A Great Web Presence Propels Fast Growth for Bronx Prep School

In an era of school choice, how can schools stand out from the crowd? For Schuylerville Preparatory High School in the Bronx, a great website is a key component of their recruiting strategy. They've experienced accelerated growth since implementing their eChalk site in 2017. 

Getting the Word Out to Students and Families

Zulay Martinez, the Assistant Principal of Instruction at Schuylerville, says, "The school website really matters. You need to make sure there is a place where people can come and garner information about your school. The website is one of the very first ways students and parents get to know you." 

Each year in New York City, middle school students and their families have the opportunity to evaluate high school options and rank their top choices. Traditional public schools, public charter schools, public magnet schools and private schools all compete against each other for students—and the funding that comes with them. 

Schuylerville is a NYC public high school with a college prep focus. At just under 400 students, they pride themselves on the personal attention they give each student and the strong relationships that they foster between students and staff. They are an "AP for All" school; Schuylerville students can take any AP class available from any school at their shared campus.  

Their website gives them a place to tell their story and differentiate themselves from other area schools. Families have the opportunity to attend open houses during the school selection process—but it's often the website that draws them in. Zulay says, "You have to give students and parents a reason to want to be here. The website is how we advertise our school. Not everyone can make it to an open house. When students and parents do come, they often ask questions based on what they've seen on the website. They'll see something there they like and decide to attend an open house to find out more."

Schuylerville’s website gives them a place to tell their story to prospective families and share what makes them different.

Growing Excitement—and Enrollment—at Schuylerville

Since implementing their eChalk website in 2017, Zulay says the school has seen an uptick in interest, applications and enrollment. Schuylerville is just seven years old and still growing. In 2019, they had a record number of applications and grew their student body by 8%--a significant amount in the competitive NYC school choice landscape. 

While Zulay does not envision Schuylerville abandoning their commitment to a personal, small-school environment, enrollment numbers matter. Enrollment is directly tied to the amount of state and district funding the school receives. "It's important to us that we continue to grow as a school," Zulay says. "The more we grow the more we can offer our students."

Creating a Strong Web Presence

Schuylerville migrated their website from Google to eChalk because they wanted to improve their online presence and reduce the workload for staff. She says Google was hard to work with and did not have the tools she needed to build the site she wanted. "The reason our site was so basic and devoid of things we wanted is because with Google, you practically have to be a coder to lay things out the way you want. eChalk does all that for you." 

All of the important information families need is right on the homepage.

Zulay appreciates how easy it is to build and maintain a school website with eChalk. "When Dana [our eChalk trainer] first came to show us the platform, I could see how intuitive it is and how much is already done for you. The eChalk themes you can choose from take a huge load off of decision making. Once you choose your theme, it’s just a matter of popping in school colors and logos, and there you are."

Dana spent a few hours at the school to help them set up and populate their website. Zulay also attended a live web training and reviews the recording when she needs a refresher. "Dana got a lot of the foundational things done for us and made sure I knew how to do things like resize pictures and set up galleries, so I can add to the site and maintain it on my own. The training materials and service from eChalk has made it worth every penny."

A Focus on School Website Accessibility

Accessibility is also a priority for Schuylerville. Zulay appreciates the built-in accessibility tools on the eChalk platform. She attended one of NYC's DigIn (Digital Inclusion) Camps, which eChalk is offering in partnership with the NYCDOE Division of Instructional and Informational Technology (DIIT). She says, "eChalk showed us our accessibility report card and told us what it means and how to take care of it. They took me from being extremely worried and not knowing where to begin to feeling calm and thinking this is doable." At the DigIn, Zulay and her colleagues had the opportunity to make accessibility improvements to their site under the guidance of eChalk's accessibility experts. Zulay also was introduced to eChalk GUIDE™, eChalk's built-in website accessibility tool. "GUIDE takes the guesswork out of it," she says. "It made the process as simple and easy as it can be. The only thing I can think of that would make it easier is if eChalk just did it all for us!" 

The eChalk Experience: Helping Schools Tell Their Stories 

Their new website is not only beautiful, but up-to-date and informative. It's easy to add new content, so Zulay and the staff can keep the site updated with news and photo galleries that provide a window into what is happening at their school. "This is our place to show off what we're doing and everything we offer, including classes, clubs and activities." 

"I would absolutely recommend eChalk to other schools," Zulay says. "This is a hard job. You want to find things that make your work go easier and faster. I cannot overstate the ease with which I am able to do things with eChalk." 

The Gallery page highlights all of the exciting news and events from the school year.