Duluth Public Schools Website — A joke!

Anyone else find the Duluth Public Schools website absolutely abominable?

I had reason to call three elementary schools, one of which I needed the address for. Sure I could use my handy-dandy phone book — oh, wait, this is 2010 I don’t have a phone book! Not to mention I’m sitting at my desk, with my high-speed world wide web right here.

Seriously, it seems like somehow the technical courses at the high school level should be able to put together a website that does more with fewer clicks than the website our fine public schools put together.

It should be no wonder that I have no idea what is going on at my kid’s school: I can’t even figure out the phone number from the web page without three new tabs opening. Luckily I’ve got a lot going for me: I’m on a high-speed connection, I have a decent computer and I have a PhD (which by definition implies that I am decent at persisting to solve dumb problems that most people pass right by).

7 Comments

Echo

about 13 years ago

I feel your pain. I have a nifty trick I use to navigate the site. Take two ibuprofen, then type in the URL.

ironic1

about 13 years ago

By contrast, take a look at Harbor City International School's website which was designed by a student there.  A sophomore I might add.

Paul Lundgren

about 13 years ago

The home page for each individual Duluth Public School has the address and phone number listed clearly at the top of the page. I'm not sure how much easier that could be made.  

Granted, when you're looking for three addresses you have to go to three different pages, but I don't think that's too much to ask.

Considering the Duluth Public Schools site contains information about over a dozen schools and other related stuff, I don't think it's appropriate to compare it to the Harbor City Int'l site.

ironic1

about 13 years ago

Oh no! I'm *gasp* inappropriate!

samh

about 13 years ago

I'm sorry but I disagree.  The information regarding addresses and phone numbers is all available within a few clicks of the homepage.  I'm not honestly sure it gets much easier than this.  

My suggestion is if you don't like a particular website or the way it delivers information then consider searching it out yourself using a search engine.  For instance, typing the query "elementary school duluth, mn" into Google provides a list of schools along with their address, phone number, and URL.  

http://tinyurl.com/2ctc4wa

Kerc

about 13 years ago

"The home page for each individual Duluth Public School has the address and phone number listed clearly at the top of the page. I'm not sure how much easier that could be made. "

Good point, I see it now.  I looked for it where most organizations put it: in a contact us tab (on the left) or on the bottom of the page. I think when I initially looked I saw an address there on the home page for central administration.

I still see no reason why we can't have a listing of elementary school + address/phone number on one page. Click on the title of the school to access the school's own page. Or for instance like some districts that put the schools on the very front page - each school with its own tab.

Kerc

about 13 years ago

With five short clicks from the home page I can find the school contact info (address, phone number, principal name, secretary name, start and end time) for every school in the district. That's useful stuff.

It would be uber helpful, except that it is for last year. I guess that's the kind of thing I was expecting to find: school contact info, calendar, perhaps a statement of when school board meetings are.

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