Poquoson Elementary is home to 550 third-, fourth- and fifth-graders in Poquoson, Virginia, USA. It's a recipient of the US Dept. of Education's "Excellence in Education" award, and one of the most technologically up-to-date schools we've seen so far.

First off, there are gobs of information about the school to be found on the webpage: everything from the name of their mascot (Spike the Dragon) to how their schools' network is set up and what their technology capabilities are. Everything is easily accessible from the main page, too, thanks to efficient and appropriate use of frames.

Why do we like this site?

Design: There is a consistent feel to the overall design of the site. Colors, images and organizational schemes appear consistent throughout, giving it the look and ambience of a well-published site. Also, it's done tastefully. Nothing is difficult to read, no color combinations distract or make anything uneasy to read. By the same token, each class homepage is designed differently, giving the viewer a real "feel" for the classes featured. Uniformity of design has been used where it's advantageous, but never forced on any part of the site purely for its own sake.

Speaking of classroom pages, we were thrilled to see that every classroom page prominently features (and in some cases is entirely devoted to) student work. There's nothing like encouragement and praise to produce more of the same. Students at Poquoson can proudly go home and say their work is being published on the Internet, something not enough can do. Also, the site includes information on Poquoson's exceptionally high test scores, on average--more student encouragement. Finally, each classroom page concludes with a mailto: link so viewers can give those classrooms, by way of their teachers, direct feedback and support.

The focus on showing Poquoson's students' strengths isn't the only driving force behind the site, however. It includes links to information about the community of Poquoson, and some really handy information for parents, such as a year-long school calendar and month-by-month expanded calendars, keeping everyone informed of what's going on. There's also a "Help for Teachers" section featuring a list of links to outside resources for materials and help, and a "Student Resources" section full of fun & educational resources students are encouraged to explore to enhance their in-class instruction.

Who are the people behind this site?

Unlike most schools, where websites are maintained by a lone teacher who happens to be savvier with the 'net than the rest of the faculty, or even by students, Poquoson's is maintained and was designed by their own principal, Elmer Seward. He explained that he constructed it to meet "several important needs," such as making the internet more useful for teachers and students, instructionally. He also made sure Virginia's Standards of Learning for each grade level were included so parents, teachers and students alike would be more aware of the goals of their educational experience. He also explained that the parents' page was of special importance because of Poquoson's proximity to several military installations and the frequency with which new students are brought to school by re-assigned military parents who need to get to know the school quickly.

The hands-on manipulation and updating of pages is handled by a variety of people, including Principal Seward, teachers and volunteer parents. Principal Seward himself, however, has been the one to hold classes for teachers interested in learning HTML design and development. All teachers and staff have been trained to use the school's internal network and related software (including Eudora, enabling internal workstation-to-workstation communication for students & faculty). Classes are encouraged to make use of school-owned technology, such as using the digital camera on field trips and putting something on-line about what they learned. In fact, they've constructed a virtual field trip to Jamestown with the express purpose of benefitting other schools in Virginia who don't live close enough to take real-life trips to the settlement.