Danvers Students Take Center Stage On Revamped District Website

DANVERS, MA — A yearlong project to revamp the Danvers Public Schools' website to make it more user-friendly and highlight student achievement culminated with the launch of the new site in recent weeks.

A community survey last year informed the priorities for the new site — which now includes easier-to-access lunch menus and calendars, a one-stop staff directory for the entire district, accessibility and translation features and many, many student photos.

"Seeing students was one of the big drivers," DPS Director of Technology Jim Sullivan told Patch. "When you look at the website the first thing you see is students."

Sullivan said there were a couple of hundred responses in the survey and that "the good news was that the feedback we did get had some detail, had some actual information."

"People who did respond did tell us what they were looking for," he said.

He said the lengthy process included going through all the content on the previous site to make sure that only the most up-to-date information and contacts were transferred over to the new platform.

"If we're starting clean, starting fresh, we wanted to make sure the information there is what needs to be there and is accurate," he said.

He said the initial feedback has been "very positive" and that some of the most popular features are the quick links that pop up on the site, its ability to be mobile-friendly and the design that prominently features students and other engaging content.

"That was the big lift," he said of getting the site ready for launch. "But it will continue to be a living product. We will add pages and things as needed.

"Things in the district are always evolving and I am sure the website will be too."

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. X/Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)