As we mentioned in our previous blog post, we will be highlighting a few of the valuable products and services that OPSRC offers to public schools throughout the state.
As we mentioned in our previous blog post, we will be highlighting a few of the valuable products and services that OPSRC offers to public schools throughout the state. One of these products is a school website, an often underused and overlooked tool for communicating information to your district's families and community supporters. This tool will save you precious time and money and will help you more effectively provide information to those who need it.
This is even more important right now, as it's that time again when schools are looking at next year’s budget and deciding which contracts to renew, which ones to cancel and if a new provider is necessary. As schools are already struggling with tight budgets and facing possible additional cuts, we hope school leaders will consider how our website offering and other products we provide to OPSRC members can help save money and time while allowing schools to focus on their mission of educating children.
To date, forty-one Oklahoma school districts use this website solution, and we regularly hear that the solution saves schools time and money, is extremely easy to use and has improved their ability to communicate with parents and community.
What does it cost?
We’ve designed our solution to be as cost effective as possible. We charge a one-time fee of $750 to build the site. For every year thereafter, we charge $100/year to host the site. Our technology team is available to assist you in managing the website, and we don’t charge extra for this technical support.
How does it save you time?
Managing a website can be challenging and intimidating (especially if you don’t do it often), so we’ve chosen a solution that is simple and easy to use. Our website is fully “responsive,” meaning that the site works on all devices. Many schools still manage separate websites—one for traditional computers and a separate site for mobile devices. The administrative console is set up similar to a Word document, so if you’re familiar with Microsoft Word, most updates are intuitive. Additionally, our website solution integrates with popular social media platforms like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, so if an administrator attends an extracurricular event (say a basketball game), he/she can snap a photo using a mobile device and then automatically upload the photo to the website. We’re constantly working to upgrade this functionality, and as new functionality is rolled out, all of our website customers can access this functionality with no additional charges.
How does it make your school more effective?
School websites are often the primary point of interaction between parents and other community members and the school. We consider the following factors to be critical in ensuring that your website conveys accurate and easily-accessible information:
We are proud of our website offering, and by using it, we believe you can save time and money and provide your community with a more effective communication tool. Thus, you will be freed up to spend critical time focused on your students. If you would like to learn more, please visit our website at http://opsrc.net/website-offering-about or email Technology Director Ben Parker at ben.parker@opsrc.net.
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The numbers don’t lie: 100 and 85 million! 100 is the age of author extraordinaire Beverly Cleary, whose birthday is today, and 85 million is how many copies of her books have sold.
The Immigrant Legal Resource Center recommends that all families have—and share with their children’s school—a family preparedness plan. Such a plan outlines who is responsible for the care and custody of minor children in the event of an arrest, detainment or other happening that would make parents unavailable to their children.
Too often, schools adopt an all or nothing philosophy surrounding technology. Either we don't use it at all, or we adopt it and run full steam ahead. I think this is where most schools end up struggling with technology.
In an effort to meet the ever-changing needs of our members, the Teaching & Learning team works hard to offer diverse, focused services that are, as always, free! Besides our online courses, twice-a-month webinars and our customized on-site professional development, we offer five regional professional developments over two days, five times a year.
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