Edupoint(TM) Educational Systems has been exclusively selected as the student information system solutions provider by the Oregon Student Information System Consortium (OSIS). OSIS, led by a steering committee consisting of members from Salem-Keizer School District, Multnomah Educational Service District (ESD), Northwest Regional ESD, Portland Public Schools and Eugene School District, worked in conjunction with subcommittee members from school districts and ESDs across the state, including the Oregon Department of Education. OSIS members began working together on selecting a common SIS that will meet the evolving needs of all Education Service Districts and school districts - large and small - throughout the state. After an extensive national search, the Synergy(TM) Student Information System from Edupoint was unanimously selected.
The Oregon Student Information System Consortium members represent almost 400,000 students across the state. The selection process of a common SIS was a collaborative effort, with participation from more than 350 support and school office staff, and over 950 instructional staff from districts and ESDs throughout Oregon. Evaluation teams worked throughout the summer and narrowed the field of eight SIS vendors down to three finalists. After extensive on-site technology demonstrations, the consortium felt the innovative and proven solutions of the Synergy Education Platform best suited their needs. The resulting price and contract agreement will be available to all consortium participants.
"The evaluation process focused on many aspects of an SIS that are important for school districts," said Kristen Duus, IT Director of Salem-Keizer School District. "Aside from cost, we reviewed the ability of the vendor to consider various implementation models, and for their student information system to meet the needs of districts and ESDs of all sizes. We were originally open to awarding the contact to multiple vendors if needed, but Edupoint and their integrated Synergy SIS, gradebook and special education solutions met the vast majority of our needs and provided the best fit overall."
The Synergy(TM) Education Platform is a student data management platform designed by thought leaders in K-12 SIS technology. It consists of the Synergy Student Information System, a true-web SIS that leverages the Synergy TeacherVUE(TM) Gradebook, which helps teachers track results and individualize learning. ParentVUE(TM) and StudentVUE(TM) web portals allow parents and students access to real-time information on assignments and grades, attendance, and discipline, and Synergy(TM) Special Education provides a collaborative environment with customized workflow that generates and stores student IEPs, streamlines the special education process, and ensures compliance to meet state and federal regulations. OSIS members have a future option to incorporate LessonVUE(TM), an integrated component of the Synergy Education Platform that provides curriculum management designed to support data-driven decision making by managing curriculum, assessment, and student performance.
"One of the benefits of a single student information system is that it makes gathering data for state reporting more efficient," says Rick Wahlstrom, Chief Information Officer of the Northwest Regional ESD. "State and federal reporting requirements are ever increasing and the Edupoint solution offers better access to existing data elements and improves the ability for districts to manage the collection of new elements. We look forward to working with our district partners to implement Synergy."
