Education · K-12 charter network
Custom platform for a national K-12 public charter network.
279
Schools nationwide in the network
~210K
Students and alumni across the country
~125K
Students currently enrolled at network schools
ADA
Compliant: color contrast, font legibility, semantic markup, keyboard nav, screen readers
About the client
A national network of college-preparatory public charter schools.
The client is a non-profit network of 270+ college-preparatory, public charter schools educating early childhood, elementary, middle, and high school students. The network serves approximately 200,000 students and alumni nationwide, with about 125,000 students currently enrolled.
The parent foundation trains and develops educators to lead the network's public schools; provides tools, resources and training for excellent teaching and learning; promotes innovation; and facilitates the exchange of insights and ideas across the network.
Network footprint visualization. Schools across the country.
Interface designed to be accessible across age groups: children, parents, and staff.
The requirement
A dynamic web application for children, parents, and ADA compliance.
The client needed a dynamic web application. Their requirements were specific. We developed various custom modules tailored to the needs of the client's audience. They needed an easy-to-understand interface for all age groups, including children and parents.
As a public-service organization, we were committed to creating an ADA (American Disability Act) compliant web application following all federal guidelines.
The solution
Discovery, design, and Agile delivery. Module by module.
OST experts met with the client's board members to discuss their project requirements. We understood their needs and expectations in detail. For every requirement, we created a storyboard, wireframe, and workflow. In line with our development best practices, OST experts used the Agile methodology. We developed each custom module in that manner to make future enhancement easy.
Following a diligent research process, we studied user experience and flow. We designed a website that's ADA compliant with a simple, easy-to-use user interface for all age groups. Our developers took a step further to design a separate screen for each device for better user engagement.
A featured deliverable
Alumni Directory
ADA compliance
Built to American Disability Act standards from day one.
- Increased color contrast across the interface
- Better font legibility at every screen size
- Improved semantic markup for assistive technologies
- Improved keyboard-only navigation
- Tabbing for mobile, tablet, iPad
- Enhanced functionality for screen readers
- Implemented accessible video
- Many other accessibility improvements
Ongoing partnership
OST continues as the client's technology partner.
OpenSource Technologies stays embedded as the client's technology team. We build new features when the network grows, integrate new systems, run accessibility audits as standards evolve, and keep the platform operational. Single point of accountability across build and run.
This isn't a typical project handoff. After launch, our team continues to own the engineering surface, so the platform keeps pace with the network as it adds schools, students, and capabilities.
Need a custom education platform at this scale?
K-12 networks, college consortiums, charter networks. We build accessible, multi-year platforms that grow with your organization.