School District Website Refined

By Larissa Lytwyn

Newtown High School Technology Club President Ed Wolf recently launched Newtown Public Schools’ revamped website at www.newtown.k12.ct.us.

The site’s vibrant new blue and gold shades, he said, were drawn from Newtown High School’s school colors.

“I know that a lot of people are not Internet savvy, and I took that into consideration when I designed the site,” Ed explained. The bright colors and large boldface reflect this, he said.

While Ed oversees the visual appearance and organization of the site, Assistant Superintendent of Schools Alice Jackson plans its content.

The home page offers links to the public school calendar, lunch menus, and the adult education department.

Each school’s individual address, website, and contact information has also been posted, as well as the phone numbers and email addresses of Ms Jackson and Superintendent of Schools Evan Pitkoff.

The names and pictures of each school board member were also recently posted.

The “district” page contains Newtown’s 2003 strategic school profile, district model, district calendar, and even a summary and slideshow presentation of Dr Pitkoff’s 2004–05 budget proposal.

Ed is currently in the process of posting the school board’s meeting minutes from last October 2003 to the present.

A link to the “curriculum” section unveils Ms Jackson’s web page.

Included are the actual curriculum documents of each subject unit grades K–12. 

Also accessible through Ms Jackson’s web page are details of the curriculum development process, professional educational development, the state mandate BEST program new teachers, Title IX, and sexual harassment.

Also available is the 2003–04 District and School Improvement Plans, a plan, according to Ms Jackson, describing “the areas that we believe need improvement and the things that we are doing to support that improvement.”

These goals include meeting students’ “basic human needs” within their learning environment and engaging in a “challenging” and “coordinated” K–12 curriculum that is consistent throughout the grade levels.

Through the implementation of strategies, such as further staff training and other developments, the district strives to personify its success-oriented school model that, indeed, “all children can and will learn well.”