North Adams Schools Unveil New WebsiteBy Tammy Daniels, iBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Wednesday, October 08, 2014 | |
 The school district's new site is colorful and user friendly. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The public schools unveiled a new website on Tuesday that's designed to be informative and user friendly.
The older site was limited and difficult to update, so the school district has been researching for a suitable vendor for several years.
"Edlio was the least expensive and seemed to be the most user-friendly and it was our choice," said Superintendent James Montepare at Tuesday's School Committee meeting. The Los Angeles company specializes in customized school websites.
The initial cost was $6,000, he said, but Business Manager Nancy Ziter got it down to $1,500.
"I think it's going to be very beneficial," Montepare said.
Assistant to the Superintendent Ellen Sutherland, who with network administrator Moty Nevo has been trained and populating the site, took the School Committee through its features.
The colorful, photo-filled site has district and School Committee information, pages for each school and certain programs with links to staff and faculty, informational pages for interior departments such as food service and health, along with calendars, employee information such as handbooks and contracts, news, menus and alerts like school closings.
Teachers will also be able to create their own pages to communicate with parents and display student work.
"Parents can follow a certain teacher," Sutherland said. "There are so many options, so we're excited to begin working on that."
The site also has different layers of access to provide security to the site overall.
Sutherland said information from the older site was migrated to the newer one, so they've been working to ensure information is up to date.
"It's a work in progress. I think it's a great product," Sutherland said. "It was just so easy to do. I think teachers are going to really like it."
Vice Chairwoman Healther Boulger was pleased with the final product.
"I'm the one who really pushed this," she said. "It's so important to have up-to-date technology when you're trying to promote your school, your community, your city."
The committee also heard an overview on the school district's visual, performing and arts program from Aldonna Girouard, a Drury High music teacher and fine arts coordinator.
Girouard said the arts curriculum is being integrated into the elementary schools through working with math and English language arts teachers.
"The principals have been really supportive in giving the teachers flexible grouping," she said. The teachers have been adding language and math activities filtered through an arts process to their instruction.
The teachers are being given training to learn some arts protocol, she said, but the efforts will start slow to see where an arts curriculum can fit.
The Drury Performing Arts Center also has a long list of performances planned for the coming year, including an ambitious performance of the "The Music Man" in December.
 Aldonna Giraourd gives an update on the district's fine and performing arts activities. |
Drama teacher Kathy Caton wanted a production that would involve the whole school community, Giraourd said. "The really cool thing about Kate's vision is she wants to get as many kids as possible."
Already confirmed are some musical football players.
There will also be a number of public musical performances at and outside the school, some with experienced performers and conductors.
"We try to give the kids as many experiences out in the public as possible and we have some guest artists," Giraourd said. Student performers, such as the jazz band, are being encouraged to develop their own repertoires based on analyzing their audiences and venues.
The department is also looking into a several-days intensive choral festival across grades with a guest conductor.
Students are also expanding Drury TV and have taken over some of the work of NBCTV in recording high school events and productions.
Jazz band and theater are now in-school class activities and Giraourd said the department in considering how to do a long-term resident artist project, something that might go over two years.
Mayor Richard Alcombright said he was impressed that what had once been electives and after-school programs were being integrated as curriculum programs.
"Right now, you're shaping careers," he said.
In other business:
• The committee heard an update on Colegrove Park School. Paving of the grounds should be done by the end of the week, the roof will be done in November and windows have been ordered. A walk-through for committee members and others is planned for next Friday.
• The committee approved raising substitute teacher rates from the current $60 per day and $65 per day after 10 consecutive days in a placement to $75 and $85, respectively. The school district has had trouble attracting substitutes because of higher rates in other school districts. The rates are effective in the next pay period.
• Drury High teacher Stephanie Kopala introduced herself as the new president of the teachers' association.
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