It’s been a busy summer here, and as we’re finishing up a number of projects we’ll keep you posted on the news.

This week, we’ve launched the brand new web site for the Long Trail School in Dorset, Vermont.

With less than 200 students from grades 6-12, this school offers an academically robust curriculum on 14 acres nestled in the foothills of the Taconics. Long Trail is the first school in the state to receive accreditation by the respected International Baccalaureate program. Its academic strengths are focused, the results are impressive. This from Wikipedia:

Class sizes currently average 8-12 students, though classes with only a single student are not unheard of at Long Trail. Academic standards are high by comparison to other local schools, with test scores consistently above state and local averages. Even after offering IB courses, Long Trail continues to offer some Advanced Placement classes, many independent study opportunities and student-demanded classes.

The new site is a dramatic shift from the previous site. A visual focus on the campus serves as a metaphor for the educational community — expansive and intimate at the same time — and serves as an environment for the beautiful new collection of community portraits we commissioned from award-winning photographer Les Jorgensen. (Les’ work will be featured in an upcoming limited edition book that tells the stories of a diverse group of Long Trail students, staff and faculty.) The site’s full-screen campus imagery will change throughout the year, to reflect the natural beauty of the school throughout Vermont’s four seasons.

We’ve also included a streamlined navigation, new and improved search, and updated content in many areas. This completes the first phase in a comprehensive approach to enhance the school’s online existence; additional integrations and site improvements will be added over the coming months.

The new site was built on Long Trail’s existing WordPress platform, which allows the school to reuse a number of still-relevant digital assets and leverages the staff’s expertise in operating the back end. We customized a theme from Elegant Themes — we were impressed with their solid code base and knowledgable support team — and worked closely with the LTS team to identify user personas, streamline content, update branding and improve user experience.

As is often the case in projects of this scope, the quality of the team had a tremendous influence on the positive outcome of the new site. Their shared vision and commitment to quality helped make the design and development process as enjoyable as the end result.