All content published on the District Website must: 1. Comply with all State and Federal law concerning copyright and intellectual property rights.

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1 Public Schools of Robeson County Website Guidelines revised 2013 Introduction These guidelines will help provide a degree of consistency, quality, and a general direction regarding how the school district will be represented to the online community while providing educational and curricular practices in keeping with goals and objectives of the Public Schools of Robeson County. They will help prevent situations which may cause embarrassment for the district, address web page content, explain overall responsibility, address quality and technical standards, and explain student protection. The district s web presence represents us to a potentially greater audience than any other medium. Our collection of electronic documents can be an excellent way to provide information about the district to the community. All material published on the District Website must have educational value and/or support the District guidelines, goals, and policies. Material appropriate for Web publishing includes information about the District and its Board Members, agendas, policies, appropriate administrative procedures, department activities or services, schools, teachers or classes, student projects, and student extracurricular organizations. Personal information, not related to education, will not be allowed on the District Website. Use of the District Website for financial and/or personal gain is strictly prohibited. All content published on the District Website must: 1. Comply with all State and Federal law concerning copyright and intellectual property rights. 2. Comply with Board policies and administrative procedures for the specified levels of publishing. This specifically includes the District s Acceptable Use Policy. 3. Comply with the publishing expectations listed below. Material that fails to meet these Guidelines or is in violation of Board policy and/or procedures shall not be published on the District Website. The District reserves the right to remove any material in violation of its policy or procedures. Failure to follow these Guidelines or Board policy and/or procedures may result in loss of privileges, disciplinary action, and/or appropriate legal action.

2 Different Levels of Web Publication The following information provides specific information regarding Web publishing at different levels within the District. At each level, an editor is identified as being responsible for Web publishing at that level. This individual s Web publishing efforts are supervised by the District Webmaster. District Level The District Webmaster conducts the District-level Web publishing efforts and supervises other levels of Web publishing. District-level publishing includes the District s homepage as well as any publishing activities representing the District as a whole (e.g., information about Board meetings, Board policy, and schedules). Department Level District operational departments (Transportation, Human Resources, Curriculum, etc.) may publish their own Web pages as part of the District s Website. The department supervisor or director is ultimately responsible for his or her respective department s Web pages, but may appoint a staff member as the department s webmaster to fulfill the maintenance, reviewing, and uploading tasks. The department supervisor or director shall keep the District Webmaster informed of the name of the department webmaster. The web-published material should coincide with that department s printed material. The District Webmaster should be consulted before publishing potentially sensitive material, e.g., school comparisons or student data. The department front pages should maintain the look and feel of the District homepage the connection to the District should be obvious. School Level The LEA Principal is ultimately responsible for his or her respective school s Web pages, but has a School Webmaster to help fulfill the maintenance, reviewing, and uploading tasks. All official material originating from the school will be consistent with the District style and content guidelines. The LEA Principal or School Webmaster may develop guidelines for the various sections of and contributors to the school s Web pages in addition to these guidelines. Teacher Level The teacher is responsible for his or her respective classroom web page(s). All material originating from the classroom will be consistent with the District s style and content guidelines.

3 Protocol / Duties Each school is responsible for the content and timely updates of their pages. The District Technology Department will offer support for designated school webmasters in support of their duties. The school specific webmaster is the point of contact for that LEA. Questions or problems with school or teacher web pages should first be directed to the school webmaster. In the event that the school webmaster is unable to solve the problem or answer the question, then the individual should contact the District Webmaster. Each school functional area (guidance, media, etc.) will have a designated "editor" who has primary responsibility for developing and maintaining the content and presentation of the page(s). It is the responsibility of the editor to maintain the integrity of the page(s). Each teacher will also be given access and training on how to manage their own teacher page. The editor or teacher is responsible for appropriate content. The prevailing judgment regarding quality or propriety shall lie with the administration/director of technology, which includes questions concerning material, appearance, or content. Training will be provided by the district Technology Department and school webmaster as needed. Requirements Pages that contain time-sensitive information, such as calendars, school events, and staff information must be updated monthly to ensure current and accurate information. Web pages should be checked monthly to make sure URL hyperlinks are live. The PSRC School District Website is for educational use only. Content of the site should give information and promote school related activities (PTO, classes, staff, departments, sports, school projects, calendars, volunteering opportunities, etc.). Information concerning non-school sponsored activities or student groups may not be posted to the school or teacher web pages. Personal information concerning students or staff members (including home addresses and telephone numbers) shall not be published on district web pages. Student addresses, whether a personal or district account, shall not be listed on any district web page. Each web page editor is responsible for their links they create on the website. External links contained on the school's page(s) must be appropriate and relevant to the curriculum and purposes of the school. External links should be only to professionally hosted sites. Widespread use of external links to non-district websites is discouraged, but if used, external pages must contain appropriate educational materials and information. Care must be taken to review the appropriateness of

4 advertisement on such external pages prior to the creation of the link. Every effort should be made to ensure that all links are operational. Questionable external links should be submitted to the school webmaster and/or to the director of technology. Files hosted on the PSRC web server(s) and hyperlinks from these files should not contain information that is in violation of (or promotes the violation of) any district policy or regulation nor any local, state, or federal regulation or law, including the district AUP. Unauthorized use of copyrighted material is prohibited. Copyright and trademark laws apply to electronic publishing as well as to print publishing. Permission to use information, graphics, or photographs must be obtained if the district is not the copyright owner. Acknowledgment of such should be placed on the site. Items that are prohibited from being published include: Personal information about staff and parent volunteers including non-district addresses, non-district mailing addresses, and non-district phone numbers except as approved by the LEA principal. Student personal contact information of any kind (You may use first name and last initial). Pictures with names of students may not be displayed on the website. Student work may be pictured along with their full first name and only their last name initial. Links to non-professional, staff, volunteer, or student personal home pages (ex. FaceBook, twitter, etc). Links to sites that are in conflict with the goals and objectives of the Public Schools of Robeson County. Web Publishing Recommendations The following information should be included on school pages: Welcome page from the principal General information about the school (namesake, history, when the school opened, etc.) Event information (calendar, upcoming meetings, special programs, early release days, etc.) PTO information (officers and board members with contact information so that newcomers can contact them, events, programs, and volunteer opportunities)

5 Pertinent information from student and parent handbooks (policies and procedures on attendance, discipline, tardiness, etc.) Link to attendance area information Link to test score information Recognition of students and teachers Parenting information to help parents tutor or assist their children s fundraising activities Student work may be posted on the website with parental consent. Webpage Design Recommendations Please adhere to the following design guidelines on every webpage: Webpage editors and teachers should use a consistent style on their pages. Schools should place a link to the district s curriculum resource page. (Curriculum Depot) Fonts should be one of the Standards: Verdana, Times Roman, Arial, Tahoma. The district s preferred font is Verdana. Page content should be no bigger than Font Size 4 (14pt), and no smaller than Font Size 2 (10pt). DO NOT USE UNDERLINES, Use of underlining is restricted. According to ADA regulations, underlining should only be used to denote links. Use of scrolling Marquee text is strongly discouraged. Scrolling text can be difficult and time-consuming to read and should be avoided when displaying important information. Avoid color schemes or backgrounds that make the information on the page hard to read, including highlighting text in a different background color. Avoid using white text or links (difficult to print). Avoid the use of yellow text (difficulty to read), and finally avoid the use of blue text (Should only ever be used to represent a hyperlink). Graphics should be used judiciously. Ensure that all images have sufficient resolution and clarity.

6 Animated GIF files should be used very sparingly and need to be relatively small (under 100k). Animated GIF files should have transparent backgrounds. All text should employ correct grammar, mechanics, and usage according to the rules of Standard American English. Teacher Website Content Recommendations Current info on homepage ( , office hours, phone #) (flex page) Teacher Name Subjects taught (all levels) Best time for parent to call teacher during the school day, phone number, extension Textbook/important links and logon credentials (if necessary) Daily class routine (elementary) Calendar with due dates for assignments/tests (calendar page) Syllabus (flex page) Notes/presentations for students (file library) Assignments (Assignment page) Current topics of study (updated weekly) (article library) Blog (blog page) Resources (link library) Embedded movies and/or pictures (avoid Flash, we favor the use of QuickTime media for ios compatibility) Procedures, policies, supplies Optional Photo gallery (remember to have all agreements on file) Podcasts (podcast page) Shared Apps