MCHENRY, Ill., March 17, 2011 – Follett Software Company announced this week that five more K-12 public school districts in the state of Massachusetts have selected Aspen as their student information platform. Aspen – a web-based customizable student information system (SIS) for school and district administration, learning and communications that also delivers state reporting requirements – is now used by a total of 67 districts in Massachusetts, comprising 432 schools and more than 242,000 students.
The five new districts to Aspen are:
- Franklin Public Schools – 7 schools, 6,120 students
- Attleboro Public Schools – 9 schools, 5,884 students
- Braintree School District – 9 schools, 5,246 students
- Wilmington Public Schools – 8 schools, 3,783 students
- Swampscott School District – 7 schools, 2,257 students
According to Neal Ellis, technology coordinator for Wilmington Public Schools, his district's selection committee reviewed all the vendors on the state's bid list to determine which ones met the technical and functional requirements. Ultimately, he said, the committee kept coming back to one vendor.
"There didn't seem to be any other vendor that had all of the pieces we were seeking," Ellis said. "Once we started looking at the Aspen product in more depth, we found that it not only had all of the pieces we wanted, but it had pieces that we didn't even know were possible."
Finding an SIS with such features as assessment plus viewing and uploading documents were originally thought to be "pie-in-the-sky" pursuits for the Wilmington committee.
"We didn't expect to find them, but with Aspen they were already included," Ellis said. "We were surprised to find a vendor's product that was as progressive technically as Aspen."
Just last month, Follett Software Company announced that three more K-12 districts in Rhode Island had selected Aspen for their student information platform, which raised the number of Aspen districts in the neighboring state to seven.
In October 2010, Follett Software acquired X2 Development Corporation and its Aspen student information platform. X2 continues to operate out of Hingham, Mass., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software.
For more information on Follett Software Company, visit www.FollettSoftware.com and to learn more about Aspen, visit www.x2dev.com.
About Follett Software Company
Follett Software Company (www.FollettSoftware.com) is the integrated educational technology solution provider that more than half of America's school districts trust to support staff and engage students in today's digitally rich learning environment. Follett's digitally powered technologies help districts more efficiently and cost-effectively manage traditional and digital educational resources, provide digital learning environment tools focusing on student achievement and make confident decisions based on quality academic data. Powerful, integrated solutions enable Follett to support today's collaborative learning community and empower 21st century learning and discovery. Follett Software Company is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation, a $2.7 billion, privately held company that provides products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873 and has its headquarters in River Grove, Ill.
About Aspen
Simplifying school data management through the integration of key K-12 applications, Aspen (http://www.x2dev.com) enables parents to see student grades, attendance and other vital school information online. Further, Aspen tracks student immunization, manages grades for teachers, and enables students to submit their homework online. Aspen runs the daily schedule for all students and teachers, assisting staff in the management of subject selections.
