First SIF–Based Vertical Reporting Achieved
by the Wyoming Department of Education
Setting a Milestone for State Education Agencies
|
AUSTIN, TEXAS AND SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (February 17, 2006) — For the first time ever, a state education agency implemented an official, mission–critical data collection from all of its districts using technologies based on the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) specifications. In a span of only eight business days, school districts in Wyoming gathered, cleaned, and submitted data to the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE), who compiled the file containing information on every teacher, course, and student in the state. | | |
|
This was not only a State Education Agency (SEA) and vendor milestone, it was a milestone for the Schools Interoperability Framework Association (SIFA) as well. Larry Fruth, Executive Director of SIFA reported, “Both state and local education agencies have told us that the reporting of data is a tremendous burden on schools. Wyoming’s system is a shining example of how SIF can dramatically reduce the burden on schools.” | | |
|
This next–generation solution in Wyoming utilizes the products and services of ESP Solutions Group and Edustructures, LLC. ESP’s State Report Manager™ was instrumental in the collection, cleaning, certification, and transformation of district data into a statewide standardized data set. Edustructures created the project’s SIF infrastructure utilizing its state–of–the–art SIFWorks® Vertical Reporting Framework™ and SIFWorks Enterprise Zone Integration Servers. After deploying ESP’s SIF–enabled State Report Manager in record time, ESP and Edustructures orchestrated the statewide data collection and certification in an unprecedented eight days. | | |
|
The Wyoming Department of Education is extremely satisfied with the outcome of this project. “This was the cleanest student level data we have ever collected in our state thanks to the hard work of district and state personnel and the SRM developers,” said Meredith Bickell, the Technical Services Supervisor for WDE. “Our district constituents told us they were delighted with the system, its intuitiveness, and ease of use. We are confident in the quality of the data and also that our reporting process has been streamlined.” | | |
|
ESP and Edustructures attribute their success to the leadership at WDE, “One of the things that made this possible was the unparalleled support of the executive leadership at the WDE,” said Alex Jackl, ESP’s Senior Enterprise Architect, “WDE’s vision, foresight, and leadership are what allowed this project to succeed.” | | |
|
The Wyoming Superintendent of Public Instruction, Dr. Jim McBride remarked, “When we began this project two years ago, we saw an opportunity to lead the nation in excellence. We have achieved the access to the information we were after. I believe we can serve as a role model for other states as they move forward to address data needs and accountability. This has been a very involved and demanding process. But the positive feedback from districts has made it well worth the effort. This will provide our districts with a unique opportunity to provide the highest quality data and report more accurate information. It is with tremendous gratitude that I say thank you to the district staff, WDE staff, and business partners for making this a reality.” | | |
About ESP Solutions Group
|
ESP Solutions Group provides education agency clients with extraordinary insight into K–12 data systems and psychometrics. Its team is comprised of industry experts who pioneered the concept of “data–driven decision–making” in the 1970’s and now help optimize the management of data by state and local education agencies. ESP personnel have advised all 52 state education agencies as well as the U.S. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on the practice of K–12 school data management. The firm’s management team is regarded as leading experts in understanding the data and technology implications of NCLB (the No Child Left Behind Act), PBDMI (Performance Based Data Management Initiative), EDEN (Education Data Exchange Network), and SIF (the Schools Interoperability Framework). For more information about ESP Solutions Group, please visit www.espsolutionsgroup.com. | | |
About Edustructures
|
Edustructures is the recognized leader in SIF integration solutions for the K–12 education market, making it possible for market–leading Student Information, Library, Transportation, Cafeteria and Directory solutions to reliably and securely share data in real–time. Through its SIFWorks® integration platform, comprehensive professional services, and business relationships with technology providers and educators, Edustructures connects the systems that power education. For more information about Edustructures, please visit www.edustructures.com. | | |
About The Schools Interoperability Framework (SIFA):
|
SIFA is a unique non–profit collaboration of over 300 schools, districts, states, the U.S. Department of Education, software vendors and consultants collectively defining the rules and regulations for educational software data interoperability. SIFA enables diverse applications to interact and share data efficiently, reliably and securely regardless of the platform hosting the applications. It has united these education technology end users and providers in an unprecedented effort to give teachers more time to do what they do best: teach. For further information, visit http://www.sifinfo.org. | | |
Contacts:
ESP Solutions Group
Anne–Marie Westmoreland
(512) 458.8364, ext. 106
amwestmoreland@espsolutionsgroup.com
| | |
Edustructures LLC
Sandra Richards
(801) 858.0069
srichards@edustructures.com
| | |
For more information, please contact:
Edustructures LLC
Sandra Richards, 1.877.790.1261 Extension 438
news@edustructures.com
|
|
|
