Hayfield Community Schools has caught the Twitter bug.

The district joined the free online social networking service a couple of weeks ago, making it the first district in the county to use the service as a means of communication.

They had 16 followers, or other Twitter members who subscribe to posts on Hayfield’s profile page, as of Thursday morning.

“We are hoping for more,” wrote Hayfield High School principal Brandon Macrafic in an e-mail.

“We are always looking for new ways to communicate with our students, parents, and the community,” he wrote about the decision to join Twitter.

The district has three posts on its page so far. The entries alert followers to an early school day release, Thanksgiving vacation dates and scheduled school basketball games.

Minneapolis Public Schools also have a Twitter account.