Atlanta Public Schools Solves Website Dilemmas
using Schoolwires Centricity.
Atlanta Public School District (APS), with 98 schools and 50,000 students, had one big challenge: finding a website and community platform where each school site would be consistent with the district site, yet dynamic enough to give each school the ability to be creative.
Prior to implementing Schoolwires Centricity™, Communications Director, Stephen Alford and the Learning Technology Department designed their district and school websites with tools such as Adobe Dreamweaver™. They created three templates for their schools. "Although the sites were well designed and functional," Alford commented, "we found that after we turned them over to the schools, the information became outdated quickly. The schools did not have the skill set required to work with Dreamweaver."
Superintendent of the Year:
In order for the schools to update their sites they would either have to hire an outside source or call the district. Neither option was realistic in terms of time or budget. According to Alford, "Every website was its own entity with no consistency. This was a problem especially for parents who have children in different schools. Navigating the different sites became more difficult than helpful. We needed more consistency with our image and info throughout
the district." The solution: to have the capability to post district-wide information on
all school sites without having to post a link to a PDF so that, for example, Student and Parent Handbooks appear on the webpage itself. Schoolwires Centricity met their need. It allows posting content in a centralized location to be pushed out to all school websites. When changes are needed, the district is able to make the update in one location, rather than individually for every single school site.Alford affirmed, "Schoolwires was able to provide a robust engine for content management that allowed for the flexibility to design the sites
to look the way we wanted, to create a standard image for our district
with ease, provide consistent navigation and the ability to give ownership directly to the schools. We chose them because they met our needs better than any other company." He adds, "Now updating the sites is assigned to our staff, teachers, coaches, principals, administrators; anyone is able to use Centricity and keep information fresh. There is never an interruption in communication and never an excuse to have outdated information when updating a page is as easy as using Word."APS also had a short timeline. They needed the site up and running immediately. Schoolwires was able get the site functioning in approximately three months. Alford expresses his appreciation for the Schoolwires staff: "APS appreciates the flexibility and the commitment of Schoolwires in helping
to get our sites completed. The level of professionalism we experienced allowed us to achieve a professional image throughout our entire web presence and communication platform."
Placing focus on districts connected with success.
We're proud to recognize the communities who are delivering on the promises of a connected community with Schoolwires.
Superintendent of the Year:
Dr. Beverly Hall
Atlanta Public Schools
In addition to the success APS has had in finding a community management system that met their communication, image, and professional needs, AASA recently named Dr. Beverly Hall, National Superintendent of the Year, for her outstanding leadership. Full Story > 
