We were happy to see that the schools with the websites had emphasized parent involvement. They encouraged parents to attend events, get involved, and be a part of their children’s education. They do this by making the website easy to navigate and posting events on a public calendar.
Another thing that we have noticed is that majority of the students that attend the schools in the Northwest side of Chicago, were of Hispanic descent. In Albany Park, Asian students make up almost 1/3 of the student population. There was also a large population of African-American students that attend the schools.
While trying to find this information about the schools in these areas we ran into a problem. For many of the schools there was a great lack of websites offering information. Making a website would allow potential future students, parents, and donors to contribute to the community.
Your group has identified a very important quality that makes a school “parent friendly”: the school’s website. That is the first place that people go to find information these days and if a website is hard to navigate – or even nonexistant – how are parents, many of whom don’t speak English, able to become involved in the school community? Can you also name some of the schools in your area? Name recognition on the part of your audience will provide some context for your comments.