Mobile, Ala. (June 30, 2009) – STI, a leader in K-12 education data management solutions, announces today a partnership with the Alabama Department of Education to provide a Web-based statewide enrollment and scheduling system for the state-led online learning program. STI’s InformationLIVE (Learning In a Virtual Environment), will help the state manage scheduling and staffing for ACCESS (Alabama Connecting Classrooms, Educators, and Students Statewide)

The ACCESS distance learning program is an education initiative of the Alabama Department of Education. It provides opportunities and options for Alabama public high school students to engage in Advanced Placement (AP), elective, and other courses to which they may not otherwise have access.

Online learning in K-12 education continues to grow rapidly, with over 1 million students taking online courses in 2008, up 47 percent from two years ago. However, its continued success requires states to make policy and funding changes, and manage a new stream of data. This is particularly important as more states establish longitudinal data systems. During his recent “Listening Tour” this spring, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan frequently emphasized the importance of improving data collection systems and conducting data-driven decision making to improve education outcomes. Alabama has already taken steps to track and analyze data at the state level.

InformationLIVE enables the state to streamline online course registration and monitor student progress. Unique student identifiers, and other data from Alabama’s statewide student information system, which is also provided by STI, are integrated into InformationLIVE. This minimizes duplicate data entry and ensures data accuracy. The state will incorporate new data from the ACCESS program into its longitudinal data system for future use to inform program, policy and funding decisions. The online learning data is also important for districts in the state to monitor students’ academic progress and to ensure students are on track to meet high school graduation requirements.

“Our ACCESS program is transforming education in Alabama, providing students with individualized instruction in a 21st century learning environment,” said State Superintendent of Education Joe Morton. “STI’s system is a critical component in accomplishing our mission to ensure all students in the state have equal opportunity to access high-quality education and to expand their horizons.”

Recently, Alabama became the second state in the nation to require students to complete an online course during their high school career prior to graduation. The requirement takes effect in the 2009-2010 school year for all incoming freshmen. Students will register for online or video conferencing courses through their counselor, using InformationLIVE.

STI is implementing InformationLIVE in the State this summer to manage course registration for the ACCESS program for the 2009-2010 school year. For more information about ACCESS, visit accessdl.state.al.us.

More Information

For more information about InformationLIVE or STI’s product offerings, phone 800-844-0884 or visit www.sti-k12.com.

About STI

STI is a leading provider of Education Data Management solutions to the K-12 market. STI’s fully integrated suite of Web-based products addresses attendance, scheduling, discipline, grade reporting, state reporting, financial management, student health, parent/teacher communications, special education, formative assessment, and data mining. Additionally, STI offers a comprehensive program of professional development services to help administrators and teachers with school improvement initiatives such as developing data-driven response-to-intervention and formative assessment programs. More than 8,000 schools in 50 states and several countries use STI solutions. The company was founded in 1982 and is headquartered in Mobile, Ala.

Editor’s Note: Statistics cited in this release came from the Sloan Consortium’s “K-12 Online Learning: 2008 Follow-up Survey of U.S. School District Administrators.”

Contacts

STI
Jenna Wood
800-844-0884, x1003
jwood at sti-k12 dot com
www.sti-k12.com

C. Blohm & Associates, Inc.
Kristen Plemon
608-839-9805
kristen at cblohm dot com
www.cblohm.com

Printer Friendly

Download Release (124 KB)

Images

Click to view at full size, then right-click to download.