March 28, 2007 - MCHENRY, IL. The theme of CoSN K-12 School Network Conference is "Bridging Individualized Learning & High Stakes Accountability," and one of its sponsors, Follett Software Company, is doing just that. Follett Software Company's TetraData offers a range of data collection, warehousing and analysis solutions that help bridge the gap between data and improved student performance – solutions that are finding favor with an increasing number of states, Education Service Agencies and districts.

States like Vermont and major urban districts like New York City are seeking to get a better handle on the mountains of student data they're collecting – everything from state assessment scores to demographics, attendance and behavior. The goal is to turn that information into improved instruction, more effective curriculum and better student performance by helping teachers and administrators make better-informed decisions.

"Over the decades we've built our expertise in bringing greater visibility to information that is critical for helping schools and districts manage educational resources, so it is only natural that we can play a significant role in meeting the growing demand for data storage and analysis," according to Tom Schenck, president of Follett Software Company. "Whether that means more effective control of instructional assets, or bringing together diverse data sources into a clear, unified whole, the goal is the same – to help districts make better decisions and ultimately improve student outcomes. That expertise is more in demand than ever, and that's why we think it's important for us to be a CoSN sponsor."

"Districts, ESAs and states are finding it critical to bridge that gap between data and improved learning environments," said Martin Brutosky, chief operating officer of TetraData, a Follett Software subsidiary that creates focused education data warehousing and analytics solutions. "Our solutions provide both the technology and professional training educators need to gain insight into student learning processes, which can drive school improvement," Brutosky said.

Solutions that Scale from Districts to States

TetraData's solutions scale from individual districts through regional service agencies to entire states. Often state-wide consortia and ESAs are taking a role in making certain that high-end data tools are available to even the smallest districts and schools. The Vermont Department of Education (DOE) partnered with the Vermont Data Consortium (VDC) to get the benefits of data warehousing and analytics to VDC member districts. The DOE and VDC are in their second year of implementing TetraData's technology, and are already beginning to see an increase in the number of educators paying close attention to state and local student data, according to John Ferrara, VDC Data Coordinator.

"We've seen districts in various regions coming together to form user groups, to take a close look at their student data and plan ways to use it to improve instruction," Ferrara said. "They're getting a much better sense of how state assessments relate to their local assessments, and how those assessments relate to course grades."

Ferrara said that the greater availability of data is having an impact on school improvement planning. "Schools that need to make AYP are being much more deliberate about analyzing their local data along with state DOE data and using both sources as a foundation for development of improvement plans," he said.

EASTCONN, an ESA that provides programs and services to 36 school districts in northeast Connecticut, also provides TetraData warehousing and analytic tools to its members. EASTCONN collaborated with the 5 other ESAs that serve all of CT districts to create the CT Data Warehouse. "We wanted to bring the concept of data warehousing to all the schools in Connecticut," said Jim Huggins, director of technology solutions for EASTCONN. Huggins said that several districts have already put the analytical tools to use to improve student performance. "Their area of focus has been to use the data warehouse to analyze multiple sources of data to better understand the strengths and weaknesses of their students and then to target instruction and align teaching methods and strategies that met their learning needs," he said.

The system is also allowing district administrators to track student cohorts longitudinally, something that was difficult to do without the TetraData technology. "Having this information has really brought home the importance of using common formative assessments to monitor student growth over time. The data warehouse allows districts to analyze common formative assessment data throughout the school year to monitor student progress on an ongoing basis and not just once a year," Huggins said.

Other districts recently implementing TetraData solutions include:

• New York City Schools – TetraData's Analysis Suite and Data on Demand will be part of a comprehensive solution being built for the New York Department of Education by IBM under a five-year, $80 million contract. Information provided by the system will help teachers identify effective practices citywide and improve and individualize instruction in response to demonstrated student need during the course of the school year.
• Lincoln (NE) Public Schools – This district will use TetraData's Decision Suite which includes the Analysis Suite, and Dash and Data on Demand to improve instruction for its 32,000 students.
• Johnston County (NC) Schools – This 29,500-student district, one of the largest in the state, will implement TetraData Dash, Data Ready, Analysis Suite and Data on Demand.
• Adlai Stevenson HS District, Lincolnshire, IL – Based in suburban Chicago, the district is adopting a suite of TetraData solutions including Data Ready, Analysis Suite, Dash and Data on Demand.

About TetraData

TetraData is the nation's leading provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 districts. TetraData's solutions help educators achieve and sustain high performance by facilitating data-driven decision making. TetraData solutions capture, integrate and store data from administrative and educational systems and deliver comprehensive and customized data analysis and reporting. With TetraData solutions, educators can easily and accurately assess the factors that drive performance on a district level as well as on an individual student level. Located in Greenville, South Carolina, TetraData is a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software Company.

About Follett Software Company

Over the past two decades, Follett Software Company has evolved from being the largest provider of K-12 library automation solutions to being the leading provider of Educational Resource Management (ERM) solutions. The company's flagship product – Destiny Resource Management Solution – is an integrated suite of browser-based applications that centralize management of library materials, media, textbooks and fixed and portable assets. Follett Software is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation – a $2.2 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, Illinois. For more information, visit the company's web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397. For press inquiries, contact Scott Knickelbine at 800-710-3600.