Elizabethton High School recently unveiled a new smartphone app for its student body, allowing the school community to gather in ways it could not before.

Assistant Principal Jeremy Humphrey said the app has been a work in progress since the school year started in August.

“This is mainly to help communication,” Humphrey said. “I and the principal heard about it at Science Hill.”

The app, simply called Elizabethton High School, serves as a community hub for students. Users can follow and join certain clubs and teams, keep track of school events and more.

He said Principal Jon Minton’s meeting with student advisory groups first birthed the idea.

“This is a centralized location for [information],” he said. “Everybody’s excited.”

One thing Humphrey wanted to make sure users know is this will not just be another officially sanctioned app that will spam students with notifications. He said it provided many tools for students to engage with one another.

“It is mainly for students,” Humphrey said. “We want them to feel included. This is their school.”

The app is going through a bit of a test run this semester until May, during which time the school will be testing various features and look to add new ones. While it could be used to transmit security messages from the school board, Humphrey said this was not the app’s main goal. When the school year begins again in August, he said they hope to add more features for parents, as well.

“We will start looking at groups and see how to individualize them,” he said.

As the school started offering the app Friday, Humphrey said students may initially brush it off, but he urged students to consider downloading it.

“Students are worried it is just going to be something else,” he said. “We told a lot of people about it. It is going to be a good tool.”

Currently, the app is available for iPhone and Android devices through their app stores.

An additional benefit, he said, is the new app will also include a link to the school system’s new Stop It app, a way to anonymously report bullying and other harmful behaviors students see.