Public School User Conference

GLASTONBURY, CT | April 18-19, 2018

Become an expert in web accessibility, website strategy, and school-to-home communications.

Immerse yourself in a two-day learning experience designed exclusively for public schools and districts using the Finalsite Platform. Sessions will cover top 2018 trends, ranging from website accessibility to tips for maximizing the Finalsite platform.

Space is limited to only 50 attendees, so be sure to secure your seat early, as the event sold out last year.

What Attendees Are Saying...

"The conference was great and I enjoyed the sessions. It is great to have a conference focused the issues and modules that most impact public schools!"

- Jason Michael, Lower Merion School District

"My experience at the Public School User Conference gave me a better overall understanding of how Finalsite can help me improve my communication efforts at my district. The information presented was relevant, interesting and helpful as we continue to improve our website and overall online presence!"

- Pat Halloway, Dalton Public Schools

Conference Details

WHEN

April 18-19, 2018 | Each day of the conference runs from 8:30 am - 4:30 pm.

WHERE

Finalsite HQ | 655 Winding Brook Dr. Glastonbury, CT

COST

The cost for registration is $500. This includes two full days of sessions, transportation to and from the hotel, breakfast, lunch, coffee, and our after-hours activity.

Day One

CEO's Keynote

Welcome to our Second Annual District User Conference for Public Schools! Finalsite's CEO Jon Moser will share some key product updates, security initiatives, and industry trends/best practices exclusively for our public school clients.

Tips for Improving Your District's Site

We'll explore examples of some public schools and districts who are "doing it right," and then We will jump into the back end of Composer to show how you can make some of these pages work on your site, too.

Improving School-to-Home Communications

Want to make sure your parents, community, and other stakeholders are in the loop? In this session, you will learn how to use Portals, Calendars, Page Pops and eNotify to make sure your important messages are getting to the right people at the right time.

How to Facilitate Communication That Works

Strong websites start with strong communications. However, different admins, schools, and opinions can make this a challenge. This session explores ways to foster effective communications in your office and on your website to ensure your community receives the information they need, without causing stress and headaches.

Make Website Updates Happen Quickly and Easily with Admin Users

District websites have a lot of manpower that is going to waste. With dozens of capable hands, you can get help adding content to your district and school sites. In this session, you'll learn how to set up how to multiple admin users and constituents to ensure the content on your website is always up-to-date.

How to Make Your Website Content ADA-Compliant

You know your website needs to be accessible...but how do you get it there? In this session, you will learn all the locations to add alt text, how to make accessible PDFs, where to add video closed captioning, best practices for forms and page structure, and other suggestions to ensure your content can be accessed by everyone.

DAY TWO

First Impressions Matter: Does Your Site Pass the 7-Second Test?

It takes the average website visitor just 7-seconds to determine if they will leave or stay on your site — so can your district website get your brand and message across in that short time? In this session you will learn the questions your homepage should answer immediately to encourage users to explore your district. Then, we'll ask for volunteers to share their site to see if it passes!

Getting Creative With Posts: More Than Just News

The Posts Module is so versatile it is crazy! Learn how you can use Posts for news, blogs, student features, teachers, and to give your community a voice. We will then brainstorm and build a Posts feature together.

Social Media Strategies for Success in 2018

You know your district needs to be on social media — but how do you use it successfully? How do you earn likes, engagement, and followers — even on a tight budget? In this session we'll explore best practices for Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, how to use each network for marketing and communications, and how to use Finalsite Feeds on your website to drive social media traffic.

Google Analytics and SEO 101: What Matters to Districts

Is the world of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Google Analytics confusing and scary? Our resident expert, Red Abbott, will share how districts can use SEO to improve the online experience for prospective and current families, and track success using Google Analytics.

Get in the Game: Best Practices for Athletics

Often Athletics is in the top three most visited pages on a site, and. In this session, check out some prime examples of awesome athletics pages and suggestions for using those ideas on your site as well using Finalsite's Athletics Manager.

During the conference you will learn:

New strategies for improving your website, content, data, and school-to-home communications using the Finalsite Platform
How to create and maintain an accessible website
Tips for saving time and making the most of the Finalsite Platform and its most popular modules including eNotify, Constituent Manager, Portals and Calendars (See full agenda below for a list of sessions)

More reasons to join us:

Accessibility and ADA-Compliance Specialists: Finalsite's trained accessibility experts and AudioEye's certified accessibility experts will be at the conference to answer all of your ADA and accessibility questions!
Professional Development: You will gain new knowledge and skills in public school marketing, communications, technology, and website management.
Networking: You will have the opportunity to network with other public school professionals, and make valuable, long-lasting connections during the conference
After-hours events: Join the Finalsite Team and your colleagues from across the country for dinner and networking at Maggie McFly’s Restaurant at 5:30 p.m. on April 18
One-on-one time: During the conference, you will have the opportunity to meet one-on-one with Finalsite staff to get your biggest questions answered.

Register Now

Need funding or approval?

Use our "Justify My Trip" document to help convince your boss to let you attend this year's conference.

Download My Copy

Hotel Accomodations

Hilton Garden Inn, South Glastonbury
Group Rate: $169 per night, plus tax

For reservations, guest can call the hotel directly at (860) 659-1025 or reserve online here.

To receive the discounted rates, guest must to refer to the Group Name "FINALSITE APRIL GRP" or the Group Code "FINALA".

Group rate valid until 03/27/18

Featured Speakers

Jon Moser

Jon Moser founded Finalsite more than 15 years ago and is passionate about edtech and digital engagement. He's sought-after as a speaker at conferences world-wide, and is a widely respected thought leader and author.

Tim McDonough

As a recovering director of admission, frequent presenter on social media, best practices for admissions, and digital storytelling, Tim combines his expertise as a school professional and Client Success Manager at Finalsite to help schools increase inquiries and enrollment.

Lauren Barth

Lauren is Director of Product at Finalsite where she manages our product lifecycles, strategy, and roadmap, as well as working to ensure an awesome user experience.

Daisey Fahringer

Daisey has been with Finalsite in various capacities for nearly fourteen years, and now serves on the Product Management Team as a Product Manager overseeing the direction of modules such as Athletics, Apply, Blogs & News, Forms, and more.

Alex Wack

Alex started at Finalsite in 2009 as a development intern and transitioned to a role as Product Manager for Payments, Forms Manager and Registration Manager. In 2012 he took over as Product Manager for Composer and has been its Maestro ever since!