New Website

Other Good Things

It’s been just over two years since we last updated our website. For us, that’s an extremely long period of time. In terms of the internet, that’s a lifetime. By updated, of course, we mean that we haven’t made a major overhaul to our existing site: the layout, the fonts, the emphasis, etc.

With that said, we haven’t been sitting entirely idle for the last few years either. We’ve constantly been tinkering with new features, like our bi-monthly digital Montessori zine and our recently added serial podcasts. This time, however, we’ve completely rebuilt the site from the ground up.

We believe that a website should be a reflection of the school. It sets the tone for the entire experience. Not only what the school is, but, perhaps more importantly, what it will become. From the initial prospective parent inquiry, to the alumni who researches a paper on how exactly they learned, the website should serve to showcase the values that your school hopes to impart. It should, if we can be so bold, mature with the times, stay relevant to the needs of the users, and include the singular characteristics that make your school stand out.

“ Not unlike the school itself, a website should be handcrafted with love, and reflect the values and importance of your mission. ”

The writing should be personal, the photos should be carefully curated, and the message should be consistent. For us, a website isn’t about the fancy bells and whistles. After all, those are rather timely. Instead, it should be about attention to detail, commitment to excellence, and the hope that you can share your inner workings, hopes and ambitions with the world. Imagine, for a moment, that a set of individuals are actually interested in what you might have to say. That’s an extremely powerful and almost immobilizing thought.

To have the opportunity to show what you’re up to, that’s something pretty special. It shouldn’t be taken lightly. This is the type of perspective we always try to adopt at Baan Dek. We are eager and open to engage in conversations, in a respectful, modest and meaningful way. It’s also a characteristic of Montessori students. More often than not, they exhibit an unparalleled willingness to learn. We’d like to think that we’re a community of learners, our students no less than our entire staff.

Whether the focus of the website is parent education, or just trying to keep the world a pace with new developments, the website often serves as the primary point of focus for many families. Your opinions on personalized learning, your preferences for what education should consist, and your hopes for the future are laid completely bare. Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, Vimeo, Tumblr, those are important too. They help spread the word. Yet, at the end of the day, they’re merely kaleidoscope reflections of a much larger, more beautiful and coherent picture of your vision.

Our idea, then, is that the entire Baan Dek experience should be seamless, integrated, and consistent, where what you see in the entryway, no less than in the classroom, is reflected in everything that we personify – and, for us, that experience starts online. It’s not an easy decision for parents to decide where to send their child to school. We see our role as trying to equip families with the necessary information to help prepare them to make that decision, in an easy, informative and supportive way.

The website should be almost effortless to navigate, strike a chord at an emotional, human level, and start to create a rapport. It should reach out, so to speak, and offer a hand. All too often, Montessori is cast as a philosophy of education, one that is presented as otiose, alternative, and too uppity or abstract. We want to break those barriers, and meet families where their interests lie.

“ The sense by which we hope to present Montessori is one of creating bridges. ”

Essentially, our goal is to have something for everyone. If you are a new parent, a current parent, or perhaps even a grandparent, we want to afford a cursory, but significant glance into Montessori, while, at the same time, also attempting to deep-dive into certain subject matters with greater clarity and understanding for those that are interested to learn more. Which is to say, we hope that the values of Baan Dek are presented in a friendly, positive and relatable way, with care and consideration.

Instantly, then, you’ll notice some subtle, as well as some notable changes to the new website. For those interested in the more nuanced details, we would really love to tell you more below. For those who are less interested in these finer points, please feel free to sign up for our infrequent newsletter, in which we will send out bi-monthly Montessori posts. Lastly, thank you so much for taking the time to read.

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With our new site we had one motto: simplify. We tried our best to boil everything – the content, the structure, the functionality – down to its core. We now only have three key elements on our site: The first, and the most important, is the home page. Here, a visitor is immersed in Baan Dek: who we are, how we are different, and why we will provide a safe and supportive learning environment for your child. Second, if a visitor is still interested, and wants to learn more, they can explore Montessori, where we layout the basic tenets of the philosophy. Lastly, and this is the area we update most frequently, we have a blog, which is our opportunity to keep the community informed, provide tips for parents, advice for students, and share relevant information with schools. It also allows us the opportunity to showcase and explore new ideas and jump start conversations. The blog is our handshake and we believe in longform content.

You may also notice our “Inquire” button. If interested, we want to embolden prospective families to set up a time to meet. We believe in personal tours, just as we believe in personalized education. In this initial meeting, we walk parents through the classroom, one-on-one, introducing them to the Montessori approach to education, answering any questions that they might have. This is one of our favorite aspects at Baan Dek. Namely, having the opportunity to showcase, and introduce, Montessori. It’s magic.

“ Those seemingly inconsequential details are the most important for us at Baan Dek. ”

As they say, “how you do small things, is how you do everything”. With that in mind, we’ve switched fonts on the new site. For many years, actually from the very start, we employed the now standard typeface, Georgia, designed by Matthew Carter. In many respects, when we selected this font, it was sort of an inside joke, since our last name is “George”. Now, keeping to the classic serif typeface feel, but with perhaps a more specialized, nuanced, contemporary touch, we’ve transitioned to Mercury, from Typography.com. It has just a bit more personality. It’s also extremely friendly on the eyes. For a little bit of the soft lifting, we’ve employed Sentinel. For our headers, we’ve departed from our convention, and chosen the monumental, map-like, Surveyor. We’re really excited to see where things lead.

One of the most frequently asked questions at our school is, “Who designed your website?” This is instantly followed-up by, “Do you have any recommendations?” When we first opened Baan Dek, websites were still a novelty.  Not every business had a site. With no knowledge of the industry, we submitted a few inquiries to local agencies. We were completely surprised by what we received: quotes in excess of the total school income, times two. This, of course, forced us to take a hard look. We knew we needed a site. After all, they were the new yellow pages. But, we also knew we couldn’t afford one. Our solution? We’d like to think it’s a Montessori one. We would learn how to do it ourselves.

“ We view our website, as we view so many other things in our life, as an opportunity to learn. It’s a work-in-progress. ”

Over the years, while we spent time trying to learn how to code, we placed the majority of efforts on design. We played around with a number of different platforms. For the past half decade, we’ve actually used Squarespace, which we would highly recommend to new schools just starting out, and even those who are less inclined to spend money on a site. Squarespace takes the code out of the equation, so to speak, and with a selection of excellent, curated, up-to-date templates, you can choose one that works for you. While we were very happy there, we recently transitioned to WordPress, with a custom site designed by our creative director, Bobby George, and perfectly coded by a friend of Baan Dek, Funky Fresh. This new platform allows us the opportunity to be a little more flexible, and play around just a bit more. We hope you enjoy, and we see you often. Please feel free to say hello, anytime.