1. "Blog" concept. This approach structures the home page as a blog. The middle column is "live" changing when Dr. Maurer or another authorized administrator has pertinent information to communicate. Like any other blog, it provides the audience with the option of comments. Most of the remainder of the AUFSD can be flat Web pages (certainly to start). An alternative front page menu approach is introduced on the left-hand side of this page, with the right side a "live" calendar and the option to subscribe to the blog through an RSS feed.

2. Top Items concept. This approach takes our community Web survey data and structures the home page, giving priority space to the kinds of items our community said they come to the site for and want to see in the future. The News and Calendars are most prominent and largest real estate on the page (though the News text is the same as the Blog text, this News section is not run as a blog, but as new items put up periodically, without the option for comments, trackbacks, etc.). The third column on the right could feature stories/information about the school that make the community proud and that give visitors a deeper sense of new information. At the top is reference to a mission statement or some other text that may convey what we are all here for...

3. Audience Segment concept. This approach focuses/recognizes the specific audience segments we have in the community and builds the front page content around them. Again, News and Calendars remain prominent, but the segment-focus tries to give the home page more relevance to each visitor to the site. Top navigation approach stays largely similar to the Top Items concept #2.

4. Portal concept. This approach attempts to bring as much information to the front page of the site, with the hope that it will help people get to the information they want more quickly than the traditional set of structured "sub-sites". The portal approach -- much like the New York Times home page -- reduces the news section real estate in favor of more organized links. Within each school (e.g. Concord Road School) there may be a portal page just for that school or there may be a more traditional home page and sub pages. This approach has a much simplified top navigation, because the page itself is a giant navigation tool. Downside is that it limits the amount of "content" that we may want to place on the front page.