News
The next phase of the website transition is Friday, Jan. 28. The Jan. 24 School Beat issue had a different date. Click here for the news update on the website transition.
New website features improved navigation, web-based tools
We are pleased to invite families, staff and the community to preview Seattle Public Schools' updated website which features a new design, improved web-based tools and easier-to-navigate Web pages. Online now are initial web pages that our users said were their top usage priorities: Enrollment, Nutrition, Careers, School Board, News, and Family Engagement.
This project is a district priority because improving stakeholder engagement is one of the key areas in the District's strategic plan, Excellence for All. A new website was identified as a powerful way to improve communication with our many audiences. A team of internal and external stakeholders have been working together over the last two years to plan and implement improvements. Prioritizing communication with families was strongly reinforced in the input sought from stakeholders through surveys, focus groups, public meetings, advisory groups and steering committees.
In these extremely difficult economic times it is essential for us to prioritize use of resources. Thanks to our community support for our students, levy funds were available for this priority project to improve communications with all our families. A new Web Content Management System (WCMS) – which is not just an improved website but a suite of new web-based tools available for all schools – was identified as a critical first step to facilitate better communication with all families. A rolling launch of the new WCMS began in October with the release of the new Rainier Beach school website.
In addition to Rainier Beach, eight other schools are participating in a pilot using the new WCMS. Information learned through their experiences has improved the tools that will be made available to all schools beginning in February. Over the next year, Seattle Public Schools will be providing new interactive communication tools and training for all schools – tools that are powerful, extremely easy to use, and available to each and every school.
We want to hear from you about your experiences with the new website. A “Provide Feedback” link is accessible in the footer of each Web page. Additional pages will be released throughout the remainder of the school year. Information on the current Seattle Public Schools website will continue to be available during the transition period.
Seattle Public Schools wants to sincerely thank the thousands of families, community members, teachers, principals and other staff members whose input over the last two years have guided this project. The staff looks forward to learning from this preview period as the new WCMS continues to be refined and implemented.
For more information, visit the WCMS Project page.