New Year, New Website for Ridgewood Public Schools

RIDGEWOOD, NJ - A new digital hub has launched ahead of the first day of school in the form of a new Ridgewood Public Schools website focused on accessibility and user-friendliness. While some of the enhancements are obvious to site visitors, others are less apparent but will support a more modern communications experience.

According to Public Information Officer Chrstine Corliss, the new web home base replaces one that was around for 10 years. "The age of the site coupled with the district not having an official webmaster until 2023 resulted in an outdated, hard to navigate site that was loaded with outdated information," she explained.

When visiting the new URL, users will notice a simpler, cleaner look with more icons and less text. This change is designed to increase navigation speed, helping everyone find the information and tools they are looking for faster.

Additionally, the site has made significant leaps in terms of accessibility standards for WCAG 2.2, a universally accepted set of guidelines for providing users with visual, auditory and other disabilities access to websites. A whole new feature set that provides adaptations is baked into the site and provides additional features when users have settings toggled in their web browser.

And the largest change, which most users will not experience but will notice over time, is the mechanism for content management that is intended to help site editors keep pages more up to date. "Something as simple as a photo day reminder can be written and sent to the website, social media, and via email to parents/guardians all from one screen at one time," Corliss said. "It will save time and reduce frustration for the staff, enabling them to more consistently communicate school and district news."

When the same update applies to multiple schools, gone are the days of copying and pasting between school pages for site editors. Instead, administrators will be able to roll out content among any combination of the 12 schools in the district.

The district realizes that a new site takes time to adapt to, and has made support available at the very top of the page. With the first day of school scheduled for Sept. 3, the staff is working diligently to make sure everything is ready to go, but is requesting the public's patience as they finish the transition.

On Aug. 22, Superintendent Mark Schwarz is hosting a coffee focused on the new site. The 7 p.m. Zoom session will provide families with an overview of how to navigate the site, its calendar and events.

Read more Education news in Ridgewood:

• Ridgewood's Montclair State Students Earn Spot on Dean's List
• Ridgewood’s Emma Piotrowski Joins Inaugural ARCH Scholars Cohort at College of Charleston
• Ridgewood Public Schools Appoints Richard Matthews as New Business Administrator

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