South Euclid-Lyndhurst launches new district website, branding and app plan

South Euclid-Lyndhurst City School District staff on Tuesday showed the board a redesigned district website, selschools.org, that officials said is intended to serve both as a marketing tool for prospective families and staff and as an information hub for current students and employees.

District staff described the site as live for about a week and said the redesign was prompted by outdated content and an earlier site that was not ADA compliant. The presenter said the district reviewed three vendor platforms last fall, selected a final vendor, and completed an accelerated content upload in April after the vendor finalized page designs.

The district emphasized three goals for the redesign: present an inviting first impression for prospective families and employees, remove outdated documents and forms, and improve accessibility. The presenter said some PDF downloads remain on the site but the district will replace those with native web content as part of ongoing work to improve ADA compliance.

The site highlights district news and events, a "find it fast" quick-navigation section intended for families and staff, and a rotating "proud to be an SEL" feature that showcases brief video testimonials from students and staff. The presenter said the site reorganizes content away from a department-based structure toward user-centered categories such as enrollment and “about” information that had previously been accessible only from the footer.

On branding, the district showed updated logos and a set of brand guidelines available on the communications page. The presenter said the athletics “A” logo will be retained and school-level logos were redesigned. The district plans a gradual rollout of new signage and materials as items wear out or are replaced rather than a one-time, costly rebrand.

Next steps include launching an optional mobile app bundled with the website this summer, integrating Infinite Campus with the vendor’s mass-communications platform (identified in the presentation as MXRE) when it launches this summer, and conducting trainings for building staff so departments can manage their own pages. The presenter invited board feedback and said staff will distribute logo files on request rather than posting them publicly to reduce the risk of inconsistent use.

Board members who spoke praised the visual design and calendar improvements and asked practical questions about logos and calendar syncing. The presenter confirmed that bookmarked links to the old site will redirect but calendar syncs must be re-established using the new calendar system; users can subscribe to district and individual-school calendars separately.

The district encouraged continued public feedback as it continues “continuous improvement” of content and accessibility.

Ending: The board thanked staff for the work; the presentation closed with a transition to the board’s next agenda item.