Ed-Fi™-Powered Student Information System Vendors Poised for New Ed-Tech Market Opportunities and Growth

AUSTIN, Texas, Aug. 17, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Four Student Information System (SIS) providers - Skyward, Texas Computer Cooperative, Prologic Technology Systems and SunGard K-12 Education - have licensed the Ed-Fi solution to help ensure their work is fully compliant with the Texas Student Data System. The emergence of new ed-tech tools like the Ed-Fi solution gives these and other leading ed-tech providers the ability to get products and services to customers faster than ever.

"We are pleased to be a part of the Texas Student Data System work and to help bring useful tools to every teacher across the state," said Kurt Springs, Regional Sales Manager for SunGard K-12 Education. "We are also eager to bring those same advantages to our current and potential customers in other states and districts across the country. Putting meaningful, actionable insights at teachers' fingertips helps teachers and students succeed. At SunGard K-12 Education, that is our goal. The Ed-Fi solution helps us achieve that goal more easily for more customers in more places."

The Ed-Fi solution, which includes a unifying data model, data exchange framework, application framework and sample dashboard source code, is designed to facilitate secure data exchange among the disparate K-12 education data systems in use at the school, district and state education agency levels. From the perspective of competitive advantage, the Ed-Fi solution gives vendors an edge, enabling them to easily address shifting technical requirements without major code overhauls and giving them the ability to design reusable products that meet the needs of districts, states and schools across the nation. Since the Ed-Fi solution first launched in July 2011, it has been licensed by more than 20 vendors.

"Through their work in support of the Texas Student Data System, these four leading vendors are helping educators across Texas gain access to meaningful data-driven insights about their students," said Lori Fey, director of policy initiatives at the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation. "The Ed-Fi initiative's goal of accelerating state leaders' and vendors' abilities to put tools at teachers' fingertips is within reach. We applaud these and the 20+ other vendors who are giving their customers the advantage of Ed-Fi tools."

The Ed-Fi solution, which is compatible with many existing education data standards including the Common Education Data Standards (CEDS,) is available to state and local education agencies, organizations and vendors serving the education sector through a free license.

Since launching in July 2011, the Ed-Fi solution has gained significant momentum in K-12 education among state education agencies, school districts and vendors. Eight states have licensed or are in discussions to license the Ed-Fi solution, and an additional four states will benefit from Ed-Fi-enabled tools through the Shared Learning Collaborative. These 12 states collectively represent 34% of K-12 students and 36% of teachers across the United States. More than 20 vendors have licensed the free Ed-Fi tool suite.

The Ed-Fi solution is the only free, flexible and complete ed-tech solution to empower educators with relevant, timely, student-centric information that enables better data collection and reporting to improve decision making, facilitate targeted action plans and drive higher student outcomes. To get more detailed information about the Ed-Fi solution, including the FAQ and technical documentation, or to provide comments on the Ed-Fi solution and its components, visit the website at www.ed-fi.org.
About the Ed-Fi solution
We connect the data from start to finish. The Ed-Fi solution exists to make a difference for millions of kids...one teacher, one class, one child at a time by transforming data into insights that make it easier for teachers to teach, for students to learn and for schools to succeed. The Ed-Fi solution is a universal educational data standard and tool suite (unifying data model, data exchange framework, application framework, and sample dashboard source code) that enables vital academic information on K-12 students to be consolidated from the different data systems of school districts while leaving the management and governance of data within those districts and states. Ed-Fi components act as a universal translator of academic data, integrating and organizing information so that educators can start addressing the individual needs of each student from day one, and can measure progress and refine action plans throughout the school year.

Developed by Double Line Partners through funding from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, the Ed-Fi solution can be licensed free of charge by districts, state education agencies and vendors. Licensees gain unrestricted access to all Ed-Fi components. For more information, visit www.ed-fi.org. The Ed-Fi initiative supports the goal of ensuring that all children have access to quality education in public schools, one of the foundation's key objectives.

About SunGard

SunGard is one of the world's leading software and technology services companies. SunGard has more than 17,000 employees and serves approximately 25,000 customers in more than 70 countries. SunGard provides software and processing solutions for financial services, education and the public sector. SunGard also provides disaster recovery services, managed IT services, information availability consulting services and business continuity management software. With annual revenue of about $4.5 billion, SunGard is the largest privately held software and services company and is ranked 480 on the Fortune 500. Look for us wherever the mission is critical. For more information, please visit www.sungard.com.

About Prologic Technology Systems, Inc.

Prologic is the first advanced technology solution for K-12 school district administration and student management. Prologic's Total Education Administrative Management Solution (TEAMS ERP™) seamlessly bridges the siloes of finance, human resource and student information into a single, cohesive database capable of real-time reporting and simplified collaboration among district teachers, students, administrators and parents. TEAMS ERP is ideal for mid-size to large school districts requiring a robust, yet easy-to-use system that is highly scalable and configurable. Prologic has been solely focused on delivering intelligent software solutions to the K-12 market since 1992. The company is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, visit us online at www.ptsteams.com.

About Skyward

Skyward is a leading provider of K-12 school administrative software that surpasses districts' needs in state reporting, improves operational capabilities, and opens communication between schools and families. Today, you can find Skyward's School Management System™ in more than 1,500 school districts worldwide, ranging from districts with as few as 50 students to state configurations supporting more than 800,000 students. Founded in 1980, Skyward serves school districts with its integrated student, finance, and human resources suite of products and is proudly made and supported in the U.S.A.   www.skyward.com.

About Texas Computer Cooperative

Education Service Centers have been providing data processing services to Texas school districts since 1968.  The Texas Computer Cooperative (TCC), a cooperative of the 20 Texas regional education service centers, exists to provide compliant, comprehensive information systems and IT support services to Texas LEAs. The TCC operates only in Texas, serving over 870 school districts and charter schools with TCC software, iTCCS or TxEIS.  The TxEIS Student system was awarded as a State-sponsored Student Information System (SSIS) in 2011.  As a nonprofit entity and a statewide cooperative, the TCC provides the most cost-effective software solution in the state. 

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Meredith Young
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512-794-4726

SOURCE Ed-Fi Alliance