Meeting Notes from 9/25/09

Hi Everyone,

Thanks so much for an efficient and enlightening first meeting. I'm still circling back with our other Web-inclined staff people, and will be proposing a second meeting date soon.

In the interim, Here are some notes I jotted down. Please feel free to add to this strand.

Best-
John

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BPC Web 3.0 Discussion
Held in BPC Library on Friday, 9/25/09.

In Attendance:

Menna Stern, Annabelle Carter, Bonnie Roditti, Anne Marie Sanders, Paula Grech, Laura Wolff, Polly Lockman, Evan Specter, Ken Cluff, Natasha Stillman, Randi Lee, John Carlstroem.


Following introductions and focused areas of interest, Carlstroem asked the group to think about our primary user: The prospective parent.

We discussed the website as house metaphor, and Carlstroem asked the group; "where they wanted to poke around (what aspects of BPC do they wish they knew then, that they currently know) in the proverbial house?

Comments included:
"It might help to think of the website as a newspaper, with headlines and feature articles."
"We need to Spotlight Curriculum Areas."
"Our best idea may not be what the user thinks is the best idea...we'll be consistently learning."
"Can we transmit 'the BPC Experience?' --Academic/Musical/Artistic/Moral?"
"Audio with a slideshow could join together toward this."
"Entry points should exist at Kindergarten and 6th Grade into the Web experience."
"Curriculum could be downloadable (pdf) so we don't gunk up the system."
"A sample student schedule would be really helpful."
"What if you could create an interactive schedule--where parents/students could zoom in to the experience?"

Then, we each jotted down our five "non-negotiables" for the BPC website moving forward, with regard to content. The list is below:
WHAT DOES BPC BELIEVE IN/PHILOSOPHY
WHAT IS OUR CURRICULAR FOCUS-BROADLY AND SPECIFICALLY AT DIFFERENT GRADE LEVELS
BACKGROUND AND CREDENTIALS OF FACULTY
ADMISSIONS PROCESS
COMMUNITY EVENTS, ENGAGEMENT, WAYS WE ARE INVOLVED TOGETHER
DIVERSITY STATEMENTS, HISTORY, VISION
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
BOARD MEMBERS BACKGROUNDS
ALUMNI-WHERE ARE THEY NOW
PICTURE/QUOTE/HUMAN SIDE OF BPC-The part that makes you cry (testimonials/photos)
VIRTUAL TOUR THAT INCLUDES ENRICHMENT--math club, strings, gaming club, etc
WHAT IS REQUIRED TO GET IN TO BPC?
BACKGROUND OF ADMINISTRATION
MESSAGE FROM HEAD OF SCHOOL
TUITION RATES/FINANCIAL AID PROCESS/STATISTICS
SIZE OF SCHOOL--PHYSICAL PLANT AND STUDENT TEACHER RATIO
WHAT DO SOCIAL MEDIA SITES (e.g. yelp, berkeley parents network) say about us?
WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO "MARRY INTO THE BPC COMMUNITY?"
VISUAL EMOTIONAL ANCHOR
EXPECTATIONS OF STUDENTS/PARENTS

ADJOURNED: 3:05 pm