Back in September 2007 we posted that the Newburgh School District homepage needed help. The homepage has received something of a makeover. It is still deficient in most of the ways mentioned earler.

I was about to go back and check each thing I complained about last time, but the only thing more boring than looking at bad design is to look at the same bad design twice.

The truly interesting thing about the new homepage design is how it preserves the demented bizarreness of the previous incarnation. If you set out to suck the life out of a web page and leave a tattered bloodless shell, this is what you would make. The name of not one human being appears on the homepage. How odd is that? The site quite literally remains dehumanized.

For a sample of a passable school district web site, have a look at site of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown. Why look at that, the names of fifteen human beings appear on the homepage; upcoming events are front and center; budget development is under way (anything like that happen over in the Newburgh School District?). They've got a Calendar, Job Openings, and Search. And look at that, a friendly link to welcome newcomers. Goodness, even a link for vendors! Why doesn't the Newburgh School District have anything to say to vendors? Melissa Cortellini is doing great work for the Middletown School District, well done!

There are students in the Newburgh School District who could create a better web site than Middletown's. Some of them might even enjoy the challenge.

The New York State 2008-2009 Budget Briefing Book says:

Newburgh: Newburgh has a three-year plan to reduce class size to 20 students for all grade levels at its elementary schools, providing its neediest students with more individualized attention.

An admirable goal. If the Newburgh School District is commited to such a goal you would expect there to be some information about the plan on the district website, right?

The Kingston City School District has a well-designed web site, and has several ambitious plans...

On their website they provide full contact information including multiple phone numbers and email addresses of each Kingston City School Board Member.

Here's an innovative grant-funded program:

The Hudson River Maritime Museum and Kingston City School District have received a $6,600 Teaching the Hudson Valley grant to develop a program that enriches the third grade social studies curriculum while creating a sense of place and a connection to the early history of the Hudson River Valley.

The Daily Freeman reports that Kingston is planning a Montessori approach for grades 1-3 at an elementary school.

Good work Kingston!

The homepage of the Enlarged City School District of Middletown does the following:

The homepage of the Newburgh Enlarged Central School District does not one of these things. Not one.