Washington County Board of Education Website

As a result of our printing relationship with Washington County Board of Education, HBP learned that the Board was looking for a better method for internally managing the content on their website. Carol Mowen, Public Information Officer for the board, wanted to enable teachers with technical ability to create and host class-related web pages, but she also wanted the less technically-inclined teachers to be able to create and host class pages using simple templates.

The process of building a requirement assessment greatly expanded the scope of the project and made it clear that modularity was a key requirement. It wasn't until a year following the site launch that HBP was approached by the WCBOE to help formulate a branding initiative.

With more than forty elementary, secondary and high schools in the county and each school having a decidedly different approach to the look of their stationery, the need for brand management became apparent. The public school system is supported by one central print shop, so it was decided that all school-level stationery products would have a consistent theme and be printed as shells to be stored in the print shop warehouse. The stationery could be customized online and the file delivered to the print shop to be printed onto the shells. This eliminated the need for typesetting and the typical proof approval process.

While providing a message of consistency, administratively the benefits were enhanced reporting and usage analysis as well as the discontinued use of communication tools outside the adopted branding guidelines. Electronic letterhead templates were constructed to mirror the printed letterhead to allow branded email correspondence and reinforced the commitment to consistency.

Public Site
Through the public portion of the Washington County Board of Education website, users can view the following sections:

General WCBOE Information
Includes pages such as the school directory, central office directory, job openings, and the master plan

Departments
Detailed information about individual departments: contact information, supervisors and staff, general description, custom links, downloadable resources. Expanded information for department staff members, including job function, office hours, contact information, email address.

Parents/Community
Includes pages such as lunch menus and student calendars. Users have the ability to sign up for email updates in which they can be sent information about lunch menus, school delays and closing for specific schools, board meetings, and school-specific updates.

Public Information
e.g. News releases, annual reports, general contact information

Schools
Listing of all schools, grouped by elementary, middle, and high schools. Individual school pages display: image of school, contact information, administration, downloadable resources, school statistics (e.g. grades, capacity, enrollment, age of building, etc.). Individual teacher pages where students can view contact information, image of teacher, class updates (assignments, downloads, links).

Delays and Closings
Visitors can view the school closing policy, school closings, and can sign up for email notifications. There is also a scrolling banner on the homepage where administration can post important notifications.

Administrative Interface
WCBOE staff have access to an administrative interface, with features enabled according to assigned privileges.

Broadcast Email Sytem
Admin users can compose and deliver broadcast emails for lunch menus, school delays and closings, public information notifications, and school-specific notifications (emails to users who requested periodic information about a particular school). Admin users in specific schools have access to only their lists of recipients.

Department Pages
Access to editing content of department templates. Users with access rights can upload a custom image, add links, add downloadable resources, edit contact information, as well as manage a custom microsite via FTP.

Department Staff
Users can edit department staff information, including name, title, contact information, departments to which the users belong, job description, and office hours.

Homepage Admin
Those with special access can control the content of the scrolling banner on the homepage.

School Pages
Access to editing content of school templates. Users with access rights can upload a custom image, add links, downloadable resources, general school information, a MapQuest link to directions to the school, as well as manage a custom school microsite via FTP.

Security Tools
Keyword search - searches for certain sensitive phrases in website files New pages search - searches for website files which have been added or modified within a specified timeframe

Teacher Pages
Teachers can edit their personal information, including name, school, custom image, contact information. They can create individual class pages, allowing each class to have a custom message, information for assigned homework, web links, and downloadable resources. Teachers can also create and manage their own custom microsites.

User Administration
Used for admin to control user logins, password, security access, and locations.

Digital Library
Through the admin area, teachers and staff can order publications, schools forms, handouts, business cards, and stationery. Certain items are print-on-demand, cutomizable through the Saepio interface. The WCBOE print shop receives orders via email and can access an order detail screen via a special login.

Professional Absence Request (PAR) system
WCBOE teachers and staff can submit absence requests through the PAR system when they need to attend professional development events. Users enter event information, funding sources, and whether a substitute is required. Each request can travel through a hierarchy of approval levels - immediate supervisor, Professional Development supervisor, Deputy Superintendent, and Superintendent -- with an email trail documenting each approval. Approvals begin at the immediate supervisor level and travel up as required. Approval screens are provided to users, filtered by the PAR requests pertaining to them. An admin screen is also provided for the Professional Development department to monitor substitute quotas.