Saint Louis Public Schools

Saint Louis Public Schools set out to rethink what a large district website could feel like. Rather than leading with the traditional mix of news, calendars, and district information, SLPS put its community, opportunities, and story front and center.

The new SLPS website opens with an ambitious message: “Every student, every day, together, like never before.” From there, the experience quickly gives visitors prominent calls to action, inviting prospective families to enroll, visitors to explore schools, and job seekers to join the team.

It creates a strong balance between storytelling and the everyday information a district website needs to provide.

Turning priorities into a story

As visitors move through the homepage, the content shifts to the bigger SLPS story.

Expandable sections introduce opportunities across the district, the range of schools serving different learners, the support available to students and families, and SLPS's impact throughout St. Louis.

The site also gives major academics their own visual presence. Career and Technical Education, arts and creativity, and STEM programs receive dedicated treatments that make these opportunities easier for families to discover and understand.

News and stories from across SLPS add another layer, but instead of treating district news as a separate feed, the site uses those stories to show what learning, achievement, and community look like across more than 70 schools.

A theme carried throughout the experience

One of the strongest parts of the new SLPS website is how the idea of “together” appears throughout.

It shows up in the messaging, section headings, imagery, and the way content is grouped. The visual identity also reinforces that connection. Custom typography and graphic treatments reference the St. Louis Gateway Arch, tying the district's digital presence to the city it serves.

That consistency carries into individual school websites as well. Families moving between the district site and school sites find a familiar aesthetic and navigation experience. For a district of this size, that consistency makes it much easier for families to recognize where they are and find the resources they need.

A district that's part of its community

The sense of community comes through in the photography, language, branding, stories, opportunities, and organization of information. Visitors can accomplish a task, learn what SLPS offers, or spend time getting to know the people and programs behind the district.

It's a great example of how a large district can create consistency across dozens of schools while still giving its broader story room to shine. Congratulations to SLPS on the launch!

Schiller Park School District 81

Schiller Park School District 81 takes a focused approach to its new website, putting frequently used information within easy reach while giving the district’s identity and community a stronger presence.

Right from the homepage, families can quickly access district calendars, lunch menus, registration, the parent portal, and other high-use resources like staff directories and transportation information. Those quick links make the site easy to navigate without requiring several clicks to get where they need to go—a great strategy to support the mobile experience, too.

Bringing the district brand into the design

Custom design elements use the district seal as a background watermark, while separate image cards introduce the mission, vision, and values. Those touches help district priorities feel integrated into the website experience rather than tucked away on an interior page.

Keeping families connected

News and events provide a snapshot of what's happening across the district, combining upcoming calendar dates with recent stories.

A dedicated “Ways to Stay Engaged” section also brings social media directly into the site. Instagram integration helps keep the homepage active with fresh content while giving families another way to follow district life.

That type of integration can be especially helpful for smaller communications teams because content already being shared on social channels can continue adding energy to the website.

Easy access for a multilingual community

Translation is also simple. A set of page controls gives visitors quick access to translation, district contact information, and visiting information. With one-click translation into Spanish and many additional languages, families can move through the site in the language that works best for them.

Focused on the actions families take most

Toward the bottom of the homepage, additional calls to action invite visitors to inquire, visit, or apply.

Together, these features make the site especially effective at handling common family needs: registering a student, finding information, contacting the district, or catching up on recent activity.

Orange County Department Of Education

The Orange County Department of Education supports a large and varied education community, working with 28 school districts, more than 600 schools, approximately 20,000 educators, and about 450,000 students across Orange County.

Its new website reflects that scope, bringing together resources, public information, organizational updates, and stories from across the education community in one cohesive experience.

Making a large organization easier to navigate

For an organization like OCDE, the website has to serve many audiences at once. Educators may arrive looking for professional resources or support, while community members may need information about the Board of Education, upcoming meetings, or agendas. Meanwhile, families and partners may want to better understand OCDE’s role and the services it provides.

The navigation gives those high-interest areas prominent placement, including quick access to Board of Education information and details about the Office of Education.

Putting stories alongside resources

A site with this much information can easily become resource-heavy, but OCDE makes time for storytelling throughout.

News features, community stories, employee spotlights, and social media content help show the people behind the organization and the work taking place across Orange County. It’s a balance that gives visitors access to important information while also showing how OCDE supports educators, students, schools, and communities.

And with such a broad mission, that context helps visitors learn about OCDE’s responsibilities while seeing examples of its programs, partnerships, growth, and community impact. Congrats!

Lake Elsinore Unified School District

California's Lake Elsinore Unified School District brings a lot of energy to its new website, one that’s built around opportunity, connection, and community.

A video montage in the hero introduces visitors to students, schools, and everyday moments across the district. From there, the site builds on LEUSD’s message to educate, equip, and empower every student, every day, connecting that purpose to many different opportunities.

Showing the full student journey

One of the most engaging homepage elements highlights the different stages of learning across the district.

Early childhood, elementary, middle, high school, and adult school each receive their own visual panel, with images that expand as visitors interact with them.

It’s a good way to show the district's breadth while helping families quickly identify where they fit within the larger LEUSD community.

Turning programs into visual stories

The site also gives visitors several ways to discover what students can experience outside the traditional classroom.

A custom section highlights opportunities across academics, arts, and athletics through a scrolling visual treatment that pairs each program area with strong photography.

Additional content centered on purpose and possibility widens that story even more. Facilities, cafeteria programs, graduates, and other parts of district life all get space on the site, helping share just how many people and programs contribute to the student experience.

The site also features a slider showcasing colleges and universities where LEUSD graduates have continued their education, connecting current student opportunities with the paths students take after graduation—not to mention the 700 former students who have returned as teachers.

Resources for families and staff

The Team LEUSD staff page brings together current job openings, access to the student information system, schedules, support services, absence reporting, and links to commonly used software and systems.

Families also have their own collection of resources, including ways to get started, access student information, get involved, stay connected, and reach district services and support.

Those audience-specific areas help the site function as a central resource for the broader school community.

Keeping a large site easy to navigate

Despite the amount of content available, the primary navigation stays streamlined.

Visitors can move quickly to information about the district, Board of Education, schools, families, and teaching and learning. High-interest links like lunch menus and transcripts are also easy to reach.

A website designed to celebrate the district

Video, photography, interactive panels, program highlights, staff resources, family tools, and district data all work together to give visitors a fuller picture of LEUSD.

Even toward the bottom of the homepage, a parallax treatment featuring graduation imagery keeps the focus on students and the milestones that connect the entire district.

As the district shared: "We’ve launched a brand-new website built to celebrate the incredible stories, student achievements, and vibrant learning happening across our school communities every day." Wonderful job!

Unionville-Chadds Ford School District

UCFSD is now live with a new website that gives its schools, students, and community a better chance to stay closely connected to the district’s long-standing focus on educational excellence.

And...it’s not often I get to recap the launch of my own alma mater's website. Having grown up in the district and walked these halls myself, it's especially rewarding to see UCFSD represented through a website that's modern, full of school spirit, and supportive of its graduates.

Leading with the district’s purpose

The site centers its story around the idea of “Leading Through Excellence in Education,” supported by messaging focused on helping students succeed in life and contribute to society.

The site also highlights several qualities that help define UCFSD, including a strong school experience and a people-centered culture. Together, those themes give prospective families and community members a better sense of what the district values.

Photography that gives each page character

Don’t miss the photography throughout the site. Large images in page headers bring energy and personality to interior pages while helping visitors connect the content with the students, schools, activities, and people behind it.

For a district with a strong community identity, that imagery helps the site feel less like a collection of information and more like a reflection of the district itself.

Keeping the community connected

The homepage also gives visitors a steady view of what is happening across UCFSD. District news highlights achievements, announcements, and stories from across the schools, while upcoming events and athletic schedules make it easier for families and community members to stay involved.

At the bottom of the site, visitors can also sign up for district emails and newsletters. It's a simple addition that extends the website experience beyond a single visit and gives community members another way to stay connected. On a personal note, it is especially nice to see a place I know so well represented this way online. 

Congratulations on the launch!

Avon Grove School District

Avon Grove, another Pennsylvania district not too far down the road, is live with a new website designed to help families get where they need to go while giving the district’s story plenty of room to come through.

Serving nearly 5,000 students across four schools in southern Chester County, Avon Grove combines helpful shortcuts with strong visuals, student stories, and district achievements.

Starting with energy

The homepage opens with a video montage featuring students across the district, from everyday moments in school to graduates crossing the stage.

That visual storytelling brings a sense of the people and experiences behind the district. It also sets a welcoming tone before visitors move into the resources, news, and information below.

Small design touches add personality throughout the site, like the branded CTA colors and even the slight curve in the main navigation and custom branded elements that carry the district identity across the experience.

Making frequent tasks easier to reach

Avon Grove puts several high-use resources within easy reach.

A set of sticky tools along the left side gives visitors quick access to the calendar, PowerSchool, Schoology, the help desk, and other commonly used applications.

The Find It Fast section serves a similar purpose, bringing together frequently requested information such as transportation, lunch menus, calendars, and student registration.

Navigation designed around how people use the site

The full site navigation lives in a hamburger menu in the upper-right corner and is organized into three primary categories: Who We Are, Departments, and Student Registration. That structure keeps the main interface super streamlined and gives visitors access to a much larger collection of district content, if and when they need it.

Letting the district’s strengths speak for themselves

Alumni testimonials add a more personal touch, and together, those elements help translate district achievements into something visitors can understand quickly while also connecting those accomplishments back to students and graduates.

Congrats to Avon Grove on the launch and to all the districts on their new sites!
 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Connor has spent the last decade within the field of marketing and communications, working with independent schools and colleges throughout New England. At Finalsite, Connor plans and executes marketing strategies and digital content across the web. A former photojournalist, he has a passion for digital media, storytelling, coffee, and creating content that connects.