opens and a visit is booked.

The screens

From paper to parents.

The desk's own phone and computer. Nothing new for teachers.

In numbers

A month at the front desk.

September at the demonstration school: 22 school days, two campuses.

When the last absence message went out

each school day
08:0008:3009:0009:30nine o'clock1 Sep30 Sep

Every family asked before nine on 21 of 22 days. On the rain day, 21 September, registers came in late and the last message went at 09:20.

Absent students, by weekday

September average per day
51
Mon
54
Tue
44
Wed
47
Thu
44
Fri

Between 44 and 54 a day. No weekday stands out; single days, like the rain on 21 September, matter more.

Reasons parents gave

986 absence messages
Unwell
412
Family event
188
Travel
96
Other
76
No reply
214

Families who have not replied after three absences are called by the desk.

Illustrative figures from a demonstration school with 1,046 students on two campuses.

What changes at the desk.

Most schools todayWith Dehreen
Registers are counted by hand and entered after lunch, if at all.Photographed at eight, read row by row, approved by twenty past.
Parents find out their child was absent at the end of the month.They are asked before nine, and their reply is kept.
An enquiry on WhatsApp sits on someone's phone.It opens a family record the moment it is answered.

Questions the front desk asks.

Do teachers need phones in class?

No. Teachers mark the paper register the way they always have. The desk photographs it.

What if a photo is unclear?

The row is flagged for a person to check. Nothing is filed until someone approves it.

Which phone does the desk use?

Any phone with a camera. The desk's own phone is enough.

See your registers read in seconds.

Bring a photo of one of your own registers to the demo.