ACPS launched its new division and school websites on Friday.
Take a look at the new appearance of our site, which has been redesigned and overhauled with a focus on two concepts: usability and accessibility.
We want to make sure that those groups of people who use it most frequently to seek information can find what they need within a couple of clicks, with limited use of the search button.
With that in mind, we have a list of pages commonly used by parents, students, new families and the wider community front and center on the homepage. Parents and students will be able to go straight to the ACPS calendar, lunch menus, Program of Studies catalog and PTA links from the homepage. You will also be able to see upcoming events and keep up-to-date with ACPS projects such as redistricting, modernization and the budget process. Emergency alerts will pop up on your screen as they are posted so that you can be on any page of the website and still receive them in real time.
The website has critical pages translated into Spanish, Arabic and Amharic. The number of pages that are translated will increase over time, but we have started with those we deem essential.
The website was designed after two rounds of usability testing with 16 different groups of users. We researched the information needed by different groups of users and aligned that information with the places they expected to find it.
The new website is also accessible to all. That means it is compliant with Section 508 guidelines, which require organizations receiving federal funding to make their website accessible to anyone with a disability.
If you have feedback once it launches, please submit it through the Feedback page.