The Minisink Valley School District has introduced its new, redesigned website and companion app that will provide users with customized notifications related to each school selected by each user.
The new website went live on Aug. 19, in preparation for the 2024-25 school year, and was designed and updated with new features which --- along with the new app --- are intended to strengthen the district’s ongoing communications with families and the greater Minisink Valley school community.
The new website features vibrant, redesigned pages for each school and Athletics in addition to easily navigable site maps for the district, each school building and Athletics so visitors can quickly find the information they need.
The district’s new smartphone app offers the same features and allows users to receive notifications from the school buildings they select. This new, mobile friendly app further offers users a revitalized ability to stay current with individual school updates and information on district events and activities.
“Our intent remains to be proactive in our communications because we want our families and school community to stay engaged with the district,” said Superintendent Brian Monahan. “We know how important it is for our families and school community to receive information about events and happenings as quickly as possible. We believe the new app allows us to be even more proactive in our efforts and in a way that is much more convenient for all our stakeholders. We also believe these new platforms will continue to grow the very important relationship we have with our community by keeping all stakeholders even better informed.”
Minisink Valley’s administration knows app usage is growing, with district constituents wanting to access district information, news and updates conveniently on their mobile devices, as they do for other material of importance to them.
Statistics support this belief:
A recent report by Comscore, a media data firm, notes accessing information via a desktop device is no longer the dominant way of accessing material of interest, with smartphones and tablets accounting for 60 percent of U.S. digital media time. This is driven by app usage, which makes up 52 percent of total digital media engagement.
BuildFire, a mobile app builder, adds that the average smartphone user spends three hours and 10 minutes each day using his/her device, with about two hours and 51 minutes of this time spent using apps (apps account for roughly 90% of smartphone usage).
The data development firm Radix also notes that 49% of people open an app more than 11 times a day, with the average smartphone owner using 10 apps per day and 30 apps each per month.
“We believe this app, which supports the robust content on our website, further recognizes the growing importance that technology usage has on the lives of our school community and in our classrooms,” added Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction Christian Ranaudo. “Our students are using technology every day, in many different ways. We know how critically important technology tools and proficiency are for students to be college and career ready and to be well-prepared digital citizens. That includes using apps on their digital devices in educational and professional settings. Technology provides dynamic and interactive tools that engage students in ways traditional methods cannot, and the same is true for everyone outside the classroom setting.”
The district’s web address remains the same: www.minisink.com. The new, free app is available for Android and Apple devices in their respective app stores. To stay up-to-date on the latest district news and events via the app, visit Google Play Store and search for Minisink Valley CSD; or the Apple App Store and search for Minisink Valley CSD NY.
The new website and app were developed in partnership with Apptegy, the Arkansas-based education technology company specializing in creating platforms to help school districts manage online interactions with district constituents.