Edustructures Launches Phase 2 of Statewide SIF Implementation Project for Virginia Department of Education.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Second phase under way after on-time and successful completion of expanded implementation of unique student ID management program using the SIFWorks(R) Student Locator Framework(TM)

Edustructures, the leading provider of Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF(R)) solutions for the K-12 education market, today announced the company has launched the second phase of a statewide SIF implementation project for the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) after a successful and on-time completion of the first phase of the project.

The objective of the first phase of the project -- which, as a result of early project success, was expanded 33 percent from the initial plan -- focused on automating the process of acquiring state-assigned unique student identifiers. To meet this objective, the VDOE chose the SIFWorks(R) Student Locator Framework(TM) (SLF), a SIF-enabled technology that automates the assignment and management of persistent student IDs. The completed project integrates the district-based student information system (SIS) to the state's EIMS data warehouse -- built, installed and supported by Pearson Educational Measurement -- using SIF, and includes the installation of Edustructures' market-leading SIFWorks(R) Enterprise Zone Integration Servers (ZIS), SIS SIF agents and the SIFWorks SLF at 40 divisions. Additionally, the SIFWorks Enterprise ZIS and the SIFWorks SLF are installed at the VDOE's secure hosting facility.

"The ability to create and manage unique IDs -- identifiers that persist for each individual student throughout their educational career -- is a key accomplishment, allowing educators to successfully monitor the educational progress of our students," said Bethann Canada, director of educational information management, VDOE. "Of equal importance is the ease with which the implementation has taken place. The implementation of SIF in Virginia has proceeded ahead of schedule and on budget, and we're looking forward to expanding the scope of our project to include automating more data collections in support of providing timely, in-depth longitudinal reports on all our students."

The second phase of the project will more than double the number of districts with installed Zone Integration Servers, SIS SIF agents and the SIFWorks SLF. Future SIF-enabled resources include the SIFWorks Vertical Reporting Framework(TM) (VRF), built to manage the complex, behind-the-scenes work of automating state data collections for accountability reports and monitoring the collection process at the state. The SIFWorks VRF -- currently operating in other statewide vertical reporting implementations -- greatly reduces data collection times and improves data accuracy in mission-critical reports, delivering the data into the data warehouse and other analysis tools built by Pearson Educational Measurement.

"The combination of Edustructures' cutting-edge SIF technologies, strong partner relationships, and experienced implementation and technical support teams is allowing state departments of education to improve their data management architecture to be more responsive to the needs of students, parents, teachers, and administrators," said Steve Curtis, CEO and president of Edustructures. "By leveraging SIF as a reliable, cost-effective interoperability standard and deploying Edustructures SLF and VRF as a secure, enterprise-class state reporting solution, the VDOE gains the best possible result -- the ability to assure that no student is left behind."

About Edustructures

Edustructures is the recognized leader in SIF integration solutions for the K-12 education market, making it possible for market-leading student information, library, transportation, cafeteria and directory solutions to reliably and securely share data in real time. Through its SIFWorks(R) integration platform, comprehensive professional services, and business relationships with technology providers and educators, Edustructures connects the systems that power education. For more information about Edustructures, please visit www.edustructures.com.