The Grand Island Public Schools website (www.gips.org) will be getting a makeover this month! The launch date goal is Thursday, September 15. After extensive research, reviews and Board of Education approval in Spring 2022, GIPS is moving to a new vendor, Blackboard.

It’s common practice for most professional and school websites to receive a refresh (if not a complete overhaul) about every four years. What made this moment particularly timely is the completion of the contract with our current vendor. Simply put, the time arrived for GIPS to either renew for an extended period of time or re-evaluate the needs of the district as we seek to provide support for our students, educators, families, and community. GIPS explored many vendors, including a proposal by our current vendor.

Ultimately, switching to the Blackboard suite of solutions allows GIPS to aggregate multiple tools that have been otherwise provided on an ad-hoc basis through numerous vendors. Blackboard’s proposal was the most cost effective and will be a much more efficient use of resources which will, ultimately, save the district money in the long run.

 Our current vendor has served us well for many years, and we will continue to collaborate with them on other projects as needed. They have been supportive and helpful through this transition, and we are truly grateful.

As we transition to the new website, GIPS will be able to provide an updated, reliable resource for our stakeholders. We’re here to serve the community through education and we are grateful for the opportunity to provide high-quality, trusted resources to aid in those efforts.

THREE FEATURES TO LOOK FORWARD TO:

There will be many changes in terms of how the website looks, but the same important information will be available.

Here are three new features to look forward to with the new Blackboard website:

• Global icons: On each page, there will be clickable icons that will help visitors get information quickly. The global icons will be linked to the most frequently visited items, including: bus routes, staff directory, lunch menus, and more.

• Branded school sites: Each school website will be branded with their unique logo and school colors! The district is excited about this because it provides more personalization to each website, while showing school and district pride.

• Multimedia galleries and slideshows: The homepage of the school websites and district website will have the capability to display more photo slideshows and videos. This will enhance the school spirit, while personalizing each school site.

We are excited to share the new website with staff, students, families and our community. We look forward to the update, as this will be a great resource for our stakeholders. Thank you for your patience and excitement as we work to improve the website experience.

Please reach out to communications@gips.org with any questions.