The Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency is training school systems on a new way to communicate.The Jefferson County EMA launched the Everbridge Notification System in March of this year. The agency uses the system to alert the public by text, emails or phone calls during severe weather or other emergencies.According to Jefferson County EMA Director Jim Coker, emergency alerts are just a small part of what the system can do.The EMA is now making Everbridge available to schools in the county. This week, the agency offered a training session on the system.Cokers said making Everbridge available to schools will open up the flow of communication."It will allow us to rapidly communicate with the school directors, which is critical during bad weather and potentially other circumstances, like hazardous material incidents or even a school shooting," Coker said.Everbridge will also allow school systems, and even individual schools, to send secure messages to targeted groups."The school is set up for Everbridge,” Coker explained. “The principal has a staff meeting on Friday, he can notify his staff in a multitude of ways that we're having a staff meeting. If there's a critical event within the school, he can notify the staff of the critical event. There are unlimited uses for this."The Jefferson County EMA and Birmingham 911 District pay $140,000 a year for the system. Everbridge is free for schools to use.