OREGON SCHOOL DISTRICT
Rebuilding with Purpose: Oregon School District’s Website
Oregon School District faced a challenge that many users face: to migrate and optimize their website on a new platform. From Blackboard WCM to Finalsite Composer, the Oregon School District (OSD) turned to CEL for help not only in turning their standard, out-of-the-box theme into a custom layout that prioritized accessibility with an updated feel but also to refresh content and rethink their website structure to optimize navigation for their families and internal users alike.
One of the project’s goals was to unify district-wide content while maintaining school-level autonomy. Each school maintained unique navigation and panels but benefited from the “Create Once, Publish Everywhere (C.O.P.E.)” methodology that helped the district maintain consistency and lighten the website management burden.
Oregon School District’s website was honored with the 2025 NSPRA Excellence Award in the Website category of the Publications & Digital Media Awards. This national award highlights exceptional strategy, design, and storytelling in web-based communications that elevate public engagement and support for education.
Staff Portal Launch Allows for Family-First Transition
Prior to migration, the Oregon School District did not have a dedicated staff portal. Instead, all staff information was on the public site, sometimes linking to third-party sites, such as Google Sites. The migration provided the perfect opportunity to build a secure and dynamic staff hub — no longer a static page of links, but a regularly updated resource center.
As a result of dividing internal versus external resources, CEL was able to collaborate with OSD to rewrite the primary sections of their website and school pages with a less institutional and more student-first mindset that reflected the district’s culture and community. Whether it was enrollment, career planning, or service pages, content was reshaped to speak to people, not policies.
COPE-ing with Accessibility Challenges
Within the new design, OSD and CEL completed a full audit to identify all opportunities to improve overall accessibility and address common pain points. Some of the easiest-to-implement strategies included raising the default color contrast and ensuring that all images used alt text. CEL reworked the navigation and page structures so that 99% of content was accessible within three clicks, improving usability for all users, especially those relying on screen readers or mobile devices. These efforts ensured the final site met accessibility compliance standards at launch — a critical achievement for a public school district serving a diverse community.
At the same time, CEL helped the district improve how content was created and shared by using the C.O.P.E. strategy — Create Once, Publish Everywhere. By updating content in one central place by using Finalsite Posts it allowed schools to pull the information into their respective subdirectories and make it cohesive with their other content. Using this strategy, CEL helped OSD remove over 1,300 PDFs that had previously been used to share important information. Not only was this a “win” for accessibility, but it also allowed these resources to become searchable on-page content and easier to access. Overall, the efforts put into accessibility and content methodology allowed for OSD’s revamped site to be clean and easy to navigate for staff and families alike.
Significant Accessibility Improvements
- Eliminated 1,300+ PDFs that were used as primary access to information.
- Implemented valuable alt text for all images (430 images on the previous website did not have alt text).
- Selected compliant contrast colors that met or exceeded 4.5 = AA compliance (before the new website, colors failed accessibility contrast standards sometimes as low as a 2.3 ratio.
"This wasn’t just a website update — it was a transformation. CEL helped us turn a clunky migration into a strategic communication tool that genuinely connects with our community."
~Erika Mundinger, Oregon School District Director of Communications
Prioritizing the Mobile Experience
With over 60% of Oregon School District’s website visitors accessing from mobile devices, CEL ensured that mobile usability remained top of mind. Within the page consolidation and content refresh, the team ensured that every page, navigation menu, and interaction worked seamlessly across all devices. No matter how users accessed the website, the goal was to provide a consistent, intuitive experience across mobile, tablet, and desktop. This meant designing with flexible panels and simplifying navigation to be user-friendly and free of departmental jargon. The resulting website is both intuitive and clean, whether you’re a parent checking lunch menus from your phone or a staff member accessing resources from a desktop.
Elevating Students’ Well-Being
Student well-being has always been a top priority for Oregon School District, and the new website made that commitment clear and easy to access. Including the District’s homepage, CEL helped create a dedicated well-being section on every school site, putting important resources like mental health, counseling, and safety information front and center for students and families.
Each school followed a consistent structure to keep things easy to navigate, while still having the freedom to highlight school-specific programs, staff contacts, and support services. No matter where the student was on their educational journey within the district, they saw the district’s primary values front and center.
More Than a Website: A Commitment to Community
The Oregon School District website upgrade was more than just a platform change — it was a careful redesign of how the district serves and connects with its community. With help from CEL, the team found the right balance between keeping things consistent across the district and letting each school keep its voice. By prioritizing mobile access, student-centered content, and building tools for internal communication, the district now has a foundation that is both inclusive and built for growth. The strong results and positive feedback show OSD’s ongoing commitment to clear communication, accessibility, and putting students and families first in everything they do.
