CEO, School Webmasters

20 October 2007
How Hard is YOUR School's Website Working? Find out how you can turn your Website into a powerful communication and PR tool while saving your school and staff time and money.

Whether a Web site is for a school, district, or organization, it can be one of your hardest working employees. It works 24 hours a day, seven days a week (with nary an overtime or vacation request), keeps your site visitors informed, and can be an excellent educational tool. However, it will only work as hard as required, so let’s talk about how to get the most out of this valuable resource.

First Impressions

Because our first impressions are difficult to overcome (whether positive or negative), you can let this work to your advantage by making sure your Web site is informative, helpful, and well designed. Otherwise, you may leave your visitors with an unprofessional and amateurish impression about your school or district. That means:

Simple navigation that remains consistent on all pages of your Web site; this includes a banner that includes your school or district name on every page.

Provide a site map that allows visitors to see all the pages on the site at a glance.

Pick a color scheme and use it throughout the site (avoid bright or textured backgrounds or your text will be difficult to read).

Select a text color and font and stick with it. Neon text that varies every paragraph is not only difficult to read, it’s amateurish…oh, and so is that flashing text.

Include “Alt Text” for every image you upload to provide accessibility to as many people as possible, including those who are visually impaired.

Basically…be consistent with how you designate your links, navigation, colors, fonts, and layout. Such consistency might seem boring to you, but your visitors need uniformity in order to navigate your site efficiently and find the information they seek.

Top Three Functions for District Sites

Next, make sure your district Web site contains all the helpful elements that will provide your visitors with the info they need, they are:

Human Resources
This is an excellent resource for recruitment. It’s also the first place potential hires will go to find out information about your district. Give them the information they need, including current job postings, classified and certified applications, employee benefits, district information, salary schedules, etc.). It also provides current employees with the forms they need when they need them. No excuses for not turning in a change of address or vacation request because the necessary forms can be readily available. It can also be a resource for contact information to your districts’ health, dental, and vision insurance. You’ll save time and materials, improve your public relations, provide excellent customer service, and attract the best employees available.


Communication
Use your site to celebrate activities of the past and to look forward to upcoming events. You have a lot to offer, and if you don’t tell people about it, who will? Your site should include an up-to-date calendar, school menus, registration information, attendance boundaries, sporting events, PTO information, school report cards, alumni information, Governing Board agendas, and links to other educational resources. In addition to the information you are providing your customers, you are going a long way toward improving community relations, delivering better customer service, and becoming an outstanding resource for your parents, teachers, and community members.

Business & Finance Information
This is an under-utilized component on many school Web sites. You should provide information about your district’s procurement processes, including vendor registration forms, posted RFPs and bids, contact info for various departments within your district, Tax Credits contribution forms, employee forms, and budgetary information. Not only will you be communicating more effectively, you will save time and money by utilizing your limited staff more efficiently.

Top Three Functions for School Sites

Calendar of Events
Your school calendar should be updated frequently and be sure to include sporting events, student council meetings, club fundraisers, dances, PTO/PTSO meetings and events, teacher conferences, early release days, and anything that will keep your parents and students informed about what is going on.

School Menus
This can be a full-blown calendar or it can be a simple-to-download newsletter that highlights each month’s menus. You are providing a handy resource for your parents and students to refer to when trying to decide whether or not to pack a lunch. It’s a great way to “shine” in your parents’ eyes.

Celebrations
Here is your opportunity to highlight the achievements of your students, staff and volunteers. Everyone loves to be recognized or thanked for their efforts and achievements. This is the perfect forum to accomplish this important mission. You’ve got a lot to be proud of in your school, but most people aren’t aware of it – so tell them! This can be done through an online newsletter that you post monthly or quarterly and can include honor students, teacher of the month, class or team successes, volunteer recognition, and much more.

Key Considerations

Here are a few more important tips you should add to your To Do List for good Web site management:

Keep It Current
Once your Web site is created, don’t make the mistake that many schools and businesses make and delegate the task of keeping it current to someone whose plate is already full or whose responsibilities or interests are elsewhere. It will soon be out-of-date and your information useless. In order to retain its value, which is to represent you and your services to your best advantage, you must give its upkeep a place of priority. Schedule monthly updates to keep your Web site current, helpful, and informative.

By Bonnie Leedy, CEO