We’ve recently redesigned our school district web site (www.fairfieldcityschools.com) and I wanted to highlight some of the features in it.

Of course, all of the most popular components of the web site are still there. They include Progress Book, where parents can get information about homework, projects coming due, test dates, grades, etc. There’s also the school calendar, the employee directory, and lunch menus, which include not only what’s being served but also complete nutritional information on products served in the Fairfield School District cafeterias, and lists of healthy snack choices that are available.

On the web site’s home page we feature the most current news about our district. And each school also has its own home page, where you can see school newsletters, pictures of activities going on, messages from the principal, etc.

Those are some of the features that get the most use from regular visitors to the site. But there’s a wealth of other information available, and I encourage users to explore it further. There is also:

School board information – We have an entire section about the Board of Education. It tells you who is currently on the school board and how to reach those individuals if you have a compliment, a comment or a concern. The board meeting schedules, agendas and minutes are also all posted.

Curriculum – There is a large amount of information about the Special Education program, the English as a Second Language program, services for gifted students, summer school, testing and academic content.

Wellness pages – One of the newest features is the site’s wellness pages. It’s in the “About the District” section of the web site. “Why teach wellness?” is a question we’re sometimes asked. It’s because many students are overweight and have unhealthy diet and physical activity patterns. Research shows that overweight children are less likely to do their best in school, and often have to deal with emotional and social issues that can affect their schoolwork. So in the wellness section we’ve posted information about our wellness activities and goals, as well as links to other web sites that we’ve found to be reliable sources of information.

There are many other sections of the web site that have useful information. The Teacher of the Year page highlights two of our most outstanding teachers (they’re a teaching team), Jim Yates and Linda Napier. Many of the forms we use in school every day, especially those for athletics and the nurses’ clinics, can be downloaded. There are links to school-related sites, like those for the Alumni Association, the Booster Club, and the Tempo Club. And finally, these Fairfield Echo columns are on the site, in case a reader has missed one or wants to refer back to one. They are posted about two weeks after their original publication here in the Echo.

There’s one other time the district web site can be a great resource. Whenever we make a decision to delay or close school because of the weather, that information is posted right at the top the home page within five minutes of the decision being made. If you have Internet access at home, it’s the fastest way to find out.

Published in the Fairfield Echo, Jan. 17, 2008