South Carolina to Implement First SIF-Based Statewide Student Identifier System
Bellwether Contract Awarded to ESP Solutions Group, eScholar, and Edustructures
| NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA (February 23,2005) - ESP Solutions Group,
the leader in K-12 education data systems,
today announced the awarding of a contract from the South Carolina
Department of Education to build the country’s first statewide student
identifier and locator system based on technologies compliant with
Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) specifications. Unique
student identifier and locator systems are considered to be critical
components of a state’s efforts to meet their accountability and data
reporting requirements and those of the No Child Left Behind Act
(NCLB). SIF based data management solutions help school districts save
time, reduce redundant data entry, save money, and improve data
quality. | | |
| To implement this breakthrough system, ESP is partnering
with Edustructures, the leader in SIF software products and services,
and eScholar, the leader in unique student identification and data
warehousing in K-12 education. This contract solidifies the
ESP-eScholar-Edustructures team as the premier identifier and locator
solution for state education agencies. | | |
| Student identifier systems are used by state education agencies to identify each student within the
state and maintain a contiguous record of those students as they move.
This capability allows a state to implement data warehouses that track
enrollment, test scores, and other factors as the students matriculate.
The identifiers also help track student mobility, facilitating easier
transfer of records as students migrate from school to school within a
district or across the state. | | |
| “South Carolina is well known as being
a national leader in education technology,” said Glynn Ligon, president
of ESP Solutions Group. “They solidified that reputation today with
the procurement of the first statewide SIF-based student identifier
system.” This system will be deployed during 2005 in all of the state’s
88 school districts and will serve over 670,000 students. | | |
| “Setting up a student identifier and locator system will further South Carolina’s
efforts to provide teachers, administrators, and policy-makers with the
information needed to support high student achievement,” said Shawn Bay,
CEO of eScholar. “Establishing a student ID and locator system is an
essential building block for using data to help children get a better
education. Implementing this system will reduce the reporting burden,
make reporting more valid, and enable South Carolina to follow cohorts
of students.” | | |
| “This is another example of the powerful potential of
SIF,” added Steve Curtis, chief operating officer of Edustructures.
“South Carolina is showing the country that states can implement
innovative data management solutions based on the Schools
Interoperability Framework that reduce the data reporting burden on
districts and save the state money.” | | |
About eScholar
| Based in White Plains, New York, eScholar is the leading
provider of data warehouse and student identifier systems. The
company’s products are licensed by seven state education agencies and
approximately 2000 school districts. | | |
| eScholar has partnerships with leading product and service vendors, consulting firms and educational
organizations. eScholar chairs the Data Warehousing Working Group for
the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) is a founding Board Member
and has assisted in setting the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) standards for school data identification. | | |
About Edustructures
| Edustructures is the first company completely dedicated
to delivering an independent integration solution built on the SIF
standard. As a result, it has quickly become the recognized leader in
SIF integration solutions, making it possible for disparate
applications to reliably and securely exchange data with one another.
Founded in 2002 and headquartered in the shadow of the Wasatch
mountains just south of Salt Lake City, Edustructures is a privately
held company distributing SIF-based software solutions. Through its
SIFWorks® technology platform, comprehensive professional services, and
business relationships with technology providers and educators,
Edustructures connects the systems that power education. | | |
|
SIF is a trademark of the Schools Interoperability Framework Association
| | |
|
Edustructures is a trademark, and SIFWorks and ADK are registered trademarks of
Edustructures LLC in the United States and other countries.
| | |
For more information, please contact:
Edustructures LLC
Sandra Richards, 1.877.790.1261 Extension 438
news@edustructures.com
|
|
|
