Newton POST (Planning Out of School Time)

The Newton POST project, managed by Project INTERFACE and supported by The Newton Partnership, offers parents in Newton, MA a searchable database of out-of-school activities and programs available in the city. The first portion of the project went live in early January 2010 and offers a sophisticated search interface to more than 150 summer camps and programs. The remaining portions of the site were completed in June 2010, and cover before- and after-school caregivers as well as school vacation and emergency providers.

The Newton POST website is based on the Drupal content management system, which Tech-Tamer customized to meet the requirements of the project. Tech-Tamer set up secure logins for the administrators of each camp or program, so that they can edit or update their own listings. Project INTERFACE staff can manage these user accounts, receive notice of updates and make their own edits, all through a web-based interface.

Tech-Tamer was involved in the POST project from its start, advising on the scope and purpose of the project; designing the database structure; and crafting the user interfaces for Project INTERFACE staff, for program providers, and for end users (parents). For all of these constituencies, ease of use -- simplicity without loss of clarity -- was paramount.