Week #7: School Website

Mt. Baker was the Middle School that I attended for 3 years.  When you enter their website, you are able to access various helpful pieces of information.  If you want to contact your child's teacher, you can find their email.  If you want to see the school calendar to plan a vacation with your family, you can see all events and breaks for the year.  If you want to be informed as to what has been going on in the past month, you can read a personal Newsletter from the principal.  The website is simple and practical.  It has the basic necessary information for students, parents, and visitors to use.

There is not much to be confused about because the website is as simple as can be.  I am curious what "Skyward Family Access" is, because the website offers a link to this in which members must log in.  I presume it may be for parents to check their childrens' grades, but it is not clear.  However, lack of confusion in this case is not necessarily a good thing because it means that the website is meager and doesn't go beyond the basic rules and contact information that a school website should provide.

I would love to see the following on this website:

• what kinds of activities each grade level is partaking in
• what resources are available to special needs students
• helpful websites for parents to help their kids with homework
• formal information about the district superintendent
• enrollment statistics
• photographs of students (athletics, concerts, schoolwork, awards, etc.)
• more detailed pictures of the school
• pictures of staff (principal, teachers, etc.) so parents and guests can put a face to the personal webpages and people that they are in contact with.

Although this website seemed slightly bare and cheesy (clip-art pictures!), I was encouraged to read the teacher's webpages and attached documents.  Some teachers seem to take their job very seriously by posting thorough letters to their students' parents about the classroom guidelines and expectations for the year.  I think these sort of things are what make school websites truly worthwhile.