CHARLOTTE — As students return to school with shiny new bookbags and uniforms, parents and prospective families in the Charlotte area will also see shiny new websites and new, more robust social media presences.
Focusing on clean, easy-to-navigate websites with more information was a focus for Jennifer Harris, marketing director for Mecklenburg Area Catholic Schools, when she worked to update more than a half dozen school websites this summer.
The websites look different to fit each school’s colors and brand, but they follow a similar navigation and have the same customer service features, including registering and scheduling a tour.
Those are two features Sheila Levesque, principal at St. Michael School in Gastonia, said she’s seeing great response to with her school’s new website.
“It’s been remarkable,” she said to the response to the new www.stmichaelcs.com. “It’s working really well for us. We’ve been receiving a lot of tour inquires and requests because of the website, especially after we linked it to our Facebook page.”
More current families are also starting to use the website and Facebook page, Levesque said, which is linked from the school’s Edline communication system.
This school year, Levesque said she plans on using the Facebook page as another tool to communicate directly to families. The plan is to post pictures from school events and games, reminders, open house information and news from the schools.
“It’s also another reminder to parents to go to the website as well,” she said.
The new websites have easier to find web addresses, better search engine recognition and consistent branding with their new social media channels, Harris said. While not all of the schools are on social media, some have started with an official Facebook page this year. Others added Instagram and Twitter.
MACS has also created its own landing page at www.discovermacs.org for marketing and advertising purposes where prospective families can access admissions information, as well as a Facebook page at facebook.com/discovermacs, where information about all the schools is being shared.
Check out the new websites and follow the schools on social media:
- Charlotte Catholic High School: www.gocchs.com; facebook.com/gocchs; Instagram: gocchs; Twitter: @gocchs
- Christ the King High School: www.ctkchs.org; facebook.com/ctkhigh; Instagram: ctkgram; Twitter: @ctkchs
- Holy Trinity Middle School: www.htcms.org; facebook.com/htbulldogs
- Our Lady of the Assumption School: www.olacatholic.org
- St. Ann School: www.stanncatholic.org
- St. Gabriel School: www.stgabrielcatholicschool.org; facebook.com/stgabejaguars; Instagram: stgabejaguars; Twitter: @stgabejaguars
- St. Mark School: www.stmarkcatholic-school.net; facebook.com/saintmarklions
- St. Matthew School: www.stmattwildcats.com; facebook.com/stmattwildcats; Instagram: stmattwildcats; Twitter: @stmattwildcats
- St. Michael School: www.stmichaelcs.com; facebook.com/smcstigers
- St. Patrick School: www.saintpatrickschool.org
— Kimberly Bender, online reporter