Digitally Connected: How The Computer
School Improved Parent Communication with Edlio
As the parent coordinator at The Computer School, Sara Sloves wanted to find a way to improve the way the school connected with students, families, and community members digitally. With Edlio’s CMS, The Computer School has been able to use their website in unique and engaging ways to strengthen their relationships to their community.
THE CHALLENGE
An Outdated Platform 
For The Computer School, a public middle school in New York City, relationships with the community are a key part of their curriculum and culture. At the center of the school’s efforts to connect with families and the larger community is Sara Sloves.
“I'm a connector in the community, and conduct communication and community initiatives. I help parents and students with parent association and volunteerism,” says Sloves. “I assist with anything they need to do, and in turn, they support the school a great deal.
But establishing these community connections digitally used to be difficult for Sloves because the school’s website was hard to manage and update. “We wanted to get a better site, not only to be able to share more information, but also to start training staff to use the website more,” explains Sloves.
“We needed a website that was just easier to update, because with our last website, the formatting would get really messed up.”
THE SOLUTION
Edlio's Responsive Team
With hopes of finding new ways to inform and engage their community, The Computer School sought a new platform that would allow them to revamp their digital presence.
“After talking to somebody from Edlio, I knew that I would be able to use the website more and be able to get all the information I needed up there. It was just easy to use,” recalls Sloves.
In addition to the CMS’ ease of use, Edlio's responsiveness also played a key role in solidifying Sloves' belief that Edlio was a great fit for her school. “The first person who reached out to me was very friendly and accessible and set up a video call where they showed me different sites and how it worked, which was really helpful,” she says.
THE RESULT
A Sense of Community, Online
With The Computer School’s new, streamlined website, different members of the faculty can now help connect families with important resources and information. “I post resources and important events for our school and I really like the alerts that pop up,” remarks Sloves. “And I like the fact that the assistant principal and our school counselors can use it as well.”
The Computer School has also experimented with new ideas on how to support and bring their school community together. Sloves found that she could post both fun events and informational media for website visitors to explore.
“I can now refer families to the website for resources like getting food and mental health and food pantry locations. But I also put some fun things up there like a jellyfish cam at the aquarium in Monterey that they can watch online,” reveals Sloves. “All the different content helps people get a sense of our school’s community.”
