WebChalk

WebChalk is a service that allows schools to use their website as a means to efficiently post information and allow communication between parents and teachers.

WebChalk has recently been successfully delivered to its first customer, a Pre-K day school in Vienna, Virginia. The level of satisfaction realized by the owners and administrators of the school has provided evidence that, if marketed properly, it can be the basis for a successful business venture.

WebChalk is an integrated set of features that can be appended to any website that enhance a school’s ability to provide information and allow communication among school administrators, faculty, parents, and students.

WebChalk is designed to ensure that information is posted in a secure manner, i.e., requiring login with passwords.

User name and password management can easily be integrated with the school’s existing enrollment and registration procedures.
The features of WebChalk can be categorized into three broad areas:

• Announcements (News & Calendar Events)
• Message Boards
• Student Directory

Announcements (News/Calendar Events)
Announcements, or more specifically, News items and Calendar Events can be broadcasted on the publicly accessible web pages, or the secure, Parents-only pages, or both.

Online announcements allow parents to see the latest news regarding their children’s classes and daily schedule and to also give them a look into the upcoming events scheduled for the year.
Calendar Events can be viewed as a list or on a printable Calendar-view page.

The benefit of this capability is that it reduces time and costs associated with having printed newsletters or announcements sent or mailed home to parents.

In addition to general News and Calendar information, specific purpose announcement areas are available:

• Classroom “Needs” List
• Classifieds
• Staff Directory

Message Board Section
The Message boards allow teachers to have ongoing group discussions with parents or to broadcast specific information.

• Message Boards
• Class Notes
• Mailing List

Student Directory
Allows access to a listing of students’ names and phone numbers for contact purposes.

Using an online form of the current print directory would allow users to easily access its information. It was further requested that the online version provide the searching and sorting capabilities, e.g., by class, grade level, last name, etc. The capability for web administrators to easily add, modify, and remove entries throughout the year so that the directory is always up-to-date was also requested.