Near the end of the last school year, the CHS web team adopted a new platform for its website, the third different design in less than a year.
Unlike the old website, which was designed by CHS alumnus Alex Leventer, the new one is nearly identical to those of the majority of MCPS schools.
“MCPS has changed [the website] and it is the new platform for all schools’ websites,” said CHS Information technology systems specialist Robert Jones.
According to Jones, the goal of the new website is to keep the website more current and to make it a more useful and accessible tool. He says that updating the website is much easier with the new content management system and does not require extensive knowledge about HTML or coding.
“It is literally like updating a word document,” staff development teacher Ilyssa Weiss said. “You need to learn no code and it is all text-based.”
Currently, the website is administered by Weiss and assistant principals John Taylor and Edward Reed. However as the year progresses, other teachers and staff members will be given the ability to update their own sections of the website.
“We are one of the few schools who use [our] websites for instruction,” Jones said. “There was no place to post [class materials].”
While the new website will efficiently serve its purpose, some students who were previously responsible for updating it are disappointed that they will not have as active a role.
“I am disappointed with the cancellation of the class; it was something that was very important to me,” said senior Alex Kim, the former executive producer of the website. “Almost all of the Guided Research class graduated, leaving only a few juniors to take over the website.”
According to Benz, classes are all dependent on student enrollment and too few students enrolled.
Despite losing control of the website, students acknowledge its future benefits.
“Teachers now have the ability to update the website on their own, eliminating reliance on students,” Kim said. “The overall security has increased as well; before students could directly edit and change the content and look of the website which could present an issue.”
