Introduction

Peachjar is a nationwide platform used by schools, clubs, community organizations, and the public to upload and distribute digital flyers. These flyers support school events, after-school programs, community initiatives, and essential public information. Because Peachjar serves a diverse audience that includes parents, students, and community members with varying access needs, the accessibility of its online experience is critical.

Zenyth partnered with Peachjar to strengthen accessibility across the full user journey. Our work spanned multiple phases of auditing, remediation oversight, design and development consultation, and VPAT/ACR documentation. This long-term collaboration helped modernize Peachjar’s platform, reduce legal risk, and dramatically improve the access experience for users who rely on assistive technologies.

Background

Peachjar’s platform centers on user-generated flyers. Content creators upload an image containing event information, and the system performs OCR to extract text. In early versions of the platform, the resulting OCR output was placed directly into the image’s alt text. While well-intentioned, this approach created significant barriers:

• Screen readers announced long, unstructured text strings that were difficult to navigate.
• The flyer remained a static image, limiting text zoom, customization, and flexibility for users with low vision.
• End users could not easily access structured information such as headings, lists, or properly ordered content.

Recognizing the importance of balancing content creator flexibility with end-user accessibility, Peachjar engaged Zenyth to evaluate the upload experience, parent interface, and core user flows.

Initial Audit and Remediation

Zenyth conducted a comprehensive WCAG 2.1 AA audit of the Peachjar Parent experience, including login, profile and settings management, flyer browsing, and flyer access. Our testers included IAAP-certified accessibility specialists and Trusted Testers who performed both manual and automated evaluations.

Deliverables included:

• A granular defect log with clear descriptions, affected user groups, and severity classifications.
• Detailed remediation instructions written for developers, including semantic HTML guidance, focus management fixes, accessible name recommendations, and ARIA usage.
• Recommendations to improve the flyer ingestion process, recognizing the need to preserve creative flexibility while providing robust alternatives for users who cannot access image-based content.

Peachjar’s development team implemented the recommended adjustments, after which Zenyth performed a full verification cycle and issued a Voluntary Product Accessibility Template (VPAT)/Accessibility Conformance Report (ACR).

Platform Modernization and Advanced Enhancements

At the time of the initial audit, Peachjar was preparing a major rebuild of its online application. Zenyth collaborated with their team to conceptually validate adjustments to the flyer pipeline. Peachjar leveraged emerging technology to transform the OCR output from a flat string into semantically structured HTML. Crucially, this enhancement included a review interface, allowing content creators to edit and confirm the structured output before publishing.

This innovation solved several longstanding barriers:

• Users can now choose between viewing the original flyer or a fully structured HTML version.
• Structured HTML provides headings, lists, reading order, and flexible text presentation.
• The platform maintains creative freedom for content creators without sacrificing accessibility.

Following the launch of the new platform, Zenyth completed another full manual and automated audit, documented all findings, and supported Peachjar through a second remediation phase. Upon verification of corrections, Zenyth issued an updated VPAT/ACR aligned with WCAG 2.1 AA.

Ongoing Support

Beyond structured testing and remediation, Zenyth has continued to assist Peachjar in supporting their end users. This includes:

• Helping respond to accessibility questions from schools, districts, and other stakeholders.
• Advising on language that clearly communicates platform features and accessibility support levels.
• Providing guidance for future roadmap items, ensuring accessibility is integrated early in the development process.

Conclusion

Peachjar’s commitment to accessibility has transformed their platform into a far more inclusive environment. Through extensive audits, iterative remediation, and the adoption of innovative semantic-HTML flyer rendering, Peachjar has positioned itself as a leader in accessible digital communication for schools and communities. Zenyth continues to support their team in ensuring every parent and community member has equal access to critical information.

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