Lewis Central previews new district website, staff portal and board policy access

The Lewis Central Community School District Board of Directors reviewed a demonstration Aug. 4 of a redesigned district website that includes a staff portal, searchable content and a public Hall of Fame and yearbook archive. The superintendent said the new site aims to surface commonly used information within one or two clicks, with a staff portal that requires credentials so district-only resources (PowerSchool links, internal bookmarks) are accessible to staff without exposing them publicly. Board members raised access questions during the meeting after finding some board policy pages still password-protected during the demonstration. The superintendent said staff will update the site to make board policies publicly viewable immediately after approvals and is changing the process so policies uploaded in the district system appear online without manual PDF re-uploads. The superintendent highlighted a “touch wall” Hall of Fame feature tied to a giant TV in the high school Commons and a yearbook archive the district uploaded with help from the city library’s scanning of past yearbooks. District staff asked for feedback from board members and community users during the soft launch, noting the site was not live at the time of the meeting. The superintendent invited the public to try the site when it is published and provide feedback on navigation and policy access. No formal action was required; the demonstration was informational and staff will follow up to correct access and password issues.