WINNETKA, IL - February 1, 2010 - The Winnetka Public Schools proudly announces the launch of our newly redesigned website. The new site has been completely reorganized and several new features have been added.

The main content area on the District homepage and the homepages of each school presents current news headlines from the District and schools. News headline links are also available in the right column of each page on the site. The District and school homepages also allow users to subscribe to the news feeds using news readers or RSS news aggregators. A video tutorial about RSS news feeds is available at www.winnetka36.org/communications (Departments > Communications).

The navigation for the site is found across the top of each page in a green bar with drop-down menus. On the District site you can access each school site, find information about the School District, District departments (Business Office, Communication, Curriculum, Human Resources, Nurses, Pupil Services, Technology), the School Board, general information for parents and staff, and an Employment link. School pages feature information about the school, a calendar link, pages about classes, general information for students and parents, an overview of the school's support services, and links to Resource Center services.

The refreshed District calendar system now features a color-coded layout that displays additional information for each calendar entry when a user "mouses over" an event. The calendar can also be "filtered" by a user so, for example, a parent can see a customized view of events for only the school or schools they select. Further, parents who use online calendars or web-connected calendar applications can subscribe to District calendars and receive updated information automatically in their own calendar system. A video tutorial about subscribing to calendars is available at www.winnetka36.org/communications (Departments > Communications).

The site was also designed with web-connected smart phones in mind. Smart phones with news readers can take advantage of news feed subscriptions and web-connected mobile calendars can use calendar subscriptions. Pages display well on iPhone, iPod touch, Android phones, Blackberry touch phones, and other touch-screen-based phones. iPhone and iPod touch users can add a customized icon directly on their home screen for one-touch access to the site; a video tutorial about this feature is available at www.winnetka36.org/communications (Departments > Communications).

In addition, a site-wide Search feature has been added across the site to help website visitors find information quickly and efficiently.

The site was designed in-house with input from many members of our Community of Learners. Val Falstad, our Website and Database Developer, has been responsible for programming, customizing, and implementing the features of the site while Matt Fuller, Director of Technology and Communication, has coordinated the project and worked with the content. The School Board Communications Committee, comprised of Beth Filip, Anne Kelly, and Superintendent Mary Herrmann, led the implementation of this project and provided valuable input and direction during the planning and design phases. District administrators have provided and continue to provide content for each section of the site. Finally, the entire staff of The Winnetka Public Schools was invited to preview the site and provide input, feature requests, and ideas.

Thank you for visiting the new www.winnetka36.org and please feel free to contact us with your thoughts and requests! Email us at webmaster36@winnetka36.org.