Perkins Schools updates website

PERKINS TWP. — Perkins Schools' revamped website is ready for the 2023-24 school year. This summer, the school district debuted its new website, which can still be found at perkinsschools.org. A previous website update most recently occurred in 2021. District spokesman Jeff Stacklin described what upgrades occurred: • "Perkinsschools.org is all about the user experience and designed with the needs of students, parents, guardians and families in mind," he said. "The website's analytics show that the most searched and clicked-on features have been the district's calendars, lunch and breakfast menus and staff directories. To that end, the site is designed with prominent buttons for those areas of the website. • "Perhaps the biggest upgrade from our prior website is the calendar (perkinsschools.org/perkins-events) which is now fully searchable and sortable. If a parent wants to see when all the boys tennis matches are, they can search by 'boys tennis' and get all the matches. If a parent wants to see what's happening on a specific day, they can just click on the day on the calendar and it will show that day's events. • "The district calendar not only features school and athletic events, but it also has alumni reunions, booster club activities and community events. Members of outside organizations can post events to the calendar, which are reviewed and approved before appearing on the website. • "Lunch and breakfast menus work just as easy — they are accessible via each of the district's four building pages. Students and parents can easily view the next five days' menus. And, if they want to view and print the menus in a traditional grid format, that option is available, too. • "The site includes building news and updates, athletics and information that students, parents, and families seek, with perkinsschools.org being fully searchable. And, yes, the site is accessible via mobile devices, including phones, tablets and desktop computers." From the website's homepage, users can access the district calendar, athletic schedules, information about district buildings, Perkins Schools' social media accounts, among other details. A rotating carousel of photos of school buildings is also displayed on the homepage. Stacklin, who manages Perkins Schools' communications, said educational website developer Finalsite spearheaded changes to the new website, which cost the district $4,600 for the 2023-24 school year. "The current perkinsschools.org website is awesome," Stacklin said. "It's the centerpiece of the Perkins Schools' communications network. I post news and updates first at perkinsschools.org and then share via email newsletters, social media, and, when necessary, text messaging/SMS and press releases to local media. The website also offers the ability to post surveys and polls, photo slideshows and video."