The United States Department of Education Joins the Schools Interoperability Framework Association
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Washington, DC, October 9 2003 -- The Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) Association is
proud to welcome the United States Department of Education (USED) as its newest member.
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The USED will be an active participant in the development and support of data models and technical
specifications. Hugh Walkup, Director of Strategic Accountability Service for the USED states,
"Through its membership in SIF the U.S. Department of Education intends to support common standards
in educational data systems to assure that Department data initiatives are aligned with and
reflected in SIF standards."
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Federal, state, and local dependence on the quality and availability of education data to inform
decision-making has never been higher. The passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)
increases demand for more immediate access to high-quality education data across the PK-12
education enterprise. Today, software applications available for PK-12 schools are either closed
systems or systems that allow customer access only through proprietary interfaces and data formats.
To a user, the lack of interoperability means data isolation, redundant data entry, increased
support costs, inefficient reporting with data inaccessible to decision makers. The bulk of
information needed to respond to NCLB and other federal reporting requirements are initially
captured in local schools and district offices to support local operations and decision-making.
Data are subsequently moved through state information systems to the USED.
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"This is a watershed event", states Larry Nelson, Sun Microsystems Global Market Development
Manager and a SIF Board of Directors co-lead. "State Departments of Education and school
districts throughout the US are working diligently to meet the demands of NCLB. Having the
USED as a member of SIF goes a long way toward making certain the SIF Specification is at
the center of the interoperability between applications that schools need for NCLB, and for
meeting the demands of their normal operations."
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SIF Board co-lead Doug Hamlin, CEO of VersaTrans Solutions Incorporated remarked, "This will
mark a dramatic inflection point in the adoption curve of SIF. The partnership of the SIF
organization, its member companies and the USED will be far greater than the sum of the parts.
We are proud that the USED recognizes the utility of the SIF Specification in achieving the
Administration's goals through NCLB."
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SIF's Executive Director Larry Fruth adds, "We are excited to have the USED as partners at
the table in the development of these specifications that will dramatically impact American
school operations and reporting. SIF is poised to provide both the comprehensive data set
and the transaction choreography necessary to enable the collection and movement of
education data to support local, state, and federal reporting."
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About the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF)
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The Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) is a non-profit organization driven by PK-12
education technology providers and users to revolutionize the management and accessibility
of data within schools and school districts and states. SIF enables diverse applications
to interact and share data efficiently, reliably, and securely regardless of the platform
hosting the applications. SIF has united over 100 technology 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
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For more information, please contact:
Edustructures LLC
Sandra Richards, 1.877.790.1261 Extension 438
news@edustructures.com
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