District communications previews website migration to Apogee, sets June 30 switch and staff training

A district communications presenter (staff member) briefed the Arlington Central School District Board of Education on the district’s website migration and previewed features of the new Apogee platform, saying the site was migrated by staff between April 24 and April 30 and is scheduled to go live on June 30, 2025.

Why it matters: The communications presentation emphasized mobile access, easier navigation, distributed editing for individual schools, a searchable staff directory linked to SchoolTool, and a public Google Calendar for events — all intended to make frequently sought information easier for families, students and staff to find.

The presenter said the district began evaluating platforms after Blackboard announced its acquisition and a sunsetting of the current platform. The communications office considered five platforms — Bridal site, SchoolBlocks, Apogee, SmartSites and eChalk — and selected Apogee for its navigation format, distributed editing, human‑assisted migration, mobile friendliness, included mobile apps, training and customer support. The presenter said Apogee’s cost was midrange among the options and that pricing is available through BOCES.

The communications team conducted a website survey last fall with about 430 respondents (the presenter’s estimate). Of respondents the presenter reported, 88% were district parents, 67% said they visit the district website at least once a week and 65% access it on mobile devices. Respondents most frequently looked for SchoolTool/parent portal (78%), district and school events (73%), news (61%), contact information (45%) and lunch menus (36%). The presenter said analytics show more than 700,000 page visits on the current site since May of last year.

Previewed features included a consistent top “wrapper” with quick links (SchoolTool/parent portal, staff resources, contact us), unique slideshows and quick links per school level, a district live feed for stories that can publish to social media, and public Google Calendars synced to school pages so families can subscribe to events. The new staff directory will pull titles from SchoolTool; communications staff said they are working with HR to display functional job titles (for example, “main office clerical” or “first grade teacher”) rather than civil‑service classifications.

The presenter said the district will begin editor training on May 16 (a half day) for clerical staff and continue training through summer and early fall for staff who regularly edit school and district sites. Post‑launch communications work in July will include videos and materials to guide users through site differences ahead of back‑to‑school. The presenter also described planned recruitment and “I am looking for” quick‑help sections to address common questions such as how to request transcripts.

On security, the presenter said teacher email addresses will be protected by an encrypted “send me a message” form to reduce phishing.

The presenter credited a website advisory committee of staff, school web managers, parents and community members for feedback and noted the district consulted other districts using Apogee and networks from the National School Boards Association conference. Named staff who assisted in the presentation included Paula, Liam, Rob and Carol; Mr. Jennings and Laura Oliver were referenced earlier in the meeting in a separate school presentation.

Ending: The presenter asked for questions and said the district will do a final content check before June 30 because once the new site is live the old site will be taken down.