SCHOOLWIRES CONSULTING & DESIGN

If you’re looking for a good software program to build, upgrade or more easily manage your school or district web sites, I’d recommend you seriously consider Schoolwires, a feature-rich content management system designed especially for schools.

I am an independent web consultant who first discovered the program when searching for software to better manage the web site of the school where my wife works.

Of all the software I evaluated, Schoolwires was the most impressive package I found for its features, its design flexibilty, and its price.

My first school site was featured on the front page of the Schoolwires national newsletter, Success Matters, for its “creative use of Schoolwires”.

I’ve since helped other schools and districts and have found the program to be a very powerful, flexible tool for creating and managing school sites.

The program makes it easy to regularly update a site, and for teachers to create and manage their own pages. In addition, based on my experience, I’ve found the company has responsive tech support staff and is very committed to evolving the product, providing frequent upgrades.

Schoolwires’ many features and modules make it a powerful program. But that also means the program is somewhat complex, with a learning curve to understand how to use its features most effectively.

In addition, ensuring proper implementation at all levels — from district, to local schools, to teachers and staff — takes considerable time for planning, training and coordination. Plus, creating a good site design takes additional work.

As an experienced, independent Schoolwires site developer, I can work with you through the implementation process to help you streamline the creation of your new sites, avoid common mistakes, and incorporate best practices from other schools. Schoolwires staff is able to offer only limited assistance. And my rates are less expensive than theirs for comparable services.

Here are some of the ways I have helped others and may be of help to you:

• Develop and assist with your implementation plan
  Write a clear, step-by-step plan with a timeline, and assist as needed with carrying it out.
• Create a cost-effective custom design for your site or district-wide site
  I employ a highly skilled web designer who can create your ideal site design at an affordable price.
• Configure initial district and school sites
  Set up shell sites with initial channels, sections and appropriate page types to get you started.
• Migrate or assist with migrating content from your old site
  A big job that can make a huge difference in whether new sites look good and work well.
• On-site training for district and school site managers
  On-site, hands-on training for site managers at both the district and school levels is essential to ensuring sites are properly managed, highly functional and work well for everyone.

	PARK DAY SCHOOL My initial Schoolwires site was for Park Day School:www.parkdayschool.org. I developed the site, migrated existing content, trained the staff and provided ongoing support. The original Park Day School Schoolwires site was featured in the Schoolwires national publication, Success Matters, as an example of a highly effective custom designed site.
	ORINDA UNION SCHOOL DISTRICTDesigned and produced a site for the Orinda Union School District (OUSD) and its five local schools, which you can view at www.orindaschools.org. OUSD is the #1 ranked district in California, based on its API scores. I coordinated the site implementation, migration of district content, and trained the district and school staff.
	LOS ALAMITOS SCHOOL DISTRICTCompleted the design, content migration and launch of the Los Alamitos School District site and sites for its 10 schools: http://losal.schoolwires.com. I also conducted day-long on-site trainings for their district staff and school site coordinators.
	California Technology Assistance Project Assisted the California Technology Assistance Project in Mendocino County with revising their current Schoolwires site.

TESTIMONIALS

“Your experience and steady hand have been of enormous help in creating our Schoolwires sites. Thank you for the trainings, the site design work, guidance during implementation, and all of your essential support. I don’t know how we could have done this without you.”
– Ben Lang, Director of Technology, Orinda Union School District

“I have heard only very positive things about our new website — both from parents and educators. They like the look and feel and the ease of navigation. Folks have said that they can get a real ‘feel’ for the school by looking at the website (which is, of course, the purpose). Great job. Thanks!”
– Tom Little, Director, Park Day School

“Thanks for all you help on this project. Our community really likes the changes and information. Teachers like the ability to have a web page and begin using it. Overall, positive!”
– John Spiratos, Director of Information Technology, Los Alamitos Unified School District

Addtional references and other testimonials available upon request

I am an independent internet consultant with no formal ties to Schoolwires. For the last 11 years I have worked with a wide variety of schools, nonprofit organizations and small businesses to build and market their web sites. My sites have won a number of awards and other recognition.

I discovered Schoolwires when I was evaluating content management software for Park Day School, where my wife works. The school was looking to upgrade its existing web site with a better design and to make it easier for staff and teachers to update.

I found the software to be so helpful that I’ve since devoted a major portion of my web business to working with other schools and districts.

Steve Ladd  ::  925-254-2052  ::  steve@laddmedia.com