Twelve essentials of a school district website: if your site is your calling card, what impressions are you giving parents and the public?

An up-to-date, attractive and user-friendly school district website is like having an extra public information officer on staff--only one whom you don't have to pay every week or provide with health care benefits.

If you can't recall the last time your school system redesigned or upgraded its website, it may be time to move this frequently neglected area to the top of the to-do list for your communications or technology staff.

Below are 12 considerations to think about if your school district is planning to redesign or reorganize its website.

* Your website is your calling card.

Your home page is often the first image people get of your school and district. It is a tremendous tool for families relocating to a new area who want to scout out the schools before making a housing decision. What do you want their first impression to be based on--a home page that looks like it was thrown together as an afterthought or an inviting presence that clearly took some thought and effort?

The Jefferson County Public Schools in Louisville, Ky. (www.jefferson.k12.ky.us), operates the kind of site you would expect of a large metropolitan school district. It's professional, attractive and--more importantly--useful. There are sections for parents, students, employees and even the community. The information is current and the site is a good introduction to anyone not familiar with the school district. And the photos of students engaged in learning activities send an immediate message about what this school district is about.

* Don't play hide and seek.

This is a great game for children, but a school's or district's website should avoid playing this game with its users.

Information is an education agency website's greatest commodity. Unfortunately, a surprising number of sites lack the most basic and often most sought-after pieces of information: the school or district's phone and fax numbers and street and e-mail addresses. Don't get so caught up in posting student test performance, school calendars and core curriculum that you forget to provide your school's "business card."

The contact information should always be displayed on the home page, if not every page of the site. A good example of this is the website of Shelby County Schools in Shelby, Ky. (www.shelby.k12.ky.us), which places its contact information across the bottom of the home page. It is a simple solution that makes the information easy to find and does not interfere with the design elements on the page.

* Is your mission to promote the mission?

Mission statements, at least those that appear front and center on a school district's home page, are a big no-no.

When it comes to designing a website, think about how you use the Internet. What information do you generally seek? What do you look for first? What is most important to you? Mission statements are never at the top of that list, and if you don't believe that, ask yourself when was the last time you read Amazon.com's mission statement?

Mission statements still have a place on a website, just not in a starring role. The Paducah, Ky., Independent Schools (www.paducah.k12.ky.us/) found a nice compromise, providing a discreet link from its home page to its mission statement, making it available but not prominent.

Moving it to your "About Us" page is another option, which places it on a page with similar information and frees up the main page for the most commonly sought types of information--the latest district news, school calendars, lunch menus or contact information.

* Skip the apple.

It may be good advice for one's health, but it drives away the web user. Graphics of apples, rulers, mortar boards, school bells and other typical symbols of education are generic and ubiquitous. They do little to promote the individual personality and accomplishments of schools and districts and have nothing to do with education in the 21st century.

Education is increasingly high-tech and a school's website should reinforce that fact with a professional-looking site. Calloway County Schools in Murray, Ky. (www.calloway.k12.ky.us), the western part of the state, has an attractive site that uses photos of students involved in learning activities to promote a positive image of education in that district.

Another visual to avoid is one a number of schools seem to fall back on--the omnipresent photo of the school building as the main feature of the home page. Be proud of your schools but use your website to show off what's going on inside the school rather than the exterior. Load some photos of happy students in classrooms or labs and happy teachers teaching. Give your site some warmth and life.

* Keep it simple.

While the actual technicalities that go into making a website functional may seem complicated, the finished product never should be. A good website is laid out in away that is easy to read and use.

Bells and whistles are nice when buying a new vehicle. On a website, they are confusing, diminish the impact of the information and often bring the downloading of the page to a snail's pace, which is especially critical to those users still using a dial-up Internet connection.

Keep it simple. Make that your mantra and repeat as necessary. Users coming to your site are looking for information, not flash.

The Walton-Verona Independent School District in Walton, Ky. (www.wv.k12.ky.us/district/index.asp), has a well-organized site that makes information easy to find and use while still being attractive. This small district's high school and elementary school also use the same design on their web pages, which helps frequent users find their way around the sites no matter what information they may be seeking.

* Be up to date.

If you still have last year's school calendar on your site, you may need to re-evaluate your approach to the web. Bad or out-of-date information is worse than no information.

The Clark County Public Schools in Winchester, Ky. (www.clark.k12.ky.us), have a section on the district's home page for headlines. Next to each headline is the date it was posted. This tells visitors two things--if that information is current and whether the website is updated regularly.

It is always a good idea to let users know when the site was last updated. The Kentucky School Boards Association's website (www.ksba.org) is updated daily and that information is noted at the top of the home page. Also, using this type of tag tells people if your site was last updated yesterday or three months ago, which can be an excellent motivator to help you keep current information on your site.

An up-to-date website is also an easy way to promote a positive image of your school or district. An active, current site suggests an active, current school. A neglected site doesn't necessarily mean a neglected school, but it will raise the question in people's minds.

* Keep your fonts businesslike.

Yes, Times New Roman, Arial, New Century Schoolbook and a host of other fonts may be unoriginal or even overused, but there's a reason for that: They are easy to read. You don't have to use these run-of-the-mill fonts, but find something straightforward because specialty fonts used for everyday information look amateurish and can be hard to read.

Pick one or two fonts and stick with them throughout the site. This is easier on the eyes and creates a consistent look. The Crittenden County School District in Marion, Ky. (www.crittenden.k12.ky.us), not only uses the same font throughout the site, it also uses the same page layout, creating visual continuity. The font is also a sans serif, which in most cases is much easier to read than a serif font in an electronic format. Experiment, ask other people and decide which font works for your site.

* Avoid busy websites.

While a busy classroom is good, a busy website is not. As a general rule, avoid any type of textured backgrounds or wallpapers. While in theory it may seem like a good idea to repeat your school or district's logo over and over as your site's wallpaper, it will only make everything placed on top of it hard to read.

Solid-color backgrounds are acceptable, but choose carefully. A black background with yellow text can make the eyes water after a few minutes.

White may be considered boring, but it's hard to go wrong with this choice. Fayette County Schools in Lexington, Ky. (www.fayette.k12.ky.us) found a way to use both a white and color background. The background is a soothing robin egg's blue, but all text is placed on a white background centered over the blue, leaving the blue visible only around the borders of the page.

* Avoid construction zones.

One of the fastest ways to drive people away from your website is to create a link that takes users to a blank page declaring "Under construction." If someone is seeking the information that was promised on that unfinished page, it will be akin to thinking you're getting a bicycle for Christmas and instead finding socks under the tree.

If the page is not ready for use, do not display it as an option or create a link to it, which only serves to disappoint people.

* Fix missing links.

Imagine visiting a school's website, seeing a link that promises help with homework, clicking on it and finding yourself looking at a message that says "This page no longer exists." Or worse, you find the link has taken you to a site that has nothing to do with education, such as an adult entertainment forum.

Check the links on your site regularly to make sure they are up-to-date and still functioning. Your checklist should not only include those links that lead to outside websites, but also should include those to your own pages to make sure they continue to link to the correct information.

* Forget the special introductory offers.

This approach may entice people to sign up for a credit card, but you may lose visitors with a lengthy animated introduction. Get to the point. The first page people should see on your website is your main page, not an artsy introduction.

However, if your webmaster insists on demonstrating his or her HTML skills, request that the introduction include an option to skip it. This is what most commercial sites do so returning visitors do not have to repeatedly sit through the same presentation. Consider this good customer service.

* Test, test and retest your new or redesigned site.

Bring together a group of people in your office to use the site before it is launched. If you have time, you could even include testers from outside your school district who are not familiar with your product. Their feedback may alert you to a problem you did not see, information you did not think to include or an area that may be confusing to users unfamiliar with the site.

Jennifer Wohlleb is the publications coordinator for the Kentucky School Boards Association, 260 Democrat Drive, Frankfort, KY 40601. E-mail: [e-mail]

Some assembly required: Iowa's online survival guide.

BY TRACY HARMS

Every new superintendency should come with an instruction manual. How often during your first year did you wish you had a ready reference for what steps to take in leading your school district?

The School Administrators of Iowa is taking advantage of its website to provide just such a tool to every superintendent statewide.

We created an electronic Survival Guide (resources.sai-iowa.org), to support new leaders through the association's mentoring and induction program that was launched in fall 2003.

The Survival Guide was designed to be instructional, and adult learners' needs drive the content and structure. Subjects addressed on the site include change leadership, using technology, special education basics, student behavior and discipline, diversity, academic standards, school culture, finance, school improvement, hiring using data, working with parents, and survival tips for superintendents.

Besides informational text, the site includes resources and tools to help administrators with implementation. The "Concepts @ Work" and "Your Turn" features are integrated within each topic to allow users to apply the content to their own situations.

Expert Guidance

The site is not a portal of links to other websites but rather a web-based instructional learning hub for Iowa administrators seeking guidance. Users can preview instructional guides or they can delve into a subject using the corresponding tools and resources. Visitors who go directly to the latter are provided a link to the section of the instructional guide that discusses how to use them.

"I've referenced the Survival Guide multiple times," said Bob Miller, who participated in the mentoring and induction program upon starting his superintendency of the Okoboji Community School District in 2004. "I've reviewed the sections on tips for superintendents, leading change and administrators use of technology. The site offers up-to-date thinking and helps to centralize all of the things that are out there so I don't have to go to 27 different websites"

The Survival Guide's initial content was derived from a survey of new principals and superintendents conducted by SAI and Iowa State University, as well as a sampling of practicing administrators queried by SAI.

Contributors to the site, known as "content experts," are Iowa educators who are highly respected by their colleagues. Administrators may contact a content expert via links on the site for further information. This provides an immediate opportunity for new leaders to connect with someone in the state who specializes in the subject area.

The Survival Guide's technology section features ideas for enhancing your school district's website. There is unlimited potential to what a district site can accomplish, ranging from a bulletin board for posting information to an interactive forum for a best-practice learning community.

Legal Insights

Traveling beyond the focus of the mentoring and induction pages, SAI's home page (www.sai-iowa.org) features a section to assist members in navigating legal issues. Guidance on human resources, open meetings, student harassment and various other legal issues is available at a click.

Even though superintendents may feel alone and adrift at sea, typically they're not navigating uncharted waters. It's likely colleagues have confronted similar situations. SAI has archived years' worth of newsletter articles written by its director of legal services by title and content, available for anyone to review.

"I've used resources from the legal issues section to give me a basic understanding of an issue," a second-year superintendent, Darwin Lehmann of the Griswold Community Schools, said.

The website's information base continues to grow with two new content areas-public engagement strategies and systems thinking--scheduled to be added to the Survival Guide in June. Bearing in mind the legal information may not apply in every state, you are welcome to help yourself to SAI's instruction manual and legal guidance to apply to your own work.

Tracy Harms is communications director of the School Administrators of Iowa, 12199 Stratford Drive, Clive, IA 50325. E-mail: [e-mail]