Naperville District 203 has created an app to allow for more effective communication between the district and the community, according to Director of Communications Michelle Fregoso.

The district’s new app, called “Naperville Community Unit School District 203,” is available on both iPhones and Androids for free, Fregoso said.

“It’s providing the information that we think everybody needs quickly at your fingertips so you don’t have to go searching [District 203’s] website,” Fregoso said.

The app provides the same information as the District 203 website in a condensed format. It is easier to read on a mobile device, and users can quickly access information about any school in the district, Fregoso said.

“It’s not meant to replace the website. It’s meant to supplement it,” Fregoso said. “The benefit is mostly for students and parents [with smartphones].”

Teachers also profit from the app. They can use it to find out what’s happening in other schools and do administrative activities, Fregoso said.

Naperville North High School science teacher Kyle Girup finds the new app more convenient for teachers, as well as to parents and students.

“There’s so many different ways we get information,” Girup said. “It’s nice to have it all put on a calendar and in one place.”

Although teachers also benefit from the app, it was initially designed with parents in mind, Fergoso said.

“It’s not really an internal communication tool,” Fregoso said. “It’s an external one more or less.”

According to NNHS Principal Kevin Pobst, many students and families expressed a need for better communication between them and District 203. The app was designed to meet this need.

“[The district] addressed a number of topics [in Focus 203], and one of the topics they heard from parents was better communication,” Pobst said. “[District 203 is] trying everything they can to be perceived as good communicators.”

NNHS senior Rubent Rajendran believes that District 203’s new app is a great idea for students.

“[District 203’s app] would be pretty cool,” Rajendran said.

According to Fergoso, many parents and students are already using the app. As of Sept. 23, 2014, there have been 1,107 downloads.