The Duval County Public Schools (DCPS) Web site is changing today from www.dreamsbeginhere.org to www.duvalschools.org.
The reason for the shift was to ensure the site was more recognizable and accessible to parents, community members and educational personnel as a site belonging to the school district.
"It is important that our school district's Web site does not hinder the work of our teachers and staff," said DCPS Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. "The domain name duvalschools.org will better identify the school district both within and outside our community."
Soon after becoming superintendent, Pratt-Dannals became aware of the concerns surrounding the dreamsbeginhere.org Web site. After researching the possibilities that would be more appropriate for the district, school system employees were asked to vote on two names: myduvalschools.org and duvalschools.info. Within a day, the superintendent received more than 3,000 votes, including hundreds of e-mails from teachers and district staff thanking him for addressing their concerns and considering their opinions about the school district's Web site.
Meanwhile, Jacksonville resident Doug Liao, the owner of the domain name duvalschools.org, saw news reports about the campaign to re-name the school district's Web site, which reminded him he had purchased the domain name last November. Liao purchased duvalschools.org because he did not think the dreamsbeginhere.org domain adequately represented the school district. In an e-mail to Pratt-Dannals, Liao offered the domain to the school district free of charge. The superintendent accepted the offer, as it was the preferred choice, although not originally offered as an option.
The Internet address changes today, however the Web site design and content will remain the same. All teachers' and administrators' e-mail addresses will change to reflect the new domain name, though e-mail sent to a dreamsbeginhere.org address will continue to be accepted through the end of the school year.
