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Today, it is all too easy to find district websites that are little more than electronic bulletin boards presenting information in random, sometimes bizarre fashion.
From a public and community relations perspective, school system leaders should examine how their district might commit limited resources to maintain an effective website to achieve important organizational goals.
Public relations is about building and maintaining strategic relationships with key publics on whom the survival of the organization depends.
Such relationships are often enhanced through effective communication.
As such, a reputation is not something that an organization can produce because it’s created in the public mind. But it can be managed.
72 percent of American adults are online
Do the research.
Create a planning committee.
Create goals and objectives.
More school districts are adopting content management systems
Explain in these promotions how users can make the district home page their startup page
Websites offer certain advantages over traditional media, including relatively low production costs, easy content revisions, limitless content space and, perhaps most important, interactivity.
The Allen, Texas, Independent School District organized its home page by key publics including visitors, parents, staff and students.
Some district websites, such as the one maintained in Virginia Beach, Va., have developed news sections that include what is known as online newsrooms with public relations contact information, archived and categorized news releases, backgrounders and downloadable graphics.
Also, to encourage frequent return visits, front pages should contain a “what’s new” link that helps demonstrate the site’s vitality and currency.
The two most important navigational features are (1) a “home” button located consistently on each page so users who get lost can easily return to the home page, and (2) an internal search engine for the convenience of users who want to use a keyword search to find specific information on the site.
The capacity of websites to interact with the user through e-mail, weblogs (“blogs”), electronic bulletin boards, chat rooms and instant messaging is the greatest advantage the web offers over the more traditional mass media.
Organizations have the ability to engage in two-way communication, a major component of effective communication and relationship building.
My research shows school districts are hesitant to use such features because of concerns about site security, privacy and adequate staffing to respond to online communication. Yet ignoring the interactive possibilities can make a website’s communication potential no better than a district newsletter’s.
Viewers might wonder how organized and in control of the situation a school district really is if it fails to recognize the crisis on its own website. Education organizations should take the lead from the business world and consider their website an essential component of their crisis planning. School districts should provide important factual information quickly and consistently, including background materials about the school.
- The rise of participatory journalism.
Schools should take proactive measures to address their concerns and communicate with strategic publics (including activists) frequently and effectively.

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