Www.tiftschools.com has a new look, more information and is a continual work in progress according to those who have been designing it since last summer.

Tammie Smith, public relations and federal programs director of the Tift County Board of Education, said Thursday that she began attending summer Georgia School Boards Association workshops last summer and the information she gained helped “shape her vision” for what the local public school system could do to “make sure information, business practices and decision-making processes are highly visible, easily accessible, open to participation and accountable to the public.”

Smith and Hope (Taylor) Norman, a 1994 TCHS graduate who served as a consultant for the system’s Web site redesign, told BOE members March 11 during regular session that the redesign was needed to improve the quality of communications with stakeholders, including parents, students, community and staff. Other reasons given were to “increase professionalism of presence,” “increase transparency” and “increase availability of information.”

Surfing around the Web site in Eighth Street Middle School’s media center, Smith illustrated how the site contains online resources such as encyclopedias and news databases and a place students can go to practice for the CRCT. Partners in Education sponsor applications are available online now as well as school-level contact information.

Smith, demonstrating the Annie Belle Clark Primary School Web site, which was created based on the red and black University of Georgia Bulldog theme, pointed out that the pictures on the individual school Web sites are of actual students who attend there. She said that parents could use the sites, with their “virtual tours,” to help calm the anxiety that some students have when they have to make a school change.

“We are working on having the daily events at each school listed on calendars at each school’s Web site,” Smith said.

The site also has a list of questions and answers from the Community Forums the system is holding at various locations. Anyone can look at information about curriculum and instruction, the gifted program and the dates for summer school sessions and where they will be held.

Teachers and staff are kept informed by a newsletter available through the Web site. Parents, teacher and other community members will soon be kept informed by a newsletter of their own.

Six tabs lead to drop-down boxes where teachers, parents, students and members of the community can find a wealth of information.

• The “School” tab now leads to a System Map and the individual, and very personalized, Web sites for Annie Belle Clark, G.O. Bailey, Len Lastinger, Northside and Omega primary schools; Charles Spencer, J.T. Reddick, Matt Wilson and Omega elementary schools; Eighth Street Middle School; Northeast Campus TCHS; and Sixth Street Academy.

• The “Student & Parent Resources” tab lets surfers to Student & Parent Links; information about the Parent Involvement Program; After-School Programs; Alumni; Athletics; Code of Conduct; Emergency Preparedness; Enrollment; Gifted Education; Health Services; High School Graduation Test Review Sessions; Migrant Education; and more.

• The “Human Resources” tab leads to drop down boxes that link users to information on Teaching in Tift County; Career Opportunities; Benefits; the Employee Handbook; Professional Learning; and Employee Forms.

• The “Teacher Resources” tab links to Online Staff Resources; Principal’s Handbook’ and curriculum information for the various student grade levels.

• The “Departments” tab links to information about the Board of Education; a Central Office Director; Curriculum and Instruction; Special Education; Human Resources; Nutrition; Student Services; Testing; Operations, Projects & Maintenance; and Technology.

• The “News & Events” tab links to an Interactive Combined Calendar and News and News Archives.