Board hears rollout of new district website and upcoming app after user survey

Dr. Mary Havis presented the board with the district’s newly launched website and said the district will launch a companion app in the coming weeks. “We started with a survey…we had 159 responses,” Havis said, describing how the district used family feedback on device use, common information sought and desired features to guide vendor selection and design. Havis summarized survey findings that families typically visit school pages more than the district site, access sites mostly from phones and value quick access to calendars, lunch menus, registration and staff directories. She said the district prioritized mobile display and an easy-to-use translation tool: “You’ll also notice on the bottom right…that translation tool that was so important to us.” The superintendent said the district considered three vendors, evaluated cost, mobile usability, translation, staff training and potential future features, and selected the vendor identified in the presentation as “bridal site.” She said the high school uses the same vendor and that the district began migration in April or May. Havis acknowledged there are remaining formatting and navigation issues, invited board members to send feedback to her, and said the district will run follow-up surveys and monitor page-visit data to decide which features to keep or change. No formal board action was taken on the website during the meeting.