Stamford Public Schools Selects Century Consultants’
SIF-Certified Star_Base Student Information System

Solution serves as primary data management backbone; Manages and maintains vital
information needed for efficient management system for student, business and curriculum data

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (May 15, 2006) – As part of a new district-wide technology initiative, Connecticut’s Stamford Public Schools district has implemented Century Consultants’ SIF-certified Star_Base School Suite to manage and maintain all student, business and curriculum information.

Stamford Public Schools, comprised of 20 schools and more than 15,000 students, is the first district in the state of Connecticut to implement on Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) standards. The SIF specification is an industry-wide initiative for sharing information between software applications in the educational space, making it possible for a school district to share data across applications without the need for any additional programming at the local level. Century Consultants’ Star_Base School Suite is a SIF-certified, Web-based, K-12 information management system that utilizes the Oracle relational database management system to centralize data while providing fast, secure access for districts of any size.

Recognizing the need to reduce the amount of manual data entry required to report demographic and educational information for every student, such as the reporting requirements imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act, Stamford Public Schools sought a way to easily link and sync the district’s multiple databases to each other. Part of Stamford Public Schools’ technology initiative included the implementation of Zone Integration Servers (ZIS), which serve as the data integration broker between applications that support SIF standards. Through ZIS, applications and their data are no longer isolated from one another. Instead, information is delivered in real-time, redundancy in data entry is reduced, and schools are able to spend less time on administrative functions and more time improving services to students.

The biggest advantage of utilizing ZIS and SIF-certified solutions such as Century Consultants’ Star_Base is increased operational efficiencies created through improvements in the way information is shared between systems in a school, school districts and departments of education. For example, when a student is registered in Star_Base, an agent will then send out a record to the ZIS to determine what other applications need that information. In addition to the Star_Base student information system, other data applications on Stamford Public Schools’ ZIS will include a transportation mapping system that assigns busing routes, a library system, a special education system and a food service system. By not having to repetitively enter information, educators are freed from administrative duties and, as such, are able to introduce more robust programs that improve the educational experience for students. Also, without the need to enter data across multiple applications, there is less chance for errors and more reliability in the data.

“For many school districts, relieving the burden of repetitive data entry enables them to better allocate resources and improve the quality of education for students as well as the quality of life for their administrative staff,” said Joseph Shearn, President of Century Consultants. “Star_Base School Suite offers state-of-the-art technology designed to help educators and administrators track, manage and maintain all of the vital information needed to institute a progressive, efficient management system for student, business and curriculum information. Through Zone Integration Servers, districts, such as Stamford Public Schools, will ultimately experience more usability of their data along with improved state reporting and administrative processes. ”

Another New England school district experiencing increased operational efficiencies through ZIS and Century Consultants’ SIF-certified solutions is the Brockton, Mass.-based Brockton Public Schools district. Buffalo, N.Y.’s Kenmore-Town of Tonawanda Union Free School District is also preparing to deploy its ZIS and Century Consultants’ SIF-certified solutions to reap the rewards offered through automation.