Follett Software Press Releases

Follett Software New Authorized Provider of IACET CEUs

Thu, 03 May 2012 00:00:00 GMT

The International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET) has awarded Follett Software Company the prestigious Authorized Provider accreditation. IACET Authorized Providers are the only organizations approved to offer IACET Continuing Education Units (CEUs).

The accreditation period extends for five years, and includes all programs offered or created during that time.

“Follett Software is proud of our professional development programs that provide our customers with important product knowledge and K-12 technology applications so that our customers stay on the cutting edge,” said Mike Gedzyk, vice president, services and operations, Follett Software. “Our new partnership with IACET is a demonstration of our commitment to lifelong learning and high standards for all of our programs.”

Follett Software joins nearly 650 organizations around the globe that have had their programs vetted by third-party experts in continuing education to ensure the highest possible standards are met, according to IACET officials.

In order to achieve Authorized Provider accreditation, Follett Software completed a rigorous application process, including a review by an IACET site visitor, and successfully demonstrated adherence to the ANSI/IACET 1-2007 Standard addressing the design, development, administration, and evaluation of its programs.

Follett Software has pledged its continued compliance with the Standard, and is now authorized to use the IACET name and Authorized Provider logo on promotional course material. In addition, Follett Software is now linked to the IACET web site and is recognized as offering the highest quality continuing education and training programs.

Follett Software Continues Strong Investment in Aspen SIS

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced this week a series of key personnel moves designed to continue to strengthen its investment in the Aspen student information system (SIS), which it acquired 18 months ago as part of the purchase of X2 Development Corporation.

“We are very bullish on the future of Aspen, and these moves illustrate how we are committed to invest at the company’s highest level to expand the product’s organizational support, software development, and services and operations,” said Simona Rollinson, president, Follett Software Company. “In addition to our popular K-12 solutions that customers have relied on us for more than 25 years, we are confident Aspen will be a significant new engine of growth.”

The Aspen SIS, which has expanded Follett’s broad range of technology and content delivery solutions, has shown consistent growth since Follett Software purchased it in October 2010. Aspen is now in 122 school districts, more than 1,500 schools and serves nearly 890,000 students, and in the past year alone, has debuted in the states of Illinois, Virginia, Michigan, Washington and New Jersey.

Here is a closer look at the personnel announcements:

Brad Lindaas, who joined Follett Software in 1996 and has been serving as Aspen’s vice president of business operations, is the product’s new vice president of sales and SIS markets. In his new role, Lindaas will lead and drive sales for Aspen, with projections calling for a significant customer base expansion. Additionally, Lindaas will continue to lead the Hingham, Mass.-based campus, where the Aspen employees are based.
Rick Dwyer, founder of X2 Development, has been named entrepreneur-in-residence for Follett Software, where he will lead Aspen’s newly formed Accelerated Solutions group, part of the Software Development team. Current vice president of software development for Follett Software, also will now guide the Aspen Software Development team, which includes Accelerated Solutions.
Tim Rogers, “Since joining us last fall, Tim has introduced some fresh ideas our development organization and has arrived at an exciting new vision,” Rollinson said.
Mike Gedzyk, current vice president of services and operations for Follett Software, also will now guide the Aspen Services & Operations team, and is poised to make two key new hires for the department.

“Everything we’re doing here should be a clear message that Follett Software is putting its full power behind Aspen,” said Rollinson, who added that additional personnel announcements are expected in the ensuring weeks.

Aspen increases school district efficiency giving educators more time to focus on student achievement as the powerful SIS includes a host of applications in one package. Those applications include student and staff records, demographics, scheduling, attendance, discipline, gradebook, special education, health information, personnel/professional development, parent and student portals, and community and learning pages (for districts, schools, classes, teachers and students), plus detailed state reporting requirements. The product’s most recent release, Aspen 4.0, allows students and parents to report bullying incidents, as well as provides for anonymous reports of bullying.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management, Aspen

Follett’s 2nd ‘New Leaf in Learning’ Conference Attracts Nearly 300

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Follett’s recent New Leaf in Learning Conference, which attracted nearly 300 educators to the Renaissance Schaumburg (Ill.) Convention Center Hotel, will be available beginning today as a virtual event.

Follett recorded 27 of the key sessions at the Conference (held March 21-23), including the keynote addresses from Ian Jukes, creator and co-developer of TechWorks; Kevin Honeycutt, a technology integration specialist at Educational Services & Staff Development Association of Central Kansas; and Sarah Brown Wessling, an Iowa high school teacher who was the 2010 National Teacher of the Year.

To register for the New Leaf in Learning virtual event, and view the Conference sessions on demand on a computer or mobile device, visit www.NewLeafinLearning.com. The sessions will be available until June 30.

“[The Conference] was an amazing learning experience and one I hope I get to attend again,” Carl Harvey, library department chair at Noblesville (Ind.) Schools, wrote in a March 25 entry on his Library Ties blog. “I learned so much from all these amazing presenters and sessions. My head was buzzing all day long.” Harvey added that with the availability of the virtual conference, “I’m hoping to use that opportunity to catch up on some of the sessions I missed!”

In addition to the keynote speakers, 40 concurrent sessions – some playing to standing-room only crowds – the Conference also offered pre-conference training classes on a variety of Follett topics. Educators unable to attend in person were able to monitor the Conference via Facebook and Twitter.

A video recap of the Conference is available by visiting http://youtu.be/0y1bKvf-eUI, while a portion of Honeycutt’s well-received, pre-opening keynote presentation can be viewed by accessing http://www.storify.com/FollettSoftware/kevin-honeycutt-opening-session-nlil12. “I want to thank [Follett] for the informative and creative speakers and presentations, three days of learning and motivation to make a difference, and an overall incredible experience,” said Mary Niemczyk of Mastering Learning, who was the presenter of an Improving Student Success: Incorporating Learning Strategies Into Instruction session. “I don't know how you did it but everything seemed to work flawlessly and I am still so impressed!”

The third annual New Leaf in Learning Conference will be held in March 2013. To receive event updates as they become available, sign up to become a “New Leaf Groupie” at www.FollettSoftware.com/2013Conference and receive a 10 percent discount on next year’s registration.

For boilerplates on each of the four Follett School and Library Group companies hosting the 2012 New Leaf in Learning Conference, visit follett.com/about.cfm - BWI For more information on each company, visit:

Follett Software Company | FollettSoftware.com
Follett Library Resources | www.flr.follett.com
Follett Educational Services | fes.follett.com
Follett International | follettinternational.com

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management, Aspen

Follett Software Company Unveils Destiny 10.1

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company released Destiny 10.1 this week, with new features for the market-leading K-12 software product that will allow customers to perform more efficiently and connect with their students in an entirely new way.

Highlights of the 10.1 release include Destiny’s integration with Titlewave – the world’s leading collection development and management tool from Follett Library Resources – and Aspen – Follett Software’s student information system (SIS). FollettShelf integration allows student to have an enhanced eBook reading experience anywhere, anytime by reading a Follett eBook on a tablet or downloading it to a personal computer.

Here is a closer look at Destiny 10.1 features:

Integration with Titlewave: Direct connection with Titlewave gives customers an easy way to order the new materials they need from Follett and to import MARC records into Destiny seamlessly. Also, with Titlewave, customers are able to see a complete view of their order history and have the ability to analyze and evaluate the strengths and weaknesses in their library collection. Plus, customers can now submit data from Destiny to TitleWise – a quick, easy and comprehensive online collection analysis tool from Follett Library Resources that analyzes data in the customer’s collection and helps identify its strengths and weaknesses. Data can be submitted without having to download from Destiny and then upload to Titlewave, thus dramatically enhancing the ease for performing regular collection analysis.
Direct integration with Aspen: Aspen gives districts the opportunity to house all of their student data, easily find it, report on it, analyze it and use it to the fullest extent. The Destiny integration allows Aspen users to search and access Destiny resources from the newly introduced Aspen Curriculum and Learning.
Better eBook reading experience for students: Direct integration between Destiny and FollettShelf lets students browse their library’s Follett eBook collection, check out using the free Digital Reader app and read their Follett eBooks – anytime, anywhere – from their own tablet devices or personal computers.
New social media features: Students can now post or share links to items in Destiny to Facebook or Twitter.
Complete a search of your district’s assets in record time: Advanced searching capability in Destiny Asset Manager 10.1 allows customers to expand their search criteria for assets by department, home location, funding source, custodians and purchase price.

“We are excited to make it easier for our Destiny Library Manager customers to use Titlewave to support their acquisition and collection analysis needs,” said Don Rokusek, Follett Software’s Destiny program director. “We know that time is precious. These integrated functions will save our users plenty of time in these areas, and help to ensure their collections are as complete and current as possible for their students.”

Existing Destiny customers with current technical support are entitled to the 10.1 upgrade at no additional cost.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management

Follett Announces More Ways for Educators to Experience ‘New Leaf in Learning Conference’

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 00:00:00 GMT

In addition to complete registration opportunities, Follett recently announced it will make available single-day passes for its annual New Leaf in Learning Conference, to be held Wednesday, March 21 through Friday, March 23 at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, IL.

The single-day passes will be $199 for Thursday (March 22) and $139 for Friday (March 23). Complete registration remains available for $349, which includes access to all sessions, conference materials, breakfasts, luncheons and receptions. School districts that register more than one person will receive a 25 percent discount off the full conference rates for each additional individual.

New Leaf in Learning will officially commence on Wednesday (March 21) with Preconference Training, which includes a full day (8 am to 3:30 pm) of training covering Follett customers’ most-requested topics. Rates start at $75 for the training, which is not included in the complete conference registration fee.

Hosted by Follett Software, Follett Library Resources, Follett Educational Services and Follett International, the Conference will feature an impressive lineup of keynote speakers as well as a wide array of concurrent sessions about the trends and topics shaping today’s K-12 education, with presentations scheduled by some of the industry’s top names. In addition, district representatives will be on hand to share how they are using the full range of Follett solutions to fuel the learning process and inspire student achievement.

Keynote addresses will be delivered by Ian Jukes, creator and co-developer of TechWorks, the internationally successful K-8 technology framework; Kevin Honeycutt, a technology integration specialist at Educational Services & Staff Development Association of Central Kansas (ESSDACK); and Sarah Brown Wessling, a high school teacher in Iowa who in 2010 was named National Teacher of the Year by The Council of Chief State School Officers.

Notable presenters at the conference include Dr. Manuel Isquierdo, superintendent, Sunnyside (AZ) Unified School District, who was recently named by Tech & Learning magazine as one of its three “Leader of the Year” winners; John Willis, a pioneer in the “flip” model of classroom teaching, Gwinnett County Schools in Georgia; Margaret Reed Millar, senior program associate, The Council of Chief State School Officers; Paul Sanfrancesco, director of technology, Garnet Valley (PA) School District; Geoff Fletcher, deputy executive director, State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA); and David Loertscher, co-editor, Teacher Librarian magazine and professor, San Jose State University.

To download the 12-page conference brochure, visit www.NewLeafinLearning.com. For more information, call 800.323.3397, ext. 7357, or 815.344.8700, ext. 7357.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management Solution, New Leaf in Learning, Follett International, Follett Library Resources, Follett Educational Services

Washington State School District Continues Partnership with Follett by Selecting Aspen SIS

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 00:00:00 GMT

After in-depth evaluation and review of eight student information platforms, Mukilteo School District has selected Aspen, Follett Software Company’s student information system (SIS). The district is familiar with Follett Software as it uses the company’s market leading Destiny® Library Manager™ product.

According to Debbie Truax, chief technology officer for Mukilteo School District, the migration to the Aspen SIS represents a “great upgrade.”

“When we learned that the company supporting our current student information system had gone out of business, we found ourselves needing to quickly find a replacement system,” Truax said. “The functionality in Aspen will be a great upgrade to what we now have. The reporting mechanism will provide a huge enhancement, for example. The ability to have custom elements created easily and seamlessly, and the easy-to-use report generator, will allow our end users to create reports and get data to serve many functions.”

Aspen’s emergence into the Pacific Northwest is part of an overall plan to grow the SIS into the area, said Brad Lindaas, vice president of business operations for the Aspen product line.

“The Mukilteo district’s decision is significant in that our product was matched up in comprehensive comparisons, through several different stages, and Aspen came out on top,” Lindaas said. “The Pacific Northwest is a key market for our SIS, and we are confident that this adoption will be the springboard to many more in the region.”

Truax said that Aspen’s overall technology and underlying infrastructure stood out to the Mukilteo district as the selection process moved through four separate phases.

“While our old system served us well for 14 years, we expect the Aspen system to do an even better job of providing parents and students with access to information, which has become more critical with recent changes in state requirements,” Truax said. “As a result of our migration to Aspen, collecting, managing and reporting student information will be improved and we will be able to provide our staff, students and parents with even better service.”

The confidence in Follett Software and its reputation for stellar customer service helped Mukilteo officials with the selection of Aspen.

“The Mukilteo School District is in the very fortunate position of having had strong community support for its technology levies, which has allowed us to dedicate technology funds to pay for this system, even despite tough budget times,” Truax explained. “We feel this is a safe investment because the Aspen product has the support and resources of an established and highly regarded company. In addition, because we are already a Destiny Library Manager customer, we know that the consistency of data through the integration of these systems will yield a huge benefit to our school district in the near future.”

Mukilteo School District, located 25 miles north of Seattle, has nearly 14,500 students in 18 schools.

Additional Links:

Destiny® Resource Management Solutions, Aspen

Follett Software Company to Release Destiny 10.0

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company will release Destiny® 10.0 next week, featuring more than 50 new enhancements and features designed for the 21st century learner, including the eagerly anticipated Destiny Quest® Mobile App providing users 24/7 mobile access to their school library.

The mobile app for Destiny Quest – a K-12 student-friendly searching interface included with Destiny Library Manager™ – will allow students, librarians and teachers to search, navigate and instantly access their school library catalog anytime, anywhere via smart phones and tablets. Users will now be able to remotely browse their school catalog, place items on hold, save books into their resource list and view a detailed summary of account information.

A “sneak peek” of this easy-to-use, intuitive app was debuted to widespread praise at the American Association of School Libraries (AASL) Conference in Minneapolis in late October. “My students are going to love this app,” said Tiffany Whitehead, teacher-librarian at Central Middle School in Baton Rouge, LA.

Current Destiny 9.9 users will be able to upgrade to Destiny 10.0 beginning Monday (Dec. 19), conveniently timed so that schools can implement the upgrade over the holiday break. Follett Software’s web-based Destiny platform is the leading library and textbook automation product for the K-12 marketplace in North America. Destiny Library Manager is in use in 45,000 schools and nearly 5,000 districts across the country, while Destiny Textbook Manager™ is in use in more than 14,000 schools and 1,000 districts nationwide.

“Destiny 10.0 is certainly one of our company’s most exciting releases ever,” said Don Rokusek, Follett Software’s Destiny Program Director. “Most of the enhancements and features found in Destiny 10.0 are ones that our customers have been asking about, and they’re all included with the goal of supporting student and district success.”

Other Destiny 10.0 highlights include:

Greater accessibility for students in Destiny Quest. Students can research, make citations on items such as eBooks, videos, or digital resources, view textbook checkouts and navigate around the library resources with ease.
Improved management of social networking features. With improved administrative options, librarians can delete comments and add recommendations instantly.
Fountas and Pinnell Reading Program Service. Follett’s Reading Program Service helps students become better readers by directing them to books that are in their optimal reading zone, encouraging learning and literacy while improving test scores.
Support Resource Description & Access (RDA) cataloging. Functional improvements have been made for future support of RDA cataloging standards.
Flexibility with loading class schedules. Class schedules can be added after the school year begins and new functionality allows users to better manage resources when students transfer or drop classes.
Enhanced search results for a targeted learning experience. WebPath Express™ boasts improved search capabilities, new limiter options and better grade-level alignment. Results can now be filtered by topic, format, source, domain, reading level and language.
No need for barcodes on consumable items. Destiny Textbook Manager will allow tracking and distribution of consumable items to patrons – the items are then automatically removed from the patron’s record after the specified due date.
Track fines and renew asset checkouts. Destiny Asset Manager™ has been improved to track lost and damaged fines, and to support renewals of asset checkouts.

Existing Destiny customers with current technical support are entitled to the 10.0 upgrade at no additional cost.

Additional Links

Destiny Resource Management Solution

Follett Software’s Aspen Student Information System earns ‘Top 100’ distinction in publication’s annual readers’ choice rankings

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company’s student information system (SIS), Aspen, has been selected by the readers of District Administration as one of the “Top 100 Products of 2011.” Hundreds of the publication’s readers annually nominate products that have made a positive difference in their school districts during the past year, and also support education innovation.

The Aspen SIS is a customizable, web-based data platform for school and district administration, learning and communications that pulls together resources across the education community and consolidates information into one easily managed system. Simplifying school data management through the integration of key K-12 applications, Aspen is used by more than 833,000 students in 11 states.

“The nominations offer a view into the inner workings of how districts use products to help solve particular issues,” said Judy Faust Hartnett, District Administration’s editor-in-chief. “The recommendations we receive include extensive descriptions from school administrators of how these products are used in their districts and the difference they have made, making it very challenging to choose only 100 products.”

The winners were selected by the editors of District Administration from hundreds of nominations submitted by readers, including school superintendents and district-level directors in districts across the United States. The winning products were determined by the quantity of nominations received per product, as well as an evaluation of product quality based upon readers’ nominations and explanations. There were a record number of nominations this year.

Complete “Top 100” results are available on the publication’s website, and also are featured in the current (November/December) issue of District Administration.

In October 2010, Follett Software acquired X2 Development Corporation and its Aspen student information platform. X2 continues to operate out of Hingham, Mass., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software.
For more information on Follett Software Company, visit www.FollettSoftware.com. To learn more about Aspen, visit www.FollettSoftware.com/Aspen.

Early Registration Now Underway for Follett's New Leaf in Learning Conference

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Hosted by Follett Software, Follett Library Resources, Follett Educational Services and Follett International, the Conference is to be held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Ill., and will convene educators and industry experts sharing their brightest and best practices, plus enhance professional development.

Early registration is available through Dec. 16 for $249, a $100 savings, and includes full access to sessions, conference materials, breakfasts, luncheons and receptions. A scholarship program also is being offered.

The Conference’s three keynote addresses will be delivered by:

Ian Jukes, a noted author who is the creator and co-developer of TechWorks, the internationally successful K-8 technology framework, and was the catalyst of the NetSavvy and InfoSavvy information literacy series (opening keynote, Thursday morning, March 22);
Kevin Honeycutt, a technology integration specialist at Educational Services & Staff Development Association of Central Kansas (ESSDACK) in Hutchinson, Kansas (pre-opening keynote, Wednesday afternoon, March 21); and
Sarah Brown Wessling, an English Language Arts teacher at Johnston (Iowa) High School, who was named 2010 National Teacher of the Year by The Council of Chief State School Officers and was honored by President Obama in a Rose Garden ceremony (closing keynote, Friday afternoon, March 23).

The New Leaf in Learning Conference is again expected to draw superintendents and assistant superintendents, technology coordinators and directors, library media specialists and librarians, textbook coordinators and technicians, curriculum coordinators and teachers.

“Our Conference is designed for the K-12 educator who desires to make a difference,” said Tom Schenck, president and chief operating officer of Follett School and Library Group. “Our goal is to give everyone in attendance actionable tools that they can take back for immediate and impactful use in their districts and schools, as well as be armed with the latest in our product knowledge.”

Sessions will be presented by K-12 innovators detailing their real-world success stories, and will focus on administration and leadership, curriculum and instruction, digital innovations and technologies, and the next-generation librarian. In addition, district representatives will be on hand to share how they are using the full range of Follett solutions to fuel the learning process and inspire student achievement.

The event commences on Wednesday, March 21 with pre-conference training and sessions, Honneycutt’s address and an opening reception. It concludes Friday afternoon, March 23 with Wessling’s talk.

For those who miss the early signup, advance registration ($349) for the New Leaf in Learning Conference will be available beginning Dec. 17. Single-day passes also will be offered ($199 on Thursday, $139 on Friday). Discounted lodging at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel for conference registrants is available through Feb. 28, 2012 by calling 800.228.9290.

To download the 12-page conference brochure, visit www.NewLeafinLearning.com. For more information, call 800.323.3397, ext. 7357, or 815.344.8700, ext. 7357.

For boilerplates on each of the four Follett School and Library Group companies hosting the 2012 New Leaf in Learning Conference, visit follett.com/about.cfm - BWI.

For more information on each company, visit:

Follett Software Company | FollettSoftware.com
Follett Library Resources | Titlewave.com
Follett Educational Services | fes.follett.com
Follett International | follettinternational.com

Early Registration Now Underway for Follett’s ‘New Leaf in Learning Conference’

Sat, 05 Nov 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Early registration is open for Follett’s annual New Leaf in Learning Conference, to be held March 21-23, 2012, where attendees will learn about the latest trends and front-burner topics shaping today’s K-12 education industry.

Hosted by Follett Software, Follett Library Resources, Follett Educational Services and Follett International, the Conference is to be held at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel in Schaumburg, Ill., and will convene educators and industry experts sharing their brightest and best practices, plus enhance professional development.

Early registration is available through Dec. 16 for $249, a $100 savings, and includes full access to sessions, conference materials, breakfasts, luncheons and receptions. A scholarship program also is being offered.

The Conference’s three keynote addresses will be delivered by:

Ian Jukes, a noted author who is the creator and co-developer of TechWorks, the internationally successful K-8 technology framework, and was the catalyst of the NetSavvy and InfoSavvy information literacy series (opening keynote, Thursday morning, March 22);
Kevin Honeycutt, a technology integration specialist at Educational Services & Staff Development Association of Central Kansas (ESSDACK) in Hutchinson, Kansas (pre-opening keynote, Wednesday afternoon, March 21); and
Sarah Brown Wessling, an English Language Arts teacher at Johnston (Iowa) High School, who was named 2010 National Teacher of the Year by The Council of Chief State School Officers and was honored by President Obama in a Rose Garden ceremony (closing keynote, Friday afternoon, March 23).

Among the notable presenters at the conference are Dr. Manuel Isquierdo, superintendent, Sunnyside (Ariz.) Unified School District; Geoff Fletcher, deputy executive director, State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA); Paul Sanfrancesco, director of technology, Garnet Valley (Pa.) School District; David Loertscher, co-editor, Teacher Librarian magazine and professor, San Jose State University; and Jeffrey Pittman, science teacher, The Florida Virtual School.

The New Leaf in Learning Conference is again expected to draw superintendents and assistant superintendents, technology coordinators and directors, library media specialists and librarians, textbook coordinators and technicians, curriculum coordinators and teachers.

“Our Conference is designed for the K-12 educator who desires to make a difference,” said Tom Schenck, president and chief operating officer of Follett School and Library Group. “Our goal is to give everyone in attendance actionable tools that they can take back for immediate and impactful use in their districts and schools, as well as be armed with the latest in our product knowledge.”

Sessions will be presented by K-12 innovators detailing their real-world success stories, and will focus on administration and leadership, curriculum and instruction, digital innovations and technologies, and the next-generation librarian. In addition, district representatives will be on hand to share how they are using the full range of Follett solutions to fuel the learning process and inspire student achievement.

The event commences on Wednesday, March 21 with pre-conference training and sessions, Honneycutt’s address and an opening reception. It concludes Friday afternoon, March 23 with Wessling’s talk.

For those who miss the early signup, advance registration ($349) for the New Leaf in Learning Conference will be available beginning Dec. 17. Single-day passes also will be offered ($199 on Thursday, $139 on Friday). Discounted lodging at the Renaissance Schaumburg Convention Center Hotel for conference registrants is available through Feb. 28, 2012 by calling 800.228.9290.

To download the 12-page conference brochure, visitwww.NewLeafinLearning.com. For more information, call 800.323.3397, ext. 7357, or 815.344.8700, ext. 7357.

For boilerplates on each of the four Follett School and Library Group companies hosting the 2012 New Leaf in Learning Conference, visit follett.com/about.cfm - BWI.

For more information on each company, visit:
•    Follett Software Company | FollettSoftware.com
•    Follett Library Resources | Titlewave.com
•    Follett Educational Services | fes.follett.com
•    Follett International | follettinternational.com

# # #

Follett Software, Assessment Technology Incorporated Announce Teaming Agreement to Assist Educators in Elevating Student Achievement

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company, an integrated digital learning solution provider, and Assessment Technology Incorporated (ATI), a leading provider of online instructional improvement tools and data analysis, announced today the signing of a teaming agreement that will allow the two companies to jointly pursue opportunities with K-12 educators.

The respected education technology companies will leverage their strengths in data warehousing, instructional improvement system, state-of-the-art Item Response Theory (IRT) measurement techniques, and professional development by offering educators a complete, all-encompassing solution through Follett Software’s TetraData data warehousing and ATI’s standards-based, research-driven Galileo K-12 Online Instructional Improvement System (IIS).

Follett Software’s TetraData is the premier resource for data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions to meet any district’s data-driven decision-making (D3M) needs. Typically, TetraData is used by districts to analyze proficiency and growth, measure curriculum and program effectiveness, evaluate staff alignment and development impact, proactively identify and monitor at-risk students, and evaluate school climate. With TetraData, educators can accurately assess the factors that drive performance on a district level and on an individual student level, as well as more easily make decisions that can improve instruction and student outcomes.

For more than a decade, ATI’s Galileo Online technology has successfully assisted teachers, parents, principals, administrators, state departments of education, and policymakers in their efforts to elevate student learning. ATI achieves this goal by providing data to inform educational decision-making, as well as tools to enhance overall effectiveness in the instructional process. The Galileo K-12 Online Instructional Improvement System (IIS) makes it possible for educators to deploy a comprehensive, research-based and standards-aligned instructional improvement system to achieve the goal of elevating student achievement.

“By teaming with ATI, we can offer superior value for a school district,” said Ruben Hentzschel, Vice President of Business Operations for TetraData. “There is both a short-term and long-term gain here for the district: improved instruction and student outcomes in the short-term through actionable information impacting the classroom activity, and the ability to drive systemic improvements beyond the classroom to ensure long-term, sustainable success.”

“ATI’s partnership with Follett Software and the implementation of Galileo K-12 Online IIS is part of our ongoing commitment to ‘think-ahead’ so that school districts and charter schools can continuously build their own capacity to lead change in ways that enhance the quality and impact of education on our nation, children and youth,” said Dr. Jason K. Feld, Vice President Corporate Projects for ATI.

Georgia K-12 District Caps Year-Long Search for New SIS with Adoption of Follett Software’s Aspen

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Marietta (Ga.) City Schools, a K-12 district with more than 8,000 students in 11 schools, has culminated a one-year search for a new student information system (SIS) with the adoption of Aspen from Follett Software Company.

“It is a very integrated system,” said Dayton Hibbs, assistant superintendent for operations, technology and assessment. “The different functionalities that Aspen possesses and its simplicity of use are plusses. It’s not some complicated tool, which is crucial because it will be easy to train and cross-train those in our district who will be using it.”

Hibbs added that Follett Software Company’s acquisition of Aspen (as part of its larger acquisition in October 2010 of Hingham, Mass.-based X2 Development Corporation) was a “big validation” for the search committee. Marietta City Schools has enjoyed a positive relationship over the years with Follett Software as a customer of the company’s market-leading Destiny® Library Manager™ product.

Cherokee County School District, in nearby Canton, Ga., previously selected Aspen and has implemented the web-based customizable student information platform for its 36 schools.

For more information on Follett Software Company, visit www.FollettSoftware.com and to learn more about Aspen, visit www.FollettSoftware.com/Aspen.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management Solutions

Follett Software Partners with Southern Arkansas University to Support Arkansas School for the Blind.

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The children’s library at the Arkansas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired will be getting an infusion of new materials, equipment and technology thanks to a service project undertaken by students from Southern Arkansas University, with an assist from Illinois-based Follett Software Company.

The Fincher Hall Project, which is named after the Southern Arkansas University (SAU) residence hall known for its mission of service, recently presented a check for more then $32,000 to the Arkansas School for the Blind. As part of the project, Follett Software donated Destiny® Library Manager™, its market-leading library management software product, to the school. Follett Software provides the K-12 educational community with open, integrated technology and content solutions that engage and inspire next-generation learning.

According to Maranda Cole, librarian for Arkansas School for the Blind, the donations will go a long way to bring the children’s library up to the 21st century and provide digital technology to greatly expand the library’s collection of books not currently available in Braille format.

During the 2010-11 school year, Fincher Hall residence hall students raised money on behalf of the library renewal project, while SAU graduate students attending this summer’s Library and Media Information Specialist Program spent 10 weeks evaluating and updating the school’s library, as well as recommending new books and technologies for purchase.

“What started as a simple idea last summer has turned into the most amazing project,” said Peggy Walters, library media and information specialist program director at SAU. “Collectively, the education industry partners, our Fincher Hall Residence Council, and SAU library media program are making a big difference for the Arkansas School for the Blind.”

Founded in 1859, the Little Rock-based school serves students who are blind and visually impaired ages birth through grade 12. It offers statewide quality educational programs and resources that enable its students to become productive, self-sufficient citizens through the involvement of all students, staff, parents and the community.

Follett Software’s Destiny Library Manager provides the school with an easy-to-use library management software that helps manage library resources, makes discovery easy and empowers districts to use their resources efficiently. Destiny Library Manager promotes and supports student achievement by creating library efficiency, engaging students and encouraging 21st century collaboration in a technologically rich learning environment.

Follett Software’s web-based Destiny platform is the leading library automation product for the K-12 marketplace in North America. Destiny Library Manager is currently in use in nearly 48,000 schools and more than 4,600 districts across the country.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management

Follett Calls on Public to Vote for the Most Innovative School Library

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 00:00:00 GMT

More than 100 libraries across the country raised their hands to answer Follett Corporation’s challenge to find the most innovative libraries. Now, the company is calling on the public to vote for their favorite program to name the People’s Choice winner.

The Follett Challenge was designed to reward school libraries for their work applying technology, content and creativity in ways that engage students, foster literacy and promote critical thinking. Six winning libraries will be awarded a total of $100,000 worth of products and services from Follett.

“We wanted to draw attention to the undeniable connection between innovative libraries and student performance, and we’ve been amazed by the response,” said Chuck Follett, President and CEO of Follett Corporation. “The Follett Challenge entries showcase hundreds of creative ways that libraries are using technology and new approaches to inspire and engage students. The entries are examples of the important role librarians and media specialists play every day at schools across the country and around the world.”

Cast Your Vote
Schools, local communities and the general public are encouraged to take part in selecting the People’s Choice winner by voting for the best video submission. All submissions are available on the Follett Challenge website under the “View Entries” tab. After registering, users can cast one vote per day. Voting will remain open until Sept. 1 and the entry with the most votes will be awarded $10,000 of products and services from Follett.

This weekend Follett will also encourage thousands of educators at the annual conferences for the American Library Association (ALA) and the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) to vote for their favorite submission.

While the public votes, Follett Challenge judges will be busy evaluating the more than 100 written submissions. The judges, comprised of library and educational professionals, will award the top five entries with a total of $90,000 worth of products and services from Follett. Winning schools, including the People’s Choice winner, will receive public recognition at the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) National Conference on Oct. 27 in Minneapolis.

Follett’s many offerings include books, audiovisual materials and electronic resources from Follett Library Resources; automated library, resource, and learning management solutions from Follett Software; and supplemental classroom materials, workbooks and pre-owned textbooks from Follett Educational Services.

To cast your vote or learn more about the Follett Challenge, visit www.follettchallenge.com. The company can also be contacted at follettchallenge@follett.com.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management

Follett Software Launches New Package to Manage Both Textbooks, Student Devices

Fri, 13 May 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced today that it is launching a new Textbook and Device Management Package, designed to help K-12 districts tackle the print-to-digital transition by enabling the efficient tracking and managing of textbooks as well as the devices used to support students in the classroom.

“This new package provides a solution for managing instructional resources, including textbooks and technology assets, and to ensure control, accountability, access and lower ongoing costs,” said Dave Zasada, vice president of product management and marketing for Follett Software.

Zasada explained that the Textbook and Device Management Package will deliver all of the functionality of Follett Software’s market leading Destiny® Textbook Manager™ plus Destiny Asset Manager™ for the express purpose of tracking devices. Zasada added that not only will the package appeal to potential new customers of Destiny Textbook Manager, but also to existing customers who seek to integrate the tracking of devices – for example, netbooks, laptops, graphing calculators and other devices used by students and teachers .

“This package also will help districts bring replacement costs under control, and reduce unnecessary new purchases,” Zasada said. “In addition, its features will help ensure accountability and access on a district-wide basis with the ability to track textbooks and devices by building, teacher and student.”

Moreover, Zasada noted, the new package will help districts efficiently generate reports for both textbooks and devices so they can easily comply with federal and state requirements and equitable access laws and mandates, and funding management.

Follett Software’s suite of award winning Destiny products includes:

Destiny Library Manager™. In use in 47,911 schools and 4,657 districts nationwide.
Destiny Textbook Manager. In use in 15,380 schools and 1,143 districts nationwide.
Destiny Asset Manager. In use in 2,142 schools and 224 districts nationwide.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management

4 More Rhode Island K-12 School Districts Adopt Follett Software’s Aspen SIS Solution

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

One-third of the state of Rhode Island’s public school student population is now being served by the Aspen student information system (SIS) after four more districts adopted the web-based platform this month, Follett Software Company announced.

The four newest Aspen districts, comprising nearly 45 schools and 18,000 students, are:

Cranston School District – 24 schools; 10,812 students
North Kingstown School District – 10 schools; 4,456 students
Newport Public Schools – 6 schools; 2,037 students
Jamestown School Department – 3 schools; 492 students

Nearly 70 schools in 11 Rhode Island K-12 districts are now using the powerful SIS that includes a host of applications in one package, including: student and staff records, demographics, scheduling, attendance, discipline, gradebook, special education, health information, personnel/professional development, parent and student portals, and community and learning pages (for districts, schools, classes, teachers and students), plus detailed state reporting requirements. The total number of students now being served by Aspen in Rhode Island has climbed to nearly 50,000.

The Rhode Island Aspen User Group, formed earlier this year, completed its second meeting April 14 with more than 40 guests in attendance. Organizers said the User Group reflects the growing number of new districts to the SIS, and also how districts in the state continue to effectively collaborate with each other.

In October 2010, Follett Software acquired X2 Development Corporation and its Aspen student information platform. X2 continues to operate out of Hingham, Mass., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management, Aspen

Illinois District Becomes First in State to Adopt Follett Software’s Aspen SIS

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Maine Township High School District 207 is the first district in the state of Illinois to select Aspen as its student information platform, Follett Software Company announced here this week.

With nearly 7,000 students in three schools,the Park Ridge, Ill.-based district culminated its student information system (SIS) search a year after it began when it adopted Aspen – a web-based customizable student information system for school and district administration, learning and communications that also delivers state reporting requirements.

According to Hank Thiele, Maine Township’s director of technology, the decision to select Aspen was accomplished through a meticulous, all-inclusive process that ultimately involved as many as 80 individuals involved with the district – administrators, staff, teachers and students alike.

“As we narrowed the list of vendors and their products, we expanded the number of people making the evaluations,” Thiele said. “We started with about 20 products, and narrowed it down to two at the end. With about 90 percent approval, Aspen was overwhelmingly the selection of those involved.”

Thiele said his district’s interest in Aspen heightened shortly after Follett Software Company acquired X2 Development Corporation and its Aspen student information platform in October 2010. Maine Township has been a longtime customer of Follett, with its market-leading Destiny® suite of solutions, as well as TetraData™, the company’s data warehousing and analytics product.

“Aspen gave us the best blend of maturity and robustness,” Thiele said, “all the while maintaining the flexibility to be responsive to our emerging needs and the opportunity to grow.”

According to Brad Lindaas, vice president of business operations for the Aspen product line, the Maine Township adoption is especially significant since it reflects the impact Follett Software – and its respected reputation in education circles –will have on the SIS’ growth potential.

“We have said from the outset that Follett will help expose Aspen to a much broader audience,” Lindaas said. “The Maine Township evaluation process put Aspen up against stiff competition, and we were thrilled to learn it came away with a near unanimous approval from the diverse committee.”

Follett Software Offers Free Integration of One Search Into Destiny Library Manager 9.9

Thu, 31 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced this week that the One Search™ subscription service is now fully integrated into Destiny® Library Manager™, and will be available free to K-12 customers who have upgraded to the latest Destiny 9.9 version and maintain a current support agreement.

The Destiny Library Manager-One Search integration becomes effective Friday (April 1), said George Gatsis, vice president of product management, marketing and development for Follett Software Company.

“One Search is a great way to help the Librarian/Media Specialist assist teachers and students in the learning process and support the library,” Gatsis said. “We hope this addition will help support our customers’ goal of improving information literacy and strengthen the value of Destiny in their library, while concurrently keeping an eye on the budget.”

Current One Search subscribers will be able to access all the service’s online resources that they have in the past without incurring any additional fees. A complete list of the supported databases is available by visiting Follett Software’s web site under “Enriched Content Subscriptions.”

Existing Destiny customers seeking details about activating their One Search subscription in Destiny, or for additional information about One Search, should visit www.FollettSoftware.com/DestinyOneSearch.

Gatsis added that Follett Software also offers upgrade and implementation services to assist customers in their move to Destiny 9.9. For the full range of upgrade services, visit this link on the Follett Software web site.

In early January, Follett Software unveiled Destiny® 9.9 with a host of dynamic improvements that allow existing Destiny Library Manager™ (and Destiny Textbook Manager™) customers to save time, increase efficiency and help drive student achievement.

A Follett Service customer service representative is available by calling 800.323.3397.

Follett Software Company Releases TetraData® 8.5

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced this week the release of version 8.5 of TetraData, the company’s suite of K-12 data management, analysis and vision alignment tools that enables districts to more quickly user their data to make informed decisions, drive continuous improvement and impact student success.

Featuring performance enhancements to speed queries, expanded analysis and reporting capabilities and enhanced security reminders to protect student data, TetraData 8.5 also supports the new federal race and ethnicity reporting requirements.

“With 8.5, districts can more quickly use their data to make informed decisions, drive continuous improvement and impact student success,” said George Gatsis, vice president of product management, marketing and development for Follett Software Company. “Through periodic version updates, we ensure that our customers’ data management and analysis tools are evolving to meet the changing needs of education.”

The key features in TetraData 8.5 include:

More intuitive user interface features an improved toolbar that guides users through building a basic query simply by following the order of the buttons on the screen.
Added security reminders protect student information from exposure to non-authorized viewers.
Improved report viewing options such as the ability to search for text in a report; TIFF, XML and CSV export options; and more user-friendly parameters.
Expanded analysis and reporting capabilities for districts looking to monitor performance against benchmarks, item level and standards data.
Support for the new federal race and ethnicity reporting requirements.
Increased ethnicity analysis and reporting for districts with Native American populations.

In addition to an array of 8.5 user’s guides and documentation, Follett Software has produced a complimentary webinar, “What’s New in 8.5,” that provides a guided tour of the new enhancements. Existing TetraData customers may view the webinar by visiting www.FollettSoftware.com and logging on to the Customer Portal.

Follett Software’s First ‘A New Leaf in Learning’ Conference Attracts 250+ to Chicago Venue

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Featuring a full agenda of more than 30 professional development sessions, day-long training sessions led by educational experts and thought leaders, and two dynamic keynote speakers, Follett Software Company attracted over 250 customers to its first-ever “A New Leaf In Learning” Conference.

The User Conference was held March 9-11 at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, where attendees also enjoyed unparalleled access to the company’s executives, product managers, technical support team members and education industry experts.

Presentations by experts in the areas of learning management systems, data-driven decision-making, curriculum and instruction, IT and technology leadership, and library and resource management highlighted the agenda.

The conference’s opening keynote address was delivered by Don Tapscott, co-author of the bestselling books including “Grown Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing Your World,” and his latest, “Macrowikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World.” Susan Patrick, president/CEO of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), presented the conference’s closing keynote speech.

Follett Software has announced that the second annual “A New Leaf in Learning” Conference will be held in 2012 in Chicago, with specific dates to be confirmed later.

5 More Massachusetts K-12 School Districts Adopt Follett Software’s Aspen SIS Solution

Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced this week that five more K-12 public school districts in the state of Massachusetts have selected Aspen as their student information platform. Aspen – a web-based customizable student information system (SIS) for school and district administration, learning and communications that also delivers state reporting requirements – is now used by a total of 67 districts in Massachusetts, comprising 432 schools and more than 242,000 students.

The five new districts to Aspen are:

Franklin Public Schools – 7 schools, 6,120 students
Attleboro Public Schools – 9 schools, 5,884 students
Braintree School District – 9 schools, 5,246 students
Wilmington Public Schools – 8 schools, 3,783 students
Swampscott School District – 7 schools, 2,257 students

According to Neal Ellis, technology coordinator for Wilmington Public Schools, his district’s selection committee reviewed all the vendors on the state’s bid list to determine which ones met the technical and functional requirements. Ultimately, he said, the committee kept coming back to one vendor.

“There didn’t seem to be any other vendor that had all of the pieces we were seeking,” Ellis said. “Once we started looking at the Aspen product in more depth, we found that it not only had all of the pieces we wanted, but it had pieces that we didn’t even know were possible.”

Finding an SIS with such features as assessment plus viewing and uploading documents were originally thought to be “pie-in-the-sky” pursuits for the Wilmington committee.

“We didn’t expect to find them, but with Aspen they were already included,” Ellis said. “We were surprised to find a vendor’s product that was as progressive technically as Aspen.” Just last month, Follett Software Company announced that three more K-12 districts in Rhode Island had selected Aspen for their student information platform, which raised the number of Aspen districts in the neighboring state to seven.

Follett Software Joins Educational Leaders for Florida Dept. of Education’s ‘Teacher Talk’ Episode

Wed, 02 Mar 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company joined other educational technology leaders to participate in a special episode of “Teacher Talk,” a new Orlando, Fla.-based television program hosted by the Florida Department of Education (DOE).

Dr. Elaine Roberts represented Follett Software as she addressed the audience, comprised of nearly 100 educators, and drew upon her nearly 25 years of experience in education to give insight into how the company’s innovative products are helping to promote 21st century learning in K-12 classrooms everywhere.

Roberts, Follett Software’s director of professional learning, singled out her company’s products such as Destiny® Library Manager™, the market leading, award winning K-12 library automation solution, and Cognite™, the company’s next-generation, web-based learning management system designed to integrate digital curriculum content into the classroom. She ended her talk by praising teachers for the important role they perform in educating today’s children.

The “Teacher Appreciation” episode, with a focus on professional development, was taped Feb. 17 at Walt Disney World’s Saratoga Springs Resort, and capped by a talk from Dr. Eric J. Smith, education commissioner for the Florida DOE.

During the special episode, the educators in attendance were surprised to learn they would receive numerous free products from the 19 participating vendors. More than $180,000 of free products that could be used in the teachers’ Florida classrooms were given away, including gift certificates from Follett Software that can be used toward selected goods and services from the company.

“I am grateful to each of our business partners for making this wonderful event possible and for contributing so generously to these educators,” said Commissioner Smith. “I can’t wait to hear about all the positive things they are able to do with these products as they work to build brighter futures for their students.”

“Teacher Talk” is produced by the Florida Knowledge Network that focuses on Florida teachers and their innovations both in and out of the classroom. Each show is made available to every school district in the state. The special Teacher Appreciation episode will air at 4 p.m. EST on Tuesday, March 8 through local channels, and will be webcast on the Florida DOE website at www.fldoe.org.

Follett Software Releases New Version of Aspen Student Information System

Wed, 16 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company has announced the release of version 3.1 of Aspen, its student information system, with an array of improved features focused in the areas of navigation, scheduling, health management, conduct and special education.

The Aspen Student Information System is a popular web-based enterprise platform for school and district administration, learning and communications that pulls together resources across the education community. Simplifying school data management through the integration of key K-12 applications, Aspen is used by more than 700,000 students in eight states.

“Aspen 3.1 continues the direction we started with version 3.0 of simplifying features, making Aspen more intuitive and providing automated assistance to end users,” said Brad Lindaas, vice president of business operations for the Aspen product line. “Guided Tasks, context-sensitive help, and a host of other improvements allow users to get assistance precisely when they need it, customized to their district’s policies and procedures.”

The key features in Aspen 3.1 include:

Guided Tasks
Guided Tasks are part of a new framework featuring a special kind of workflow that walks users through multi-step processes such as rolling over the school year, building a master schedule, setting up a new GPA and much more. As a framework, districts are able to build their own Guided Tasks to use Aspen for training, or to simply help users with tasks they do infrequently, avoiding Help Desk calls and reducing errors by guiding the users through the task.
Scheduling
Adding or removing a section in the School View allows rebalancing of all students affected by the change. Drop/Adds within the same department will prompt a user to transfer grades to the new class.
Health Management
Immunization compliance rules and reports are now supported with automatic calculation for next dose of a given immunization. Group Screenings now support viewing and entering multiple screenings at once, making physical, vision, hearing screenings and more quick and easy via a single screen.
Conduct
Detentions and Suspensions use a calendar to assign days. Detentions side-tab can be filtered for different kinds of detentions, including multiple detention halls per day.
Staff View and Teacher Gradebook
To help users more easily find their classes on the Gradebook tab, they are now sorted by term, then period. The Home page of the Staff view also includes one button access to email parents and students of classes, teams and groups.
Special Education
When an IEP (Individualized Education Program) becomes active, an e-mail is sent to the student’s teachers, team and parents/guardians. Accommodations, Goals and Services are now saved independently from the IEP record.

Existing Aspen customers with current technical support are entitled to the 3.1 upgrade at no additional cost.

In October 2010, Follett Software acquired X2 Development Corporation and its Aspen student information platform. X2 continues to operate out of Hingham, Mass., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software.

Rhode Island K-12 School Districts Continue Trend of Turning to Follett Software’s Aspen SIS Solution

Thu, 03 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced this week that three more K-12 school districts in Rhode Island – which won $75 million in the federal Race to the Top competition last summer – have selected Aspen as their student information platform, raising the number of Aspen districts in the state to seven.

The three new districts are:

Warwick School District – 26 schools, 10,600 students
Coventry Public Schools – 10 schools, 5,041 students
Portsmouth School Department – 6 schools, 2,958 students

West Warwick, Little Compton, Barrington and Cumberland school districts previously selected the Aspen Student Information System, a web-based customizable platform for school and district administration, learning and communications that also delivers state reporting requirements.

According to Brad Lindaas, vice president of business operations for the Aspen product line, the catalyst for the seven districts to seek a more effective SIS is linked to the Rhode Island Department of Education’s (RIDE) ongoing strategic plan to transform education in the state and encourage each district to create a data-driven culture for education decision-making.

To that end, Lindaas said that a newly formed Rhode Island Aspen User Group held its first meeting Jan. 28 in Warwick, R.I. Heading up the User Group is Rose Muller, whose Portsmouth district recognized the importance of adopting the Aspen SIS.

“Our district had the need for a user-friendly, flexible software to meet the enormous demand for data in our district, state and community,” said Muller, Portsmouth’s director of technology. “Most, if not all, of our decisions that we make are based on data analysis and Aspen will provide us with the capability to organize our operations so that data can be obtained, related and examined at every level. We are excited to explore the features in Aspen that support electronic workflow and will help our users.”

Last August, Rhode Island finished fifth in the federal Race to the Top competition, a grant program designed to reward states that embrace dramatic education reforms, and made available by the U.S. Department of Education as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Rhode Island K-12 districts adopt Aspen SIS The Rhode Island public school system – which serves 145,000 students – has reported that the $75 million in grant funds will help pay for:

Support for a new system to track education data over multiple years
Development of a rigorous yearly educator-evaluation system linked to student growth
Information for teachers and families on student growth and achievement
Training for teachers on new world-class standards
Training for educators in the use of data to improve instruction
Development of a stronger induction and support program for new teachers and principals

Muller added that school districts in Rhode Island are working to support the initiatives of the Rhode Island Department of Education’s strategic plan, and that the new Aspen User Group is a reflection of how districts in the state continue to effectively collaborate with each other.

“These initiatives concentrate heavily on the use of data to support decision making and measure growth,” Muller observed. “Many realize we are in need of a robust system that meets local and state requirements, and some districts have chosen Aspen to meet those needs. The Aspen User Group will provide us with the forum to share ideas and practices, and help us to work smarter, not harder.”

Follett Software Company Releases Cognite 3.5

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Featuring a new and more comprehensive database of content standards, a new mobile app for Android devices, and the ability to integrate with Turnitin, Follett Software Company this week introduced the new and updated features available in version 3.5 of Cognite, its learning management system.

All of the U.S. states and Canadian provinces, plus the Common Core and ISTE (International Society for Technology in Education) standards, are now integrated into Cognite. In addition, there are more options for finding content using standards, while teachers and administrators can correlate their own content to standards.

Like the iPhone app that was released earlier, the new Android app for Cognite allows for viewing of assignments and messages, and gives users the ability to check on their assignments and messages.

Another 3.5 version highlight is the ability to integrate with Turnitin, which is used by educators worldwide to enable web-based peer review, facilitate meaningful feedback, improve writing skills, promote critical thinking, streamline grading and discourage plagiarism. The integration allows for assignments to be created in both Cognite and Turnitin, and makes it easier for the students to submit their work and for teachers to access it.

“Turnitin is an ideal complement to Cognite,” said Sally Elliott, chief operating officer of iParadigms, creator of Turnitin. “The student engagement and collaboration that Cognite encourages is inherent in Turnitin’s OriginalityCheck^™, GradeMark^® and PeerMark^® tools. Now, instructors in every discipline can deliver substantive and actionable feedback to students on their writing.”

The Cognite learning management system, which debuted in March 2010 with version 3.0, brings together the discovery of and organization of a schools digital and traditional content, messaging, and promotes 21st century learning skills in the K-12 classroom. Districts can organize and access digital resources and access them in one place, providing the education community an online collaboration tool to discover, share and organize.

Existing Cognite customers with current technical support are entitled to the 3.5 upgrade – available now – at no additional cost.

Follett Software User Conference Closing Keynote Address to be Delivered by iNACOL’s Susan Patrick

Thu, 27 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software announced this week that Susan Patrick, president/CEO of the International Association for K-12 Online Learning (iNACOL), will deliver the closing keynote address at the company’s 2011 User Conference, scheduled for March 9-11 in Chicago.

“Susan is a respected and influential voice on the subject of educational technology, and we have long been admirers of her work,” Tom Schenck, group president for Follett Technology Solutions and International Group, said of Patrick, who heads the non-profit association based in the Washington, D.C. area. “We are thrilled that she will play a significant role in our User Conference, and this gives our attendees the opportunity to hear two dynamic keynote speakers.”

It was previously announced that Don Tapscott, an international authority regarding the strategic impact of information technology on innovation, marketing and talent, will deliver the conference’s opening keynote speech on Thursday morning, March 10.

Patrick (pictured at left), the former director of the Office of Educational Technology at the U.S. Department of Education, will speak at the Friday, March 11 luncheon that caps the three-day User Conference. iNACOL’s mission is to level the playing field for students through online learning, and ensure that all students have access to a world-class education and quality online learning opportunities that prepare them for a lifetime of success. iNACOL’s 3,700-plus members represent a unique and diverse cross-section from K-12 education.

Titled “A New Leaf in Learning,” the Follett Software User Conference will be held at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park, where specially priced accommodations are available through Feb. 7. Conference registration is underway and is priced at $349 per person. Tapscott’s newest book, “MacroWikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World” – the sequel to his 2007 groundbreaking book, “Wikinomics” – was published last September, and will be given to conference registrants.

Schenck said the User Conference is designed for the education community, including superintendents, administrators, technology coordinators and directors, library media specialists and librarians, textbook coordinators and technicians, curriculum coordinators and teachers. Professional development sessions on topics such as data-driven decision making, curriculum and instruction, technology leadership, and library and resource management highlight the three day conference.

For more information, visit the User Conference page on Follett Software Company’s web site – http://www.FollettSoftware.com/UserConf2011 – or call toll-free (800) 323-3397, extension 7357, or (815) 344-8700, extension 7357.

School Libraries Catalog Achievements for Chance at $100,000

Mon, 10 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Corporation is betting that many of the answers to helping students perform better in school can be found in the school libraries across North America. Recognizing the strong link between library programs and student success, the company today issued the Follett Challenge to find the best innovations in school libraries. The contest will advocate for the role librarians play as champions of school programs that drive student achievement.

During the last decade more than a dozen studies conducted by the Library Research Service demonstrate the impact of school librarians and libraries on student performance. In fact, students at schools with well-developed library programs consistently score an average of 10-18 percent higher on standardized reading tests. Despite these findings, many library programs find themselves with fewer staff and less resources today.

“A library’s ability to improve student performance depends in large part on the resources made available to them,” said Chuck Follett, President and CEO of Follett Corporation. “Through this Challenge, we’re committed to drawing attention to the undeniable connection between well-run libraries and student performance to ensure that one of our most important educational resources receives the attention and funding it deserves.”

The program was formally announced Saturday at the American Library Association Midwinter Meeting. The judges, comprised of library and educational professionals, will be looking for schools that do the most outstanding job of applying technology, content and creativity in ways that engage students, foster literacy and critical thinking.

Six winning libraries will be rewarded with the cash-equivalent of products and services from Follett. Follett’s many offerings include books, audiovisual materials and electronic resources from Follett Library Resources; automated library, resource, and learning management solutions from Follett Software; and supplemental classroom materials, workbooks and pre-owned textbooks from Follett Educational Services.

Applications for the Follett Challenge will be available Feb. 1, and are open to all private and public K-12 schools. The application will consist of a detailed program description, a written endorsement of support from the school’s administration and a three to five minute video as a creative representation of the program’s impact. All submissions are due June 1.

For more information about the Follett Challenge, visit www.follettchallenge.com or contact follettchallenge@follett.com.

Follett Software Company Releases New Version of Destiny®

Thu, 06 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company has announced the release of Destiny^® 9.9 with a host of dynamic improvements that allow existing Destiny Library Manager^™ and Destiny Textbook Manager^™ customers to save time, increase efficiency and help drive student achievement.

Follett Software’s web-based Destiny platform is the leading library and textbook automation product for the K-12 marketplace in North America. Destiny Library Manager is in use in more than 40,000 schools and 4,000 districts across the country, while Destiny Textbook Manager is in use in more than 13,000 schools and 1,000 districts nationwide.

“With Destiny 9.9, our customers will be able to do more with fewer resources, save time and increase efficiency,” said George Gatsis, vice president of product management, marketing and development for Follett Software Company. “Most of the new features and improvements in Destiny 9.9 are the result of suggestions and feedback from users, all of which allow Destiny to evolve and continue to meet their changing needs.”

From new email flexibility to site authorization for refunds, the key features in Destiny 9.9 include:

Greater email flexibility.
Destiny now allows for greater email flexibility. Additional configuration options are now available in the Destiny Administrator to use Follett Software's SMTP server to send email notices via Gmail, YahooMail and Hotmail.
Improved differentiation between library and textbook fines.
Fine History Reports now include Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager indicators to better differentiate library materials from textbook fines.
Increased refund processing capability.
Sites that are authorized to process refunds and have configured SMTP servers are now able to generate multiple email refund requests for patrons who return books after the book has been identified as lost and a fine paid.
Quicker printing of new patron barcodes.
Temporary patron lists can be easily created to use to print patron barcodes.
Enhanced reporting on items checked out during the day.
Users are now able to easily see how many books have been checked out during the school day. The new report lists call number (Destiny Library Manager only), barcode, title, patron name and patron barcode. The list is sorted by time and starts with the first checkout of the day. The total number of items also is shown at the bottom of the report making it convenient for users to check circulation trends.
Conveniently print Lexile, AR and RC labels.
Users that currently subscribe to Reading Program Services are now able to print their labels based on the last time they updated them on pre-approved Follett Software label stock – saving time and money.
Quickly update textbook due dates.
Users can now easily create a global update to correct or modify the due date of their textbooks.

Existing Destiny customers with current technical support, Gatsis noted, are entitled to the 9.9 upgrade at no additional cost.

More information about Destiny 9.9 is available by visiting http://www.follettsoftware.com/destiny99 or by calling 800.323.3397.

Follett Software, X2 Development Corporation products earn ‘Top 100’ distinction in publication’s annual readers’ choice rankings

Wed, 01 Dec 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company’s suite of Destiny^® resource management products and X2 Development Corporation’s Aspen Student Information System have been selected by the readers of District Administration as “Top 100 Products” for 2010.

The winning products were determined by the quantity of nominations received per product as well as evaluated by the quality of readers’ nominations and explanations.

“These product recommendations included extensive descriptions from school administrators of how these products are used in their districts, making it very challenging to choose the ‘Top 100’ products,” said Judy Faust Hartnett, editor-in-chief, District Administration. “We hope these products, and their accompanying testimonials, will act as a valuable resource for our readers.”

Follett Software’s suite of Destiny products includes Destiny Library Manager^™, Destiny Textbook Manager^™, Destiny Asset Manager^™ and Destiny Media Manager^™, all with an enviable track record of success over the years. Destiny Library Manager, for example, is in use in more than 40,000 schools and 4,000 districts across the country, while Destiny Textbook Manager is in use in more than 13,000 schools and 1,000 districts nationwide.

X2 Development Corporation’s Aspen Student Information System is a popular web-based enterprise platform for school and district administration, learning and communications that pulls together resources across the education community. Simplifying school data management through the integration of key K-12 applications, Aspen is used by more than 600,000 students in seven states. Follett Software Company acquired X2 Development Corporation in early October.

“This year’s winners were a very diverse group of products, ranging from classroom resources to district-level management tools,” says Kurt Eisele-Dyrli, products editor, District Administration. “Many of them enabled readers to do more with less, which reflects the challenging times faced by many school systems.”

The 2010 winners were selected from hundreds of nominations received over the last six months, a significant increase in participation from the previous year, Hartnett added. The complete results are available at DistrictAdministration.com and are featured in the November/December issue of District Administration, which was mailed Nov. 30.

Follett Software User Conference Highlights Strategies, Tools, Techniques to Drive Success for K-12 Digital Learners

Tue, 16 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software customers from across the globe will enjoy unparalleled access to the company’s executives, product managers, technical support team members and education industry experts, and discover new ways to make their technology work more efficiently and effectively, when they convene next spring for the Follett Software 2011 User Conference.

Titled “A New Leaf in Learning,” the information-packed User Conference will be held March 9-11, 2011, at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park. Early registration is open now.

“As we partner with districts and schools around the world, we believe it is important to not only provide educational solutions that help students succeed but also offer professional development and networking opportunities for educators, school librarians and administrators,” said Tom Schenck, group president, Follett Technology Solutions and International Group. “Industry thought leaders will draw on real-world case studies to address today’s most pressing topics in K-12 technology, while educators will learn and share ways to help make immediate impacts in their schools.”

The User Conference is designed for superintendents and assistant superintendents, technology coordinators and directors, library media specialists and librarians, textbook coordinators and technicians, curriculum coordinators and teachers. Session topics will include data-driven decision making, curriculum and instruction, technology leadership, and library and resource management.

Don Tapscott, an international authority regarding the strategic impact of information technology on innovation, marketing and talent, will deliver the conference’s keynote speech. Tapscott’s newest book, “MacroWikinomics: Rebooting Business and the World” – the sequel to his 2007 groundbreaking book, “Wikinomics” – was published in September 2010. Tapscott also authored the best selling book, “Growing Up Digital: How the Net Generation is Changing the World,” which explores how the Net Generation learns and works, and the power and influence they hold.

Early registration ($249/person) for the User Conference is available now through Dec. 10. The first 250 to register will receive a free copy of Tapscott’s newest book. Advance registration ($349) will be available from Dec. 11 to Feb. 11, 2011.

Specially priced hotel accommodations for conference registrants are available through Feb. 7, 2011, at the Fairmont Chicago Millennium Park.

Indiana K-12 School District Adopts Follett Software’s Cognite

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company’s new digital learning environment, Cognite, has been adopted by Vigo County School Corporation, the K-12 school district that primarily serves Terre Haute, Ind.

Bill Bruce, the district’s director of technology for nine years, said several reasons spurred the choice of Cognite, including the desire to consolidate resources, the digital learning environment’s ease of use, and an ongoing, positive partnership with Follett Software Company.

“We looked at other learning environments, but this was by far the best one for our needs. We will ultimately use it at all of our grade levels,” said Bruce, whose district has 29 schools and nearly 16,000 students.

Since Vigo schools currently use Follett Software products Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Media Manager, TitlePeek and WebPath Express, Bruce also stressed the significance of being able to seamlessly connect all the district’s existing resources.

“We knew we could reduce costs by rolling our information into one interface,” Bruce continued. “And Cognite’s ease of use was a big factor for us, especially as we make it available throughout the district.”

According to George Gatsis, vice president of product management, marketing and development, at Follett Software, the Vigo district adoption illustrates how Cognite’s momentum is building.

“We are proud that Vigo has again partnered with us, and it reflects how the news about Cognite is spreading,” Gatsis said. “Cognite is a great example of Follett Software’s ongoing transformation to a digitally powered integrated education technology company.”

The Cognite digital learning environment brings together discovery, messaging and retrieval tools. With a tradition of providing educational excellence, Follett Software is helping to develop 21st century learning skills. Districts can access digital resources from anywhere and access them in one place, providing an online collaboration tool to discover, share and organize.

Cognite has been recognized as a Top 10 finalist for the Innovation Incubator Program, a competition sponsored by the Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) that spotlighted promising new technologies.

Follett Software Names Rick Dwyer - x2 Development Founder/President - to New Vice President Position

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company has named Rick Dwyer as its new vice president of educational resource management. Dwyer, founder and president of X2 Development Corporation, which Follett Software acquired last month, will head the integrated technology strategies for Follett Software.

“I am excited to be a part of the Follett Software team and to building its educational resource management strategies,” said Dwyer, who founded X2 Development in 2003. “X2 and Follett Software share a common vision, and this is a great fit in an industry where I have found a home.”

In a related announcement, Brad Lindaas, who has worked with Follett Software Company for 14 years, most recently as director of strategic planning and business development, has been named the new vice president of X2 Development. Lindaas has relocated to Hingham, Mass., where X2 is based and will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software Company.

“I have a genuine passion for K-12 education and I am excited to implement X2Development’s overall strategic plans moving forward,” said Lindaas, who now works with a team of 55 employees in the Hingham office. “X2 has a rich history of providing innovative, integrated SIS offerings in the market, coupled with customer service satisfaction that is off the charts. But they have lacked a partner with the type of resources and capabilities to expose them to a broader audience. With Follett Software’s involvement, that will change in a very positive direction.”

Follett Software’s Oct. 4 acquisition of X2 includes the Aspen™ Student Information System, a Web-based solution that simplifies school district data management through the integration of key K-12 applications. The Aspen platform serves 81 school districts across seven states, and more than 600,000 students. In addition to his new position, Dwyer will remain involved with X2 to enhance its core Aspen technology, and additionally work to ensure the smooth transition of X2 into Follett Software over the next six to 12 months.

Illinois K-12 School District Turns to Follett Software’s Destiny Products to Manage Library, Textbook Resources

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

For the second largest K-12 school district in Illinois, the decision to adopt Follett Software Company’s Destiny® Library Manager™ and Destiny^® Textbook Manager^™ products simultaneously came down to a matter of selecting the “best of breed” in the marketplace.

“We knew the products well; it’s not a secret that Destiny is the best out there on the market,” said Chris Taskey, information services coordinator for Rockford Public School District 205. “There’s nothing else out there that tops Follett Software’s products. It’s the best of breed.”

When Rockford Public Schools issued an Request for Proposal (RFP) during the 2009-10 school year seeking library and textbook management resources, it was part of what Taskey described as his district’s “technology system overhaul” that also included a new student information system. The two Destiny market-leading, browser-based solutions were ultimately purchased last spring – the library product replacing the district’s outdated library management system and the textbook product representing a dramatic conversion from an inventory maintained in a spreadsheet.

Destiny Library Manager, which helps libraries work more efficiently and creates engaging and collaborative learning environments that promote student achievement, is now fully implemented throughout the district’s 52 libraries, and Taskey confirmed that Rockford’s librarians are “very happy with the new system.” Following a complete textbook inventory over the summer, the implementation of Destiny Textbook Manager is well underway.

“No school district should be without it,” Taskey said of a textbook management solution. “When you’re talking about textbooks that cost $100 each, that is a lot of money moving forward.”

Some Rockford schools, Taskey said, have experienced significant textbook losses over the years, which helped spur the urgency to seek a textbook solution that manages inventory and distribution, lowers replacement costs and improves accountability. The market-leading Destiny Textbook Manager is now in 950 districts, encompassing nearly 12,000 schools nationwide.

When Mary Spevacek joined the district on July 1 as the new assistant principal of curriculum/library media, she came armed with past experience of Follett Software Company products. “I was thrilled the decision had been made to go with Follett; they’re top of the line and very user-friendly,” Spevacek said. “We’ve been going through Destiny training at the district and while change can be difficult, I could genuinely and confidently tell everyone that this (the move to Follett) is as good as it gets.”

Rockford Public Schools, which is located in northern Illinois near the Wisconsin border and has an enrollment of 30,000 students in 54 schools, opened its 2010-11 school year on Aug. 25. It is the first K-12 district in Illinois with more than 50 schools to purchase Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager together.

“Customers are now viewing Destiny Textbook Manager in the same vein they’ve long viewed Destiny Library Manager – it is just as essential, as easy to implement and as user-friendly,” said Don Rokusek, product manager, Follett Software Company. “A district like Rockford was able to clearly understand the benefits of purchasing both products at the same time, especially when tightening budgets call for sound investments.”

Follett Software Company Acquires X2 Development Corporation

Mon, 04 Oct 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced today that it has acquired X2 Development Corporation, a leading Student Information System provider for K-12 school districts in the United States and abroad. The acquisition includes the Aspen™ Student Information System, a popular Web-based solution that simplifies school district data management through the integration of key K-12 applications. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

“The acquisition of X2 Development Corporation expands Follett’s portfolio of technology solutions that simplify the delivery of education for schools and school districts,” said Thomas Schenck, President of Follett Technology Solutions and International Group. “And with the addition of the Aspen Student Information System, Follett now provides a full range of K-12 enterprise management knowledge, products and services to help schools effectively and efficiently meet administrative and classroom needs.”

Aspen increases school district efficiency giving educators more time to focus on student achievement. For example, Aspen integrates gradebook, scheduling, family and student portals, reporting, special education, professional development into one easy-to-use solution. The Aspen platform serves 81 school districts and more than 600,000 students across seven states.

“We’re pleased to join Follett Software Company and add to an outstanding lineup of products and services for K-12 schools and school districts,” said Rick Dwyer, founder of X2 Development Corporation. “Combining the capabilities of X2 Development Corporation with Follett’s own considerable technology resources will help bring Aspen to the forefront of the industry.”

X2 Development Corporation will continue to operate out of Hingham, Mass., as a wholly owned subsidiary of Follett Software Company.

WeAreTeachers, Follett Software Company Partner for New Microgrant Opportunity

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

WeAreTeachers, the online social and business network that brings together teachers, learners and content in the education industry, announced this week the launch of its newest microgrant opportunity, sponsored by Follett Software Company.

Educators are asked to answer the question, “What would $200 help you do with your school’s library?” Answers can be submitted beginning today by visiting Ask for Follett Software. The deadline to apply is Monday, Oct. 11.

All of the submissions will be placed in an online gallery for open voting, which will end Oct. 26. The 10 ideas that garner the most votes will win a $200 grant, as well as a Flip Video camcorder or an Apple^® iPod nano with video to share the implementation of their project with the WeAreTeachers community. The idea that receives the most votes will win an Apple^® iPad.

“Follett Software is committed to helping teachers and librarians create libraries that aim to excel at the highest level possible,” said George Gatsis, vice president of product management, marketing and development at Follett Software. “Our goal is to assist schools as they strengthen the connection between the library and the classroom, and, in our ongoing partnership with WeAreTeachers, we hope our support helps showcase the library as the central hub of learning.”

To date, WeAreTeachers has awarded close to 100 microgrants on teacher-created projects supporting teaching green, creativity and arts, digital learning, special education, student engagement, literacy and more.

“As libraries develop into 21 century skills hubs, it’s vital that we help teachers and librarians find new ways to utilize them,” said Sandy Fivecoat, CEO and founder of WeAreTeachers. “We are so pleased to join forces with Follett Software to give teachers the tools to do so.”

K-12 Districts Seeking Textbook Management Solution Actively Turning to Follett Software’s Destiny® Product

Thu, 09 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company’s Destiny^® Textbook Manager^™ has been newly implemented by another 50 K-12 districts, which raises the number of districts to adopt the market-leading textbook management solution to 950, encompassing nearly 12,000 schools nationally.

“Despite the fact that budgets continue to tighten, we’re seeing a steady increase in the number of districts that are relying on Destiny Textbook Manager,” said Don Rokusek, product manager, Follett Software Company. “You could make a case that a strong textbook management solution not only helps a district control costs and reduce expenditures, but has the potential to ultimately save jobs.”

For one of the new districts to Destiny Textbook Manager, the decision to adopt was logical despite budget constraints.

“This was about how to protect our district’s third largest asset – our textbook inventory,” said Christine Lewis, mathematics and music content specialist for Warren (Mich.) Consolidated Schools. “The perils of K-12 education funding require districts to have in place an effective textbook management solution. It was readily apparent to our board that the financial layout was worth it since we look to quickly recoup our investment that otherwise would have been lost or unnecessarily duplicated.”

Destiny Textbook Manager includes all the features a district needs to barcode and track every textbook – by buildings, teachers and students. Lewis said Warren’s barcoding efforts exceeded all expectations.

“We projected to barcode 90,000 textbooks over a period of several days,” said Lewis, whose district has 15,600 students in 25 schools. “It turned out to be 149,000 books, but all of our organization and pre-planning paid off as with four teams, each with a Follett leader, we were able to barcode 50 percent more books in less time than we originally anticipated it would take for 90,000.”

By early December, Destiny Textbook Manager will also be rolled out to all schools in the 26,000-student Springfield (Mass.) Public Schools district. According to Gladys Franco, supervisor of leadership development, her district recognized the number of benefits a textbook management solution brings.

“Even though budgets are tight, we felt this was an important investment to make that in the end will help us save money and better manage our inventory of textbooks, plus allow us to be more organized and efficient,” said Franco, who added that textbooks at Springfield will now be viewed as a “district-wide resource” with the ability to transfer books where needed throughout its 51 schools.

In addition to Warren and Springfield, other new districts to Destiny Textbook Manager over a recent three-month period include San Juan Unified School District (Carmichael, Calif.); Rockford (Ill.) Public Schools; Waukegan (Ill.) Public School District; Elmhurst (Ill.) Community Unit School District 205; East Side Union High School District (San Jose, Calif.); and Virginia College at Birmingham (Ala.).

In addition to the new adoptions, Follett Software also is reporting significant sales of additional licenses to existing Destiny Textbook Manager customers, including Madera (Calif.) Unified School, which has used federal stimulus funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to streamline its textbook distribution and inventory processes; Cooperative Educational Services, Trumball, Conn.; Broward County (Fla.) School District; and Jordan School District, West Jordan, Utah.

For more information on Follett Software Company, visit www.FollettSoftware.com.

Follett Software Unveils New Digital Learning Environment

Mon, 28 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Continuing to build upon its tradition of educational excellence and innovation, Follett Software Company announced today in a news conference here at ISTE 2010 the general release of Cognite, a digital learning environment.

Tom Schenck, group president, Follett Technology Solutions and International Group, said the company’s role in the digital world continues to expand with Cognite^™, which integrates discovery tools, retrieval, collaboration and communication with the goal of creating a vibrant experience where K-12 students excel.

“With Cognite,” Schenck said, “we allow districts to connect with an expanding universe of digital content that enriches curriculum development and makes learning more inspiring and engaging.

“For a long time, we were known simply as the ‘library company’,” said Schenck, who joined Follett Software in 1989 and was responsible for the introduction and expansion of the Web-based Destiny platform, which has become the leading K-12 library and textbook automation product in North America. “Now we are building upon the strength of our library solution, Destiny^® Library Manager^™, and expanding the library into the classroom where it is helping teachers, engaging students and parents.”

The Cognite launch coincides with Follett Software’s 25th anniversary, and the introduction of a redesigned website – www.FollettSoftware.com– plus a new brand initiative that identifies Follett as a “digitally powered integrated educational technology company.” Moreover, Schenck’s company president responsibilities were recently expanded on a global level when he was named group president of Follett Technology Solutions and International Group.

“We are genuinely passionate about our role in the K-12 education marketplace – proud of where we’ve been and enthused about collaborating with our educational community partners,” Schenck said.

Follett Software has established its reputation as the leading provider of educational management solutions for more than 60,000 schools. The company has further positioned itself as a partner for K-12 districts in the digital resources world with the integration of Follett Digital Resources into Follett Software Company. In the past 12 months alone, Follett has launched Cognite, and added 900 new districts and 7,250 new schools to our Destiny Library Manager customer base, 1,600 new schools implementing Destiny Textbook Manager^™ and 525 new sites implementing Destiny Asset Manager^™, plus 10 new TetraData^® Insights^™ districts. Schenck observed that Follett Software Company is poised for a bright year ahead as it looks to further expand its reach in education.

And where will Follett Software Company be in the next 25 years?

“The possibilities are endless,” Schenck said. “But with the support and partnership of the educational community, our customers, the future holds many exciting opportunities for growth and success.”

ISTE Award Sponsored by Follett Software, Library Media Connection

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Teachers and librarians from two East Coast K-12 schools have been named the winners of the third annual Media Specialist Technology Innovation Award, which recognizes collaborative technology innovation projects created by elementary, middle and high school educators.

The award is sponsored by Follett Software Company, Library Media Connection (LMC) magazine and the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) SIG for Media Specialists (SIGMS). The winning teachers and librarians will be formally honored in a presentation at 10 a.m. MDT on Tuesday (June 29) at the ISTE 2010 Conference in Denver.

The first-place winners are:

Primary Category: Tricia Svendsen, teacher-librarian, and Anne Sullivan, fifth-grade teacher, from Joseph Martin Elementary School in North Attleboro, Mass., won for their “Design/Engineering Project.” In addition to helping Sullivan’s students understand that there is a process to guide solutions to technology and engineering design challenges, this project provided students with an opportunity to learn about integrated reading, language arts, computer technology and engineering technology. The project used an LCD projector, interactive whiteboard, Lego Robotics kit and web cam.
Secondary Category: Cathi Fuhrman, teacher-librarian, and Sarah DeMaria, English teacher, from Hempfield Senior High School in Landisville, Pa., won for “The Adventures of Huckleberry Movie Trailer Project.” This project involved 10th graders in scripting, shooting, acting, editing and producing movie-quality trailers on this book, while certain students produced their own original music and others developed skills of collaboration and project management. They used digital cameras, photo editing software, MIDI keyboards and Garage Band software. The Red Carpet Premiere, attended by parents and community members, was a culminating event to showcase the students’ work.

The winning teams will receive a $1,000 cash award for the school media center; $1,000 travel stipend and conference registration to attend ISTE 2010; a one-year ISTE membership; commemorative plaque; $1,000 in professional library resources from Linworth Publishing; and a one-year subscription to Library Media Connection magazine, where the winning teams also will be featured in an article.

Two teams also earned honorable mention status:

Primary Category: Anne Brusca, teacher-librarian, and Suzanne Guerriero-Walsh, teacher; Herricks Union Free School District; Williston Park, N.Y.; “Orphan Train Project.”
Secondary Category: Michelle Luhtala, library department chair, and Kim Palmer, health teacher; New Canaan High School; New Canaan, Conn.; “Health Database research with annotated bibliography and web publishing.”

“We’re always proud to sponsor forward thinking, innovative educators,” said Michelle Begora, program director, Follett Software Company. “While these worthy winners earned the honors, clearly there are no losers here. As we see at ISTE 2010, more and more educators nationwide are meeting the demands of today’s dynamic, interconnected learning environment and digitally native students. The 21st-century school library is a 24/7 resource with unlimited potential, and all of these entries are further proof of that.”

According to Paula Jackson, associate publisher of Library Media Connection magazine, “Technologies of the 21st century have turned us all into lifelong learners: students, teacher-librarians, classroom teachers. LMC is pleased to co-sponsor this important award which identifies and publicizes the best of these student-centered learning activities.”

The ISTE SIGMS award is designed to identify, promote and sustain excellence in collaborative and innovative technology-based projects driven by the school library media center in support of curricular and instructional needs in elementary, middle and high schools.

For more information about the ISTE SIGMS award, visit www.iste.org/sigms-award.

Importance of School Libraries, Librarians Told in Audio Journal Produced by California Association

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The California School Library Association (CSLA), with funding help from Follett Software Company, has released an audio journal to spotlight how the school librarian actively impacts student success.

“Often, we hear that the general public isn’t fully aware of all that librarians do,” said Connie Williams, past president of the CSLA and a California high school teacher librarian. “We want to use the power of these stories to convey the urgency of what’s happening with the cuts, and to show what happens in our school libraries that positively affect student achievement.”

The audio journal, “Circulate This: Stories from the School Library,” is packed with stories from teachers, school administrators, children’s authors, legislators, parents and students about how school libraries and librarians make a difference in the lives of children. The 48-minute journal is available by visiting csla.net/audio, and can be downloaded as a podcast to iTunes.

“We’ve built our reputation on helping librarians play a crucial role in K-12 education,” said Tom Schenck, group president, Follett Technology Solutions and International Group. “We applaud the CSLA for sharing these compelling stories that vividly illustrate the immeasurable impact that school libraries and librarians have on our students, and we are pleased to help make the project a reality.”

The project was sponsored in part with donations from Follett Software Company, provider of the Destiny® Library Manager™ library management solution familiar to librarians nationally and internationally.

CSLA is an organization comprised of teacher librarians, classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, district and county coordinators of curriculum, media and technology, and others committed to enriching student learning by building a better future for school libraries. CSLA advocates, educates and collaborates to ensure that all California students and educators are effective users of ideas and information. For more information on the audio journal, contact the CSLA offices at 916.447.2684 or visit csla.net.

Follett Software Company President Earns Promotion

Fri, 19 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Corporation today announced the promotion of Thomas J. Schenck, currently president of Follett Software Company, to the role of group president of Follett Technology Solutions and International Group, effective April 1.

"Based on Tom's experience and success in leading our technology businesses, he is uniquely qualified and ready for this opportunity," said Christopher D. Traut, president and CEO, Follett Corporation.

Schenck will report to Traut as a member of Follett's Executive Committee. He will have management accountability for group operations and businesses, including Follett Software Company (FSC), a leading software applications provider to K-12 schools and school districts throughout North America, as well as Follett International.

Schenck joined FSC in 1989, serving as director of Software Engineering, and later was promoted to executive director of Development. Before he was appointed president of FSC in 1998, Schenck oversaw Development, Data Services, and Information Services for the technology business.

As president of FSC, Schenck was responsible for the introduction and expansion of the Web-based Destiny® platform in the K-12 marketplace, which has become the leading library and textbook automation product in North America. He also was instrumental in the corporation's acquisitions of the Sagebrush library automation and TetraData data warehousing and management businesses in 2006, both of which are now part of FSC.

Prior to joining Follett, Schenck held a series of development and leadership roles at several technology firms, including the software company Informatics in Maryland and the Library Corporation in West Virginia. He also co-founded Library Systems and Services, a Maryland-based library automation software and service company.

Schenck succeeds Chuck Follett, who will assume a new role as corporate advisor reporting to Traut, effective April 1. Follett retains his roles as a member of the Executive Committee and the Follett Board of Directors.

Follett Software Company is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation.

Follett Software Company Introduces Cognite™

Thu, 04 Mar 2010 00:00:00 GMT

With leading-edge technology that engages the 21st century learner, Follett Software Company today introduced Cognite™, an easy-to-use digital learning environment that integrates discovery tools, retrieval and communication with the goal of creating a vibrant experience where K-12 students excel. Cognite is the newest solution built on Follett Software’s tradition of educational excellence, helping to enrich the K-12 learning experience.

Geared to empower students, engage parents and give school administrators and teachers the ally they’ve been seeking to digitally enhance the classroom, Cognite focuses on student achievement and promises to be as collaborative on campus as it will be at home.

“We know from district leaders and teachers who we talk to on a daily basis that they feel it is more important than ever to help educators spend more time with their students, engage the student with digital discovery tools and resources and ensure that parents feel they are a key part of the educational experience,” said Follett Software’s Lisa Lee, program director for Cognite. “Connecting these audiences through technology, Cognite will augment the digital transformation that we’re seeing in learning environments coast to coast, and reinforce the essential skills that allow students to explore and express themselves.”

Thus far, Cognite has been or is in the process of being tested with three beta districts: Alki Middle School and Skyview High School in Vancouver, Wash.; Oak Hammock School (K-8) in St. Lucie, Fla.; and Veterans Memorial Middle School and Hoover and Roosevelt elementary schools in Melrose, Mass.

Tommy Brow, principal at Veterans Memorial Middle School of Melrose, Mass., is thrilled with what Cognite is delivering.

“The parents are able to discover the exciting things that are happening in their child’s classes. The students, teachers and parents are able to share up-to-date specific information,” Brow said. “Cognite affords us an easy-to-use, online opportunity to collaborate and organize information. It’s just what we were looking for. We love the Cognite program!”

According to Lee, Cognite will help organize the K-12 classroom by giving teachers the opportunity to spend more quality time with their students. The product will serve as a key liaison in helping teachers develop and disseminate lesson plans, create assignments, grade projects and communicate with parents and students from anywhere at any time. Parents, Lee added, will have an easy-to-access place where they can stay informed about their child’s progress in real time with information on assignments, grades and class activities.

As a discovery tool, Cognite will help students:

Find and use educational materials at any time of the day, from the classroom or at home
Collaborate easily with teachers and each other, promoting idea sharing
Get excited about learning in an interactive, user-friendly environment
Develop 21st century learning skills, including critical thinking, research and problem solving abilities

For more information about Cognite, visit www.FollettSoftware.com/Cognite, where a video – Cognite: Your Digital Learning Environment – is available for viewing. For more information about Follett Software Company, visit www.FollettSoftware.com or call 800.323.3397.

Follett Software Company's Destiny Textbook Manager Enjoys Surge

Thu, 11 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Another 222 schools in the past three months have implemented Follett Software Company’s Destiny Textbook Manager, bringing the nine-month total of product adoptions to more than 1,000 schools – a testimony to K-12 districts seeking to improve textbook management processes to gain potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars in annual savings.

Follett Software’s product is now in more than 11,000 schools (and 900 districts) nationwide – further proof that schools nationally are recognizing the need to eliminate over-ordering and better track textbooks through an efficient textbook management system, particularly as the critical spring textbook ordering period approaches.

Here is a look at some of the districts that have recently adopted Destiny Textbook Manager:

Chandler Unified School District #80, Chandler, Ariz. – Chandler Unified serves 38,000 students in 42 schools.
Anoka-Hennepin School District #11, Coon Rapids, Minn. – 40,500 students in 42 schools.
Santa Maria-Bonita School District, Santa Maria, Calif. – 13,142 students in 19 schools.
Alameda Unified School District, Alameda, Calif. – 12,169 students in 23 schools.
South Bay Union School District, Imperial Beach, Calif. – 8,704 students in 13 schools.

“Districts soon will start thinking about how many new textbooks to order for the fall, and if they don't have accurate information on their existing textbook inventory, it's very difficult for them to accurately document fall enrollment needs,” said David Zasada, program director, Follett Software Company. “One of our Destiny Textbook Manager districts recently discovered that they didn’t need to buy textbooks for their new schools and saved a half-million dollars – a familiar story we hear from our users.”

Fueled by its adoption of Destiny Textbook Manager, Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 in Illinois identified existing surplus inventory which reduced textbook purchases for new schools, resulting in a first-year cost savings of $500,000.

“We just felt Destiny Textbook Manager would allow us to ensure that students will have access to the textbooks they need, when they need them, while at the same time saving our taxpayers a tremendous amount of money,” said Linda Casey, the district’s director of instructional technology. “If someone had told me a year ago that our district would save this much time and money in this short period, I would not have believed it.”

Zasada said among the key attributes of Destiny Textbook Manager are capabilities to help school districts to:

Eliminate over-ordering and stockpiling of books.
Effectively monitor and track textbook transfers across multiple locations.
Ensure that students have the right textbooks when they need them.
Improve the collection of fines for lost and damaged materials.

For more information on Destiny Textbook Manager, including a textbook management kit with ROI calculator, informative webinars and more examples of district savings, visit this link, www.FollettSoftware.com/TextbookSavings.

Follett Digital Resources Signs Five More Publishers To eBook Distribution Agreements

Thu, 04 Feb 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Digital Resources, a member of the Follett Corporation family of companies, today announced that five additional publishers have signed major eBook distribution agreements with the company.

With these agreements, a total of more than 62,000 K-12 and public library titles are now available for purchase online through parent company Follett’s popular ecommerce sites, Titlewave™ and TitleTales™.

Here is a closer look at the five publishers that have recently signed eBook distribution agreements:

Universum Communications, Philadelphia. Through its Insider Guide series and two websites (www.wetfeet.com and www.internshipprograms.com), Universum provides profiles of companies, careers and industries to guide job seekers toward finding the right career, industry, company and job.
ipicturebooks, New York and Brick Tower Press, New York. Both ipicturebooks and Brick Tower Press are book packagers with licensed digital books from Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins, Dutton, Scholastic and Reader’s Digest.
Phoenix Books & Audio, Beverly Hills, Calif. Phoenix Books & Audio is one of the nation’s leading producers of books and audio books, with everything ranging from mystery and suspense to self-motivation and autobiographies to fiction and non-fiction.
Lobster Press, Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Lobster Press is an award-winning Canadian publisher of quality children’s publications.

The addition of titles from these five publishers makes Follett’s eBook program even more valuable to the more than 60,000 K-12 schools and libraries Follett serves. Follett now offers eBook titles from more than 300 publishers that are easily accessible at any hour using a computer and an Internet connection.

“For many years, school libraries have acquired Lobster Press titles through Follett, whether they were interested in our original hardcover or paperback editions, or the Follett Bound editions,” said Stephanie Hindley, director of sales and marketing for Lobster Press. “We are thrilled to have this new, innovative way to reach educators, through the additional format of Follett eBooks. The user-interface looks great, and the concept of having our books used with interactive whiteboards in the classroom is very exciting. We also love how the platform puts author websites, teachers’ guides, and other bonus material right at the customers’ fingertips.”

The Follett Digital Resources eBook distribution system uses five key pieces of technology to deliver eBooks:

Virtual Warehousing — Technology that holds eBooks at the ready until sold to a Follett school or library customer.
Preview — Functionality that allows buyers and patrons to preview pages of an eBook prior to purchase.
Digital Rights Management — Ensures intellectual property is protected as eBooks are distributed and viewed.
Virtual Shelves — A virtual space for each institution’s purchased Follett eBooks where they are poised for checkout and reading by school and library patrons.
Follett Digital Readers — eBook readers for viewing and interacting with eBooks online and offline once they have been purchased by a Follett school or public library customer and opened or downloaded by a library patron.

When a school or library buys an eBook title from Follett, the title is moved to a virtual shelf where it resides until a school or library patron checks it out. Digital rights management technology ensures that once a title is checked out by one person, it can’t be checked out by anyone else until it has been returned to the virtual shelf. Where possible, the eBook distribution system is tightly connected with leading integrated library systems (ILS), such as Follett Software Company’s Destiny® Library Manager™, allowing searching, accessing and returning eBooks to become part of the library’s standard circulation process.

Follett Software Company's D3M Solution Plays Key Role in Knoxville Community's Innovative Effort to Advance Education

Mon, 21 Dec 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Nearly 100 people turned out earlier this month for the formal launch of the Education Management Information System (EMIS) for Knox County Schools, the first of its kind in the country.

Jointly sponsored by Knox County Schools, the Knoxville Chamber and Follett Software Company, the event was held Dec. 11 at Gresham Middle School Auditorium in Knoxville. The speaker lineup include Dr. James McIntyre, superintendent of Knox County Schools; Mike Edwards, president and CEO, Knoxville Chamber; and Ed Kisman, vice president of sales, Follett Software Company. Also featured was a demonstration of the EMIS, which Edwards called “a game-changer” for the K-12 school district and its more than 56,000 students.

A pivotal part of the overall program is the implementation of a TetraData warehouse and analytics solutions from Follett Software, a D3M solution designed to enable Knox County teachers and administrators to make informed, data-driven decisions about the future direction of the school system and each individual student.

While the EMIS has been under development for the past 18 months, the data system has been tested as part of a pilot program at 17 Knox County schools since September. Over the course of the next nine months, it is anticipated that the warehouse will be rolled out to all 87 Knox County schools.

Traditionally, and as acknowledged by Knox County Schools, school districts collect massive amounts of data but struggle to transform that date into useable knowledge.

“What would have taken an educator hours, days or weeks to collect, now only takes a few clicks and the data is made available,” Follett Software’s Kisman told the audience.

The genesis for the project goes back a few years as businesses in the Knoxville area noticed that high school graduates were not college-ready or didn’t have the basic skills they needed for employment, they decided to get directly involved. As a result, the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership backed an aggressive drive to help the schools track and correlate student performance, demographic and financial data, with the goal of improving student performance and producing a highly educated work force.

“Given where education is across the country, especially in these economic times, it’s refreshing to see businesses get involved in improving education in their local school district,” Kisman said. “The Knox Chamber model is an example of innovative ways that organizations, companies and community can take responsibility and initiative to influence student outcomes and develop future leaders of our country. It is our hope to see similar models adopted with other districts and communities across the state and the country.”

Kisman added that the Knoxville model goes beyond merely including the standard data that most districts include in their systems.

“What makes it unique is that Knox required additional data including school level financial data to assess the effectiveness of spending on student achievement,” Kisman said. “This is just the beginning of what will become a shift to a data culture within the district and the community. Moreover, our solutions will continue to grow in scalability and functionality as not only new technologies become available, but also working through with Knox to see additional opportunities integrate into our solutions. We constantly strive to deliver cutting edge technology that 21st century school districts need.”

Additionally, Kisman praised the Knoxville Chamber for its innovative efforts to positively influence education in the district, and also saluted Knox County Schools for its eagerness to embrace the program and how it perfectly corresponds with the district’s five-year strategic plan – “Building on Strength: Excellence for All Children” – that was rolled out in late 2008 by then-new Superintendent McIntyre.

“From the very beginning, the commitment, passion and motivation were apparent among everyone involved at the district and chamber,” Kisman told attendees. “Follett Software Company is sincerely honored to be a part of your leadership in education and is delighted to be a part of this journey to ensure that students in Knox County Schools are prepared for life beyond the classroom.”

Adoptions of Destiny Textbook Manager Surge as K-12 School Districts Seek Savings, Improved Accountability

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

School districts across the country, including two of the largest in the country, continue to embrace Follett Software Company’s Destiny Textbook Manager for the cost savings and improved accountability for textbook resources that are achievable through improved textbook management.
District and schools are seeking to stretch their textbook dollars – typically due to budget cutbacks and the need to lengthen the adoption period for existing textbooks, according to David Zasada, program director, Follett Software Company. Many districts, he continued, are concerned with putting processes and tools in place to ensure new textbooks last for as long as possible.

Destiny Textbook Manager is now in more than 11,000 schools (800 districts) nationwide. The following is a list of major districts that have recently adopted Destiny Textbook Manager or significantly expanded with additional licenses for existing Destiny Textbook Manager districts:

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD), San Diego, CA — SDUSD is using Textbook Manager in 187 of its sites. With 134,752 students, it is the second largest school district in the state of California, and the eighth largest urban district in the country. (The management of textbooks is destined to become even more crucial in California where a provision in the state’s new budget agreement would suspend the adoption of textbooks for five years.)
Broward County Public Schools, Fort Lauderdale, FL — 27 sites. With 255,738 students in 286 schools, it is the country’s sixth largest public school system.
Issaquah School District #411, Issaquah, WA — 24 sites.15,624 students in 24 schools.
Fauquier County Public Schools, Warrenton, VA — 17 sites. 11,269 students in 20 schools.
Falcon School District 49, Falcon, CO — 17 sites. 13,616 students in 20 schools.
Henry County Public Schools, Collinsville, VA — 16 sites. 7,192 students in 15 schools.

Zasada said among the key attributes of Destiny Textbook Manager are capabilities to help school districts to:

Eliminate over-ordering and stockpiling of books.
Effectively monitor and track textbook transfers across multiple locations.
Ensure that students have the right textbooks when they need them.
Improve their ability to collect fines for lost and damaged materials.

For more information on Destiny Textbook Manager and other Follett Software Company resource management solutions, visit http://www.FollettSoftware.com.

Follett Software Unveils New Version of Destiny®

Fri, 06 Nov 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced today the unveiling of Destiny 9.5 with a significant portion of the new capabilities based on requests from existing customers, including improved reporting across all Destiny modules to help K-12 school districts better demonstrate collection and inventory usage and value.

Destiny 9.5’s reporting capabilities have been greatly expanded. The enhanced reporting includes a new “Reports” tab, a reorganized list, favorites tags and more, implemented across all Destiny products (Destiny Library Manager™, Destiny Textbook Manager™, Destiny Asset Manager™ and Destiny Media Manager™) to make it easier to find, identify, organize and run reports.

“Many of the new features are the result of requests from users, which allows Destiny to continually evolve and meet their growing needs,” said George Gatsis, vice president, product development and marketing, Follett Software Company. “As we continually strive to work as true partners in the K-12 educational market, we rely on a customer-centric approach. Here, we wish to say to our customers that, ‘Destiny 9.5 is your Destiny.’ ”

Destiny Library Manager features the debut of MyQuest book club, which expands collaboration and communication beyond the classroom while encouraging discussion about books. Similar to social networking sites, MyQuest book club requires logins and passwords, and allows students to invite or remove friends at their school or from their district. Students can utilize shelves to show which books they’ve read, are currently reading, or want to read and share that information with their peers. This is a great way to get kids engaged in the library and excited about reading.

In addition, Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Quest, Destiny Media Manager and Enriched Content Enhancements include:

• Improved eBook management
• Enhanced and expanded searching in Destiny Quest, including Advanced and Visual Search
• Cataloging enhancements supporting additional district functionality and support of new MARC21 standards
• Circulation improvements, including expanded fine maintenance and accountability
• Searching enhancements to increase productivity of searches by improving root word searching and stop word maintenance
• Improvements in centralized patron management
• Better statistics reporting: new for Standards, improved for WebPath Express

For Destiny Textbook Manager, the new release will improve accountability through district textbook reports to help determine which locations may be losing books, and assess the value of books. Moreover, a new report will help associate a dollar amount to the changes to the textbook inventory over time, which ultimately helps identify savings (reduced replacement costs) through use of transfers.

Additional Destiny Textbook Manager enhancements include:
• Multi-site associations to support student/staff movement across the district
• New support for schedule updates
• Easier district-wide textbook rollout

For Destiny Asset Manager, the new release includes functionality that allows districts to limit the ability to approve asset items for disposal. A new “ready for disposal” status item has been added, and only approved users will be allowed to OK or decline the request.

Additional Destiny Asset Manager enhancements include:

• Quick links to asset descriptions and item counts while searching
• Easily attach electronic documents to an asset description
• Quickly add new funding source identifiers “on the fly”
• Support staff and students across multiple schools

One more new Destiny 9.5 feature allows customers to order hardware, labels and supplies through the new Destiny Express online (http://www.DestinyExpress.com).

Follett Software has scheduled a series of webinars for “What’s New in Destiny 9.5.” For Library Manager, they are set for 12:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 15, and 3:30 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2010. For Textbook Manager and Asset Manager, they are set for 12:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, Dec. 17, and 3:30 p.m. EST on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2010.

For more information on Destiny 9.5, please visit the Follett Software Company website, www.FollettSoftware.com.

Indiana District Embraces Data-Driven Decision Making with TetraData Warehouse from Follett Software Co.

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Seeking to arm itself with substantive student data to “positively impact student achievement,” the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation in southwest Indiana is in the midst of implementing one of the most comprehensive custom TetraData warehouses undertaken by Follett Software Company.

“As we more clearly understand our present performance in key areas, we can ask better questions about the way we deliver instruction to our students,” said David Dimmett, the district’s chief academic officer. “The data warehouse allows us to more fully understand the many variables influencing the achievement of our students. When we understand more about the way we teach and learn, we are better positioned to make the instructional and support decisions necessary to positively impact student achievement.”

Evansville–with 22,498 students–becomes the latest K-12 district in the country to opt for a solution that collects test scores, grades and other data to more quickly identify problems and accelerate interventions. With “student achievement” headlining its 2009-10 Strategic Plan, the district stepped up the search for a data-driven decision making (D3M) product that would allow them to gain immediate access to multiple data points to better demonstrate continuous improvement. Their search led them to Follett Software’s TetraData solution.

“In the past, we’ve had to request queries through our Information Systems Department,” said Susan McDowell Riley, the district’s assistant superintendent for assessment and research. “Due to the volume of their work, the results may have taken several days, or more, to pull. Our new TetraData warehouse now allows access to what we need with just a few clicks. Best of all, what we obtain is based on where our students are enrolled at that point in time, rather than being dated information.”

Data is updated nightly to the Evansville district’s warehouse that feeds from different sources. The warehouse merges district-wide historical, factual and dimensional data across multiple variables providing detailed longitudinal analysis, ad hoc queries and reports. As a result, educators have data in their hands sooner and are able to make informed decisions that impact student performance.

“Accurate and timely data are essential to improving student achievement and effect organizational change,” said Vince Bertram, corporation superintendent, who added that he is particularly impressed with the excitement that has resonated district-wide about the new warehouse. “With TetraData, the opportunities are endless in how we can pull data and use it to affect teaching strategies to impact student achievement.”

TetraData is being rolled out in three phases at the Evansville district, with the next release–TetraData DASH–scheduled for the spring of 2010. TetraData DASH is a K-12 education dashboard and data portal that delivers data using color-coded indicators that clarify where each school, grade, teacher, class and student stands in relation to a district’s strategic improvement goals.

Evansville Vanderburgh School Corp. previously adopted a combination of Follett Software Company’s Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager at 36 of its schools.

Follett Software Company, Florida's SUNLINK Partner to Offer Statewide Library Union Catalog

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As a result of its partnership with Follett Software Company, the market leader of library automation solutions to K-12 schools, Florida’s SUNLINK has launched its new and improved statewide union catalog of educational library media materials. The catalog now indexes more than 3 million titles and nearly 30 million holdings from 2,750 public schools in the state.

Designed to promote resource sharing and effective use of school media among Florida public schools, SUNLINK enables students, teachers, parents, library media specialists and principals to locate and utilize educational resources online or, for school-based participants, through interlibrary loan.

SUNLINK has been funded by the Florida State Legislature for 20 years, and is an initiative through the Florida Department of Education’s School Library Media Services Office. The program is under the direction of the College of Education at the University of Central Florida and Tom Owens, project director.

Owens said the union catalog is of particular benefit to school media specialists, who are able to locate materials from state public schools and districts through the interlibrary loan service, and also allows students to search through collections to which they would not otherwise have access. Plus, Owens noted, the program contributes to statewide equity since it dramatically expands the library resources available to Florida public school students at no charge.

In addition to providing a means for locating and sharing resources, SUNLINK is a resource for online and printed instructional materials to support educators in teaching information literacy skills and promoting reading.

Tulsa Middle School Librarian Earns Distinguished Award

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Tina Ham, who has worked for Tulsa Public Schools for 17 years, was awarded last week with the Polly Clarke Award, which honors an Oklahoma school library media specialist who has established an exemplary library media program that serves the instructional needs of teachers, students and administrators.

Presented here as part of the annual Encyclo-Media Conference, the award is co-sponsored by Follett Software Company, Follett Library Resources and the Oklahoma Association of School Library Media Specialists. Ham was presented with a $500 check.

Ham is currently the library media specialist at Edison Middle School, which is a program of choice school for Tulsa Public School students and the Edison community. In her ninth year serving students as a library media specialist, Ham earned her masters degree from the University of Oklahoma.

“Encyclo-Media 29 – Literacy, Learning and Beyond,” annually sponsored by the Oklahoma State Department of Education, was held Sept. 17-19 at Cox Convention Center in Oklahoma City.

Follett Software Company Forms K-12 Textbook Management Advisory Group

Tue, 22 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Ten K-12 school professionals, representing a cross-section of district sizes throughout the country, have been named to a textbook management customer advisory group formed by Follett Software Company, the partner that more than half of America’s school districts trust to help them manage everything from library resources and school assets to information for data-driven decision making.

The Destiny Textbook Manager Advisory Board is scheduled to meet for the first time beginning Thursday (Sept. 24) in Milwaukee, and will assist Follett Software to accomplish several goals, including evaluating existing products and services, providing a vehicle for customer input in product development and defining critical issues in the educational environment.

The 10 board members, each of whom has made a two-year commitment, are:

Mona Barnes, textbook resource manager, East Baton Rouge Parish School System, Baton Rouge, La.
Lisa Burleson, director, instructional materials, Gwinnett County Board of Education, Suwanee, Ga.
Vicki Comman, instructional materials analyst, Palm Beach County Board of Education, West Palm Beach, Fla.
Terri Cox, coordinator, instructional materials, Comal Independent School District, New Braunfels, Texas
Sheila Geddie, textbook specialist, Baldwin County School District, Bay Minette, Ala.
Joan Gray, technology director, Bedford County Board of Education, Shelbyville, Tenn.
Burt Jordan, instructional specialist, Duval County School District, Jacksonville, Fla.
Carri Kockritz, secretary to director of curriculum, Battle Ground (Wash.) Public Schools.
Gene Menicucci, district librarian, Stockton (Calif.) Unified School District.
Barbara VanSeveren, procurement, Green Bay (Wisc.) Board of Education.

With K-12 districts seeking to gain greater accountability and control over textbooks – one of their largest and most important annual investments – there is growing momentum to adopt Follett Software’s Destiny Textbook Manager, a centralized, browser-based system. The product is now in more than 11,000 schools (800 districts) nationwide, a marked increase from just four years ago when the product was in 2,000 schools. A total of 37 of the country’s 100 largest school districts have chosen to partner with Follett Software Company for improved textbook management.

Trend Shows Arizona K-12 School Districts Embracing Solution to Gain Better Control of Textbook Inventories

Thu, 17 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

The gravity of state educational budget shortfalls for instructional materials has caused school districts throughout the state of Arizona to seek greater accountability and control over their largest and most important annual investments. Textbook management is one such significant example as districts are busy implementing new tools and processes, and have been rewarded for their efforts by recognizing savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Facing a forecasted $4 million budget cut, Maricopa County-based Higley Unified School District is predicting an annual savings of some $200,000 a year since adopting Destiny Textbook Manager – a centralized, browser-based system from Follett Software Company.

“We’re shifting resources as opposed to buying resources,” Joyce Lewis, Higley’s supervisor of instructional technology said in a recent newspaper interview. “We’re also selling off obsolete and excess textbooks.”

Plus, an additional $325,000 in textbooks were rounded up from all the district’s elementary schools and put into use for this month’s opening of Centennial Elementary School. “I’m sure there will be some books we need, but the majority of the books we won’t have to buy,” Lewis continued. “We would have not redistributed that normally, but as a part of the project we can more efficiently use our resources.”

Another example can be found at Dysart Unified School District, the fastest growing school system in the state. In response to an estimated $3.2 million in cuts to the Surprise-based district’s operating budget, officials there have parlayed Destiny Textbook Manager to help them in a number of ways: scale back new textbook purchases and shift textbook resources among its schools.

Destiny Textbook Manager is now in more than 11,000 schools (800 districts) nationwide, a marked increase from just four years ago when the product was in 2,000 schools. A total of 37 of the country’s 100 largest school districts have chosen to partner with Follett Software Co.

“Some districts are deferring textbook purchases and looking for ways to stretch their current textbook materials for a longer period of time, while others are looking to protect any textbook investment they are making with the federal stimulus funds they are receiving,” said Tom Schenck, president, Follett Software Co. “We especially pride ourselves on being able to offer districts a complete solution, well beyond our market-leading software product.”

Schenck said his company’s product helps districts:

Follett Software is conducting an upcoming webinar for school districts interested following the lead of Higley, Dysart and others. A “Smart Textbook Management Makes Dollars and Sense” webinar is scheduled for 9:30 a.m. (Arizona time) on Wednesday, Sept. 23. For more information, visit www.FollettSoftware.com/Webinars.

Follett Software Company Forms Inaugural Advisory Group

Wed, 09 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Nine K-12 school library professionals, representing a cross-section of district levels and geographic locations, have been named to an advisory group formed by Follett Software Company, the partner that more than half of America’s school districts trust to help them manage everything from library resources and school assets to information for data-driven decision making.

The Destiny Library Manager Advisory Board met for the first time recently in Chicago and will assist Follett Software to accomplish several goals, including evaluating existing products and services, providing a vehicle for customer input in product development and defining critical issues in the educational environment.

Used in nearly 30,000 K-12 schools across 3,000 districts, Destiny Library Manager is the industry-leading, web-based library management software that helps transform the library into a centralized knowledge resource center to support 21st century learning goals for students and educators.

“We anticipate that the feedback and recommendations we receive from our nine thought leaders will aptly reflect the perspectives of our larger customer base,” said Tom Schenck, president, Follett Software Co. “Ideally, these discussions will help us validate our strategic initiatives and develop our products and services to meet the changing needs of K-12 education.”

Schenck, along with four other Follett Software Co. employees, met with the group for the first time in Chicago. The board members, each of whom has each made a two-year commitment, are:

Mary Barbee, coordinator of information and library services, Gwinnett County Board of Education, Suwanee, Ga.
Dorothy Frechette, executive director, RILINK, Warren, R.I.
Carl Harvey, district librarian media specialist, Noblesville Schools, Noblesville, Ind.
Susan Roman, dean, graduate school of library and information science, Dominican University, River Forest, Ill.
Ida Thompson, technology coordinator, Richland 1, Columbia, S.C.
Joanne Wald, media cataloger, Osseo ISD, Maple Grove, Minn.
Connie Williams, librarian, Petaluma (Calif.) City School District
Paula Yohe, director of technology, Dillon (S.C.) School District Two
Jeanne Ziemba, media specialist, St. Lucie Schools, Fort Pierce, Fla.

The board tackled several subjects in its initial meeting, including “Libraries of the Future,” which generated a free-wheeling, enlightening discussion.

“Even today we are still dealing with the digital divide,” Thompson observed. “We continue to survey our community to determine how many of our families actually have access to the Internet – who can get to the school resources once they walk out the building? That number isn’t going down, believe it or not. So you have to make sure information is portable and available for everybody in the learning community while you are trying to make sure you have all the online tools to improve access.”

Follett Software Co. also is in the midst of forming a similar advisory group for Destiny Textbook Manager.

Follett Software Company Stakes Claim as Social Media Leader

Tue, 01 Sep 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company, which earlier this year was ranked one of the world’s top companies using Twitter to recruit new employees, can now be followed on Twitter as well as found on Facebook.

The company—which helps K-12 school districts manage key learning resources such as library materials, textbooks, school assets and information for data-driven decision making—doesn’t often find itself ranked on a list that includes the likes of Burger King, Expedia, Hershey Company, Mattel, MTV and UPS. But when Job-Hunt.org recently published its list of the world’s “Top 50 Employers Using Twitter for Recruiting,” Follett Software Co. staked its claim as a company that recognizes the potential of social media.

Now, Follett Software Company has created a page on Facebook, the the social networking website that currently has more than 250 million active users worldwide. In addition, Follett has created a feed on Twitter, the micro-blogging service that in 2009 has witnessed a dramatic surge in daily users.

“We were early to the game in job recruiting on Twitter, and now we’ve taken the next logical networking steps,” said Michael Campbell, marketing director, Follett Software Co. “As one of the educational industry’s top software companies, it is imperative that we are an active social media participant, for both our customers and employees alike.”

Trend Shows K-12 School Districts Embracing Solution to Gain Better Control of Textbooks

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

School districts across the country that have implemented new tools and processes for textbook management are now recognizing savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, as well as ensuring students have immediate access to textbooks when they need them.

With K-12 districts seeking to gain greater accountability and control over one of their largest and most important annual investments, there is growing momentum to adopt Follett Software Company’s Destiny Textbook Manager – a centralized, browser-based system. Destiny Textbook Manager is now in more than 11,000 schools (800 districts) nationwide, a marked increase from just four years ago when the product was in 2,000 schools. A total of 37 of the country’s 100 largest school districts have chosen to partner with Follett Software Co., while 700 new schools signed up in March of this year alone.

“Some districts are deferring textbook purchases and looking for ways to stretch their current textbook materials for a longer period of time, while others are looking to protect any textbook investment they are making with the federal stimulus funds they are receiving,” said Tom Schenck, president, Follett Software Co. “We especially pride ourselves on being able to offer districts a complete solution, well beyond our market-leading software product.”

In Plainfield, Ill., officials at Plainfield Community Consolidated School District 202 offer “conservative estimates” that Destiny Textbook Manager has saved them at least $500,000 since investing in the product.

“This will allow the district to ensure that students will have access to the textbooks they need, when they need them, while at the same time saving our taxpayers a tremendous amount of money,” Linda Casey, the district’s director of instructional technology and media, told The Plainfield Sun (7/10/09) in a recently published story. “The system helps to eliminate over-ordering and stockpiling of books and resource materials. It also reduces replacement costs by being able to transfer textbooks from one campus to another.”

Other school districts that have recognized considerable savings and reduced textbook losses with Destiny Textbook Manager include two California schools: Riverside (Calif.) Unified School District ($300,000 in savings) and Pomona (Calif.) Unified School District (reduced textbook losses by 25 percent and reduced duplicate orders by 70 percent). The management of textbooks is destined to become even more crucial in California where a provision in the state’s new budget agreement would suspend the adoption of textbooks for five years.

Destiny Textbook Manager success stories can be found coast to coast, from Escambia County School District in Pensacola, Fla. ($200,000-plus savings in first two years) to Higley Unified School District in Gilbert, Ariz. The Higley district typically spends nearly $2 million a year on textbook purchases, and are predicting annual savings of some $200,000 a year with Destiny Textbook Manager, officials reported recently.

“We’re shifting resources as opposed to buying resources,” Joyce Lewis, Higley’s supervisor of instructional technology, told the East Valley Tribune (6/2/09). “We’re also selling off obsolete and excess textbooks.”

Schenck said his company’s product helps districts:

• Eliminate over-ordering and stockpiling of books
• Effectively monitor and track textbook transfers across multiple locations
• Ensure that students have the right textbooks when they need them
• Improve their ability to collect fines for lost and damaged materials

Accountability is one more pivotal asset of the program since staff, students and parents assume increased responsibility for textbooks assigned to them. And Florida districts have taken keen interest in legislation passed earlier this year that requires public school students who lose or damage textbooks to pay 100 percent of replacement costs instead of 50 to 75 percent under the previous law.

In South Carolina, meanwhile, the Department of Education – with 86 districts, 1,150 schools and 676,000 students – implemented Destiny Textbook Manager on a statewide basis in 2007. Follett Software Company has entered into a new contract with the state this year to develop additional enhancements for the system. Bottom line, according to state officials, is that its chief goal of ensuring that “textbooks are available and in the hands of each and every student” has been reached.

“Although some schools had very good inventory systems in place, others didn’t,” said Dr. Jim White, the state’s manager of instructional materials. “Our new system will help all schools and districts keep better track of materials and recover fees when they’re due. We are now able to clearly identify where our losses are occurring and take action to reduce them.”

Woodstock School District Turns to Follett Software Company to Manage, Monitor Textbooks at its Local High Schools

Tue, 25 Aug 2009 00:00:00 GMT

As budgets continue to tighten, an emerging trend in K-12 educational circles clearly reflects that school districts across the country are seeking to gain greater accountability and control over one of their largest and most important annual investments – textbooks.

With some of its high school textbooks costing as much as $120 apiece, and with as many as 10,000 textbooks in circulation among its two high schools, the Woodstock Community Unit School District #200 – where the first day of the new year is Thursday (Aug. 27) – is one such district poised to address the issue of better managing and monitoring this significant portion of its annual budget.

Fortunately for the Woodstock district, officials didn’t have to look far for a solution. McHenry-based Follett Software Company – the partner that more than half of America’s K-12 schools trust to help manage critical data and resources – offers Destiny® Textbook Manager™, a product that helps districts control costs, keeps current textbooks in circulation as long as possible and ensures textbooks are readily available for each student that needs them.

Districts without a textbook management system in place may be losing anywhere from 5 to 10 percent of their textbook inventory each year. With its new-found ability to effectively monitor and track its inventory of high school textbooks using Destiny Textbook Manager, the Woodstock school district expects to save a substantial amount of money by dramatically reducing the number of lost books and needless over-ordering. It is not uncommon for districts using Follett Software’s Destiny Textbook Manager to report they have reduced textbook losses by at least 25 percent and reduced duplicate orders by as much as 70 percent, which can add up to savings in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The first phase of implementing Destiny Textbook Manager requires that barcode labels be affixed to each textbook to pave the way for effective monitoring and tracking. After all the textbooks had been rounded up from the two high schools after the close of the 2008-09 school year, a Woodstock team – spearheaded by Marjorie Siuta, the district’s library media specialist and technology curriculum facilitator – met to carry out the barcoding project. All textbooks are set to be back in circulation for the new school year that starts later this week.

Destiny Textbook Manager, the market leading solution from Follett Software Company, is now in more than 850 districts and 11,000 schools across the country, including 35 of the country’s top 100 largest districts.

AASL Information Technology Pathfinder Award, sponsored by Follett Software Company, presented to winners at '09 ALA Annual Conference

Mon, 13 Jul 2009 00:00:00 GMT

School library media specialists in Kansas and Louisiana have been named the two winners of this year’s American Association of School Librarians (AASL) Information Technology Pathfinder Award, which has been sponsored by Follett Software Company since 1985. The awards will be formally presented by Michael Campbell, director of marketing for Follett Software Company, at a luncheon today at Chicago’s McCormick Place West as part of the 2009 American Library Association (ALA) Annual Conference.

This year’s winners are Jennifer Gorup of Quail Run Elementary School in Lawrence, Kan., and Melanie LeJeune of St. Louis Catholic High School in Lake Charles, La. Gorup, who won in the Elementary (grades K-6) Category, and LeJeune, who won in the Secondary (7-12) Category, each will be presented with checks for $1,000, while their school libraries will receive $500.

The award recognizes and honors a school library media specialist demonstrating vision and leadership through the use of information technology to build lifelong learners.

“There is a great deal of exemplary work being done by library media specialists in the Elementary and Secondary schools across the country,” said Tom Schenck, president, Follett Software Company. “Our two winners illustrate the kind of forward-thinking mentality that is transforming our nation’s school libraries into 24/7 resources with unlimited potential. Follett Software Company is, indeed, proud to continue our long-standing sponsorship of this award.”

The AASL, a division of the ALA, promotes the improvement and extension of library media services in elementary and secondary schools as a means of strengthening the total education program. Its mission is to advocate excellence, facilitate change and develop leaders in the school library media field.

Technology Innovation Award Sponsored by Follett Software Co., Linworth Publishing, Inc., Honors Classroom-Library Collaboration

Tue, 30 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Three New York schools have been named the winners of the second annual ISTE Media Specialist Technology Innovation Award, which recognizes collaborative technology innovation projects created by elementary, middle and high school teachers and library media specialists.

The award is sponsored by Follett Software Company, Linworth Publishing Inc./Library Media Connection magazine and the International Society for Technology in Education’s (ISTE) SIG for Media Specialists. The winning schools are to be formally honored in a presentation at 10:30 a.m. EDT Tuesday, June 30 at the 2009 National Education Computing Conference (NECC) in Washington, D.C.

The first-place winners in the individual categories are as follows:

Elementary School: Karen Kliegman and Noel Forte, Searingtown Elementary School, Albertson, NY, for “Meet the Candidates,” a fifth-grade project focused on the 2008 presidential election.
Middle School: Lindsay Cesari and Patrick Donahue, Durgee Junior High School, Baldwinsville, NY, for “Element Commercials,” highlighting the use of digital storytelling to produce commercials selling an element and then using the commercials to pitch their product in an “Apprentice-like” environment.
High School: Belinda O’Brien, Susan Casement and Cindy Rubenstein, Minerva DeLand School, Fairport, NY, for “People Who Changed the World,” a program where students read biographies and autobiographies of people who changed the world with the goal of having the students analyze where they could apply similar qualities and ideas to their own lives.

Each of the three winning teams will receive $1,000 cash award for the school media center; $500 travel stipend for the winning teams to attend NECC and conference registration for each team member; a one-year standard ISTE membership; a commemorative plaque; $1,000 in professional library resources from Linworth Publishing; and a one-year subscription to Library Media Connection magazine.

Honorable mention winners in the individual categories are as follows:

Elementary School: Mary Carole Strother and Lisa Paine, Fanny Finch Elementary, McKinney, TX, for its “Caldecott” project.
Middle School: Karen Gartner and Nathan Keith, Westland Middle School, Indianapolis, IN, for its “Algebra Podcast” project.
High School: Elizabeth Hoffman and Carol Johns, Marine Academy of Science and Technology, Highlands, NJ, for its “Graphic Novel” project.

Carl Harvey, one of the award’s six judges, said he and his colleagues were duly impressed with the quality of the entries.

“There were many great projects this year,” said Harvey, a library media specialist with North Elementary School in Noblesville, IN. “This gives library media specialists and teachers a chance to collaborate and allow their technology projects to shine. Not only are they being singled out for recognition, but their efforts can inspire other programs across the country to also show what they can do.”

Representatives from the award’s sponsoring companies, Follett Software Company and Linworth Publishing, echoed Harvey’s sentiments and added that they are proud to support ISTE and SIGMS in recognizing outstanding librarian/teacher teams.

“We may be spotlighting the winners at the NECC in Washington, D.C.,” said Michelle Begora, program director for library products at Follett Software Company, “but clearly there are no losers here. This year’s depth of entries offers further proof how educators across the country are meeting the demands of today’s learning environment and digitally native students. The 21st century school library is a 24/7 resource with unlimited potential and these entries prove that.”

According to Marlene Woo-Lun, president and publisher of Linworth Publishing and Library Media Connection magazine, “Today’s library is all about providing resources for all learners, including meeting the needs of students who use technology in everything they do. Educators who recognize this and consistently progress toward a new learning environment should be rewarded, and the SIGMS Technology Innovation Award recognizes the best and the brightest.”

Follett Software Company Introduces TetraData Insights

Mon, 29 Jun 2009 00:00:00 GMT

MCHENRY, Ill., June 29, 2009 – Follett Software Company has launched TetraData Insights, a three-step model that enables Continuous Improvement using available data, helping K-12 school districts to positively impact student performance.

With data-driven decision making (D3M) taking on added importance for states trying to qualify for federal stimulus funding, this latest release of the TetraData warehousing and analytics tools provides school districts with a convenient point-of-entry solution (Bronze level) and then builds upon that foundation with Silver and Gold levels. Each phase builds on the last by adding more data domains, features and professional development.

The timing of the Insights rollout is particularly significant considering U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan’s recent comment saluting school districts across the country that are using data to spur improvement and adding that data systems should be “the norm and not the exception.”

TetraData Insights applies a systemic model to analyze student data and communicate information to non-statisticians in an easy-to-use format. Insights is a more cost-effective alternative to a custom warehouse and analytics solution and grows with the district over time, leading it through Continuous Improvement.

Building upon the Bronze foundation, a district will grow into the Silver level with additional data domains, including discipline, attendance, special education and staff endorsements. The Gold level builds upon Bronze and Silver bringing in additional domains, including survey/perception data, test item detail and financial data.

“When a district selects TetraData Insights, it invests in its own future as a data-driven organization,” said George Gatsis, vice president of product management and marketing.
“As a technology partner, Follett Software is committed to providing a scalable solution – a combination of tools and processes – that will fulfill the district’s needs now and grow with it as those needs develop. We are pleased that Follett Software solutions align with federal funding sources that help districts demonstrate Continuous Improvement through better data-driven decision making.”

Follett Software Company, RedRock Reports partner to assist states, schools with identifying, spending ARRA funds

Thu, 23 Apr 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company announced this week that it has entered into a partnership with RedRock Reports to help states and K-12 school districts identify available ARRA (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act) funds and the products and communication tools that will best address their needs.

A total of $44 billion for states and schools is now available under ARRA, which is designed to lay the foundation for a generation of educational reform.

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan said, “Given our economic circumstances, it’s critical that money go out quickly but it’s even more important that it be spent wisely. Every dollar we spend must advance reforms and improve learning.”

The Follett Software-RedRock Reports partnership will provide educators with tools and information that define how available ARRA funds can be applied toward the purchase of solutions to support high-performance learning environments and help accomplish the government’s objectives for comprehensive education reform. Follett Software’s information and resource management products – Destiny Library Manager™, Destiny Textbook Manager™, Destiny Asset Manager™, and TetraData® – are the type of solutions that impact student achievement and support 21st century learning which are key government goals for smart spending of ARRA funds.

Follett Software will be offering two upcoming webinars to further assist educators in obtaining ARRA information. These webinars will be held on May 19 and 20.

“We are always exploring ways to position ourselves as true partners in the K-12 education market,” said Tom Schenck, president, Follett Software Company. “We pride ourselves on understanding our customers, their needs and their issues. Follett Software wants to ensure that school districts capitalize on the opportunities available with ARRA funds to improve student accountability and outcomes. It is integral to the success of our children and schools, and to the education industry as a whole.”

Dr. Jennifer House, founder and principal of Menlo Park, Calif.-based RedRock Reports, said her company’s partnership with Follett Software is a perfect fit.

“Collectively, we must advance ARRA’s short-term economic goals by investing quickly, and we must support ARRA’s long-term economic goals by investing wisely, using these funds to strengthen education, drive reforms and improve results for students,” Dr. House said. “We are especially pleased to be working with Follett Software Company, which has earned a strong reputation in the K-12 education market with its diverse lineup of products.”

Follett Software Company is the partner that more than half of America’s school districts trust to help them manage everything from library resources and school assets to information for data-driven decision making.

Private Sector Pitches In To Help Knox County Schools

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 00:00:00 GMT

When businesses in the Knoxville, Tenn., area noticed that high school graduates didn’t have the basic skills they needed for employment, they decided to get directly involved.

As a result, the Knoxville Area Chamber Partnership is backing an aggressive drive to help the Knox County Schools track and correlate student performance, demographic and financial data, with the goal of improving student performance and producing a highly educated work force. The plan has the enthusiastic support of the district’s new superintendent and is being watched carefully by state and national policy makers.

Part of the program is the implementation of a TetraData warehouse and analytics solutions from Follett Software Company. The TetraData package will help school administrators and teachers do a better job of identifying student strengths and weaknesses. It will also support their efforts to develop appropriate intervention strategies to meet individual student needs. Eventually, the plan is to be able to tell just how much instructional “bang for the buck” the district is getting for specific education programs.

“About two years ago we were getting a lot of anecdotal information about recent high school graduates not being prepared for the work force,” recalls Gary Spencer, Knoxville Chamber member who was then executive vice president of a Japanese-owned automotive components manufacturer located in the Knoxville area. “The Chamber opened a dialogue with the school district and began asking how we, as a business community, could help.”

A 2007 study indicated that the school district was lacking something most modern businesses rely on – accurate, up-to-the-minute performance data. “We discovered over time that the district really didn’t have a fully functioning management information system,” Spencer said. “They had massive amounts of data, but little information to manage by. So in late 2007 the Chamber proposed helping the district develop some data management systems that would provide the information to support the district’s efforts to improve student achievement.”

When Knox County Schools hired a new superintendent in July 2008, the move to implement a data warehouse went into high gear. Jim McIntyre, former Chief Operating Officer of the Boston Public Schools, is a big believer in measurement and accountability and this tool fit right into that vision. “Achieving our vision of excellence for all children is dependent upon our having a robust capability for data-driven decision making in operations, district strategy, and most importantly, in student learning,” McIntyre said. “Our partnership with Follett Software will provide teachers and administrators with a critical tool to help improve student achievement at all levels. Our data warehouse will integrate our various and often incompatible data sources to provide our teachers with comprehensive, actionable and timely data to inform their instruction and therefore enhance our students’ academic outcomes,” he said.

The Chamber solicited funds to underwrite the initial phases of the project from a private source, The Aslan Foundation. In the meantime, Spencer had retired from his executive position and agreed to head up the project. “Early on, we brought in a team of MBA candidates from the University of Tennessee to look at the district’s data systems, and to confirm our understanding of what might be feasible,” Spencer said. “We researched and documented the district’s source systems and information needs, put out a request for proposal in the fall of 2008, and Follett Software was selected to build a data warehouse and provide decision support software.

“We know the solution we have in mind is much, much bigger than just a data warehouse,” Spencer said. “But we consider the TetraData warehouse and decision support software to be the backbone of the whole thing.”

Spencer said Follett Software’s proposal rose to the top for many reasons. “The Follett team immediately grasped what we were trying to do by linking financial data with student performance data. Several other vendors just didn’t get it,” he said. Ease-of-use and flexibility were also big factors in Follett’s favor, according to Spencer. “We received endorsements of the Follett product from several districts across the United States. Some had been using the product for several years. Others were in the process of implementing it – we got great feedback from all the school systems we spoke with.”

Knoxville Chamber President and CEO Mike Edwards feels the management information system project will be critical for the district’s future success. “Knox County Schools has committed to some pretty lofty goals, as they should,” Edwards said. “But it will be near to impossible to get there without the ability to analyze and manage important information on a near real-time basis. This project will give them the tools to do that and will allow them to be more focused and proactive in resolving the significant issues they are tackling.”

“We are thrilled with the possibilities this creates for the district and for our community,” Edwards said.

According to Spencer, the job of constructing a system that will give the district the tools it needs to track how efficiently the district spends education dollars will be a multi-phase process. “We have yet to find another school district doing or planning to do what we have on the drawing board. Right now, there’s not much within the Knox County district’s systems to determine whether spending is effective or efficient,” he said. “So, first, we will account for budgeted and actual spending at the individual school level, then to specific programs, then to class year, then subject area as we gain more and more granularity.” Spencer said. “Once the cost management system is built and accurate measures of output are in place, the district will be able to determine whether its resources are aligned to meeting its goals and objectives. The art will be to identify the variables in each school’s operations and to track their consumption down to the individual student level,” Spencer said.

More Smaller Districts, Private Schools Make the Move to Follett's Destiny Library Manager™

Thu, 26 Feb 2009 00:00:00 GMT

While it may seem like an obvious choice for large districts, centralized, web-based library management is gaining favor with a growing number of smaller districts and private schools too. Districts that serve only a handful of schools, as well as K-12 private schools, are finding that the greater accessibility, the powerful search environment and the superior cataloging are all reasons to make the move from client-server based systems to Destiny Library Manager from Follett Software Company.

Although large districts are often attracted to Destiny because it eliminates having to service many individual servers spread out through the district, smaller educational institutions are finding that giving students on-line access to better catalog information and a richer media environment make Destiny well worth the move.

Greater Collaboration Brings Grant Money
When Mike Ingram moved from IT director of Orange County (NC) Schools to Thomasville City Schools, another North Carolina district only a third as large, he brought with him a vision of what centralized, web-accessible library technology could do for students and staff. In fact, Orange County had been one of the initial beta sites for Destiny. So when the opportunity to apply for a million-dollar technology grant came up, he thought Destiny would be a natural fit into the proposal.

“The grant was built around collaboration and communication and web technologies,” Ingram said. “Fostering written communication is a major goal for the district and the ability for students to post book reviews in Destiny was a real hook.

“Also, we were looking for a more effective search alternative for students,” Ingram added. “Kids were using Google and Yahoo and getting lucky about one percent of the time. So the ability to implement Destiny with WebPath Express™, with its focus on educational web sites, was a plus.

“And when I found out we could run the whole thing off a single blade server, I said, ‘Let’s go for it,’” Ingram recalled.

Ingram has been impressed by Destiny’s ability not only to put students in touch with books, but to encourage their own writing as well. “With the book review function, students can write reviews knowing that teachers and other students can read them, wherever they have web access. And the more students write, the better things will be.”

“We sure do like the feeling”
Lovejoy (TX) Independent School District is a 2800-student, five-campus school about 25 miles north of Dallas. The district had been using an older library management system that was causing headaches. “It was a very complex system to use and we were frustrated with customer service,” recalls Mitci Allen, Director of Instructional Technology. “And we had problems finding other districts that were using it, so we didn’t have a lot of support.”

Allen had become aware of Destiny at her last district and recommended the switch. “It’s a more intuitive, user-friendly program, and the customer support was just excellent.”

As awkward as the old system was, some librarians in the district were hesitant to switch – especially with Lovejoy bringing two new campuses on line at the same time. But after webinars and on-site training, the doubters came around, Allen said. “The more they found out what they could do with Destiny, the more they wanted to use it,” she said. “Since the transition, they have said to me over and over ‘I’m so glad we changed.’ They like the flexibility of the system, and they love the fact that they can make the changes for their campuses themselves. They’ve found it makes their jobs a lot easier.

“Students love it,” Allen added. “It’s so easy to use, they know how to find things and they know how to scan themselves in. They’re also really excited about being able to write book reviews in Destiny. One of our schools is even using Destiny as a writing assignment. There are just a lot of little things in Destiny to give kids a voice in the library.”

Allen has been particularly impressed with the personal attention she’s gotten from Follett Software’s customer support staff. “It’s rare to be a valued customer in the education field, especially for a small district,” Allen said, “but we sure do like the feeling.”

Impressing a School on the Cutting Edge
The Polytechnic School, a century-old private K-12 school serving 851 students on a 31-acre campus in Pasadena, CA, is no stranger to technical innovation. It made its library catalog web-accessible years ago. Jody Stefansson, Director of the school’s Boswell Library, says she likes to stay “on the cutting edge, not the bleeding edge” of technology; she has set up a system so students can reach her via instant messaging with reference questions, even over the weekend.

Stefansson is also proud of her cataloging skills; she has spent years honing her subject headings to meet the research needs of her upper-school patrons, who use Boswell more like a college academic library than a typical high school library. So Stefansson was skeptical when the lower-school librarian suggested adopting Destiny with the Alliance Plus cataloging feature.

Seeing the richness of information that Destiny brought into the catalog changed her mind, she said. “What truly ‘sold’ me was that Alliance Plus is not limited to children's books or traditional K-12 school library books; the Alliance Plus database had matching records for over 60% of my titles, which are almost exclusively adult reference and non-fiction research oriented books,” Stefansson said. “I also like the fact that I can tweak the subject headings to match our specialized curriculum.”

Stefansson said that students in both lower and upper grades have responded positively to Destiny. “The younger students like the way Destiny Quest™ looks, and the visual search is very helpful to them,” she said.

The students also appreciate WebPath Express. “I have been recently teaching chemistry and U.S. history students and I tell them that WebPath Express is their ‘new best friend’ and that they must always go to it, even if they are not looking for books in our catalog,” Stefansson said. “Both the kids and the teachers were thrilled to have WebPath Express available and it made a huge difference in the time students spent doing research, and in the quality of web sites they found.”

The training and support Polytechnic School has received are just icing on the cake, Stefansson said. “Follett does everything possible to ensure that users are knowledgeable and comfortable with the Destiny software from the very beginning. This is truly noteworthy because most librarians don’t have time for a wide arch in the their learning curve; we need software that is intuitive and logical and we need training that meets both our immediate and long range needs— Follett provides both of these things along with their everyday support.”

Follett Software Names Michael Campbell As Director of Marketing

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company has named Michael Campbell to be its new Director of Marketing, the company has announced. Campbell, an education marketing veteran, will head all aspects of the company’s product marketing, advertising, e-marketing, events and public relations efforts.

“Michael is a seasoned pro in the education industry, and has worked for some of its leading players,” according to Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “We’re delighted to have his experience and expertise in this critical position,” Schenck said.

Campbell joins Follett Software after serving as Vice President and Director of Marketing for Pearson Canada, Canada’s largest educational media publisher with over $250 million in annual sales. He has also served in senior marketing positions with Pearson Education (U.S.), Cengage Learning, and McGraw-Hill.

Campbell received his Bachelor of Business Administration Degree from Southern Arkansas University, where he majored in marketing. He has done additional post-graduate study at Duke University.

Centralized Textbook Management Saves Money for Florida District

Thu, 22 Jan 2009 00:00:00 GMT

Escambia County (FL) School District needed to find a better way to manage their textbooks. By adopting a centralized, web-distributed textbook tracking system, Escambia County saved $100,000 in the first year of implementation – dollars that would have been used to purchase replacement texts.

And the savings keep piling up. By the end of this school year, total savings from centralized textbook management will exceed a third of a million dollars.

A large, geographically vast district in Pensacola, Florida, Escambia County had been having a difficult time keeping track of its huge textbook investment. Inventory and loss reporting needed improvement. Above all, the district needed a way to help move surplus books to schools where they were needed.

A committee of staff, administrators and technical personnel drew up a list of features the district needed for a new textbook management system. After hearing presentations from several vendors, Escambia County determined that Destiny Textbook Manager™ from Follett Software Company was the best fit for its priorities. Destiny Textbook Manager installs on district servers and can be accessed anywhere in the district from any web-connected computer.

The web-based, centralized system allows the district to get a direct look at school textbook inventories.
Destiny makes it possible to easily transfer books from schools with a surplus to schools that needed extra books.
The program allows fines to follow the student from school to school, enabling the district to hold students more accountable.
The use of scanners for data entry, along with Destiny’s intuitive interface, minimizes the time burden for staff.
Centralized management also eases the process of redistributing textbooks during the many school consolidations the district was facing.

Escambia implemented Destiny Textbook Manager in 2006. Sheila Brandt, coordinator of media services for the district, said that the savings from being able to transfer textbook surpluses among schools were impressive. “The first year we saved $100,000,” Brandt said. “This is money that would have been spent purchasing replacement textbooks. But because we were able to take surplus books from one school and ship them to another school, that money stayed in the budget.”

According to Brandt, before a school in the district can order additional textbooks, they must first use Destiny to try to locate a surplus of them in another school and request a transfer. “This school year, we have saved $121,600 in transfers,” Brandt reported. “We expect to have additional savings as the year progresses.”

Follett Software, Linworth Publishing/LMC Sponsor Award for Library/Classroom Innovation

Thu, 04 Dec 2008 00:00:00 GMT

For the second year, school librarians and teachers who are using technology to dissolve the boundaries between library and classroom will be honored with the ISTE SIG Media Specialist Technology Innovation Award. The award is sponsored by Follett Software Company and Linworth Publishing Inc./Library Media Connection magazine.

The annual award will be presented to teams of a school librarian and collaborating teacher who have conducted an exemplary technology program extending beyond the library to meet the needs of classroom students and teachers. Three teams will be selected and recognized, with one award per school given at the elementary, middle and secondary levels.

The award seeks to recognize projects that are innovative, technology-based and driven by the school library media center to support K-12 curricular and instructional needs.

“The convergence of new media, new technologies and a new population of digitally native students means we have to start thinking about libraries and media centers in new ways,” according to Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “We think the SIGMS award will focus a spotlight on educators who are helping to make the library a 24/7 presence in students’ lives,” Schenck said.

“The SIGMS Technology Innovation Award helps demonstrate the critical role of library media specialists in the information age,” said Marlene Woo-Lun, President and Publisher of Linworth Publishing. “We’re proud to support ISTE and SIGMS in recognizing outstanding librarian/teacher teams.”

Each of the three winning teams will receive:

$1,000 cash award for the school media center
$500 travel stipend for winning teams attending NECC
NECC Registration for each team member
One-year Standard ISTE membership
A commemorative plaque
$1,000 in professional library resources from Linworth Publishing
One-year subscription to Library Media Connection magazine (value $69)

Nominations for the award will open on January 15, 2009 and will close on March 31, 2009 at 5:00 pm PST. Winners will be announced at NECC in June. Rules and applications are available at www.iste.org/membership/awards.

E. Baton Rouge School’s Data Upgrade Undeterred by Hurricanes

Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:00:00 GMT

East Baton Rouge (LA) Parish Schools were in the process of consolidating student information in a new data warehouse when Hurricane Gustav paid a little visit.

The hurricane, which struck the area in early September, did major damage to school facilities and knocked out power to the community for days. Some schools reopened ten days later, only to close again when Hurricane Ike passed the region. The district was completely reopened again on September 15.

The hurricanes slowed the implementation of TetraData Warehouse and TetraData DASH, both provided by Follett Software Company. But the project is still moving ahead, according to Christopher Guillory, Director of Data Analysis for the East Baton Rouge Parish School System. “Because we lost two weeks of school due to the hurricane, we pushed back the first phase of the data warehouse to late January, and we’ll be rolling it out slowly to different schools,” Guillory said. “We’ll be adding core student information in phase one and more student data in phase two. In phase three we’ll add teacher and financial data.” Guillory expects all three phases to be complete by the end of May 2009.

Guillory said that having the entire district’s data consolidated in a single warehouse will help educators get a better idea of student performance and the factors that affect it. “Prior to having a data warehouse, all our data was stored in different places,” Guillory said. “You would get different answers depending on where you went for the answer, just based on the information they had. We wanted to pull all these data elements into one location so people would get a consistent answer every time.”

The district is also implementing DASH, a content-rich continuous improvement solution that presents easy-to-understand summary views of district-defined performance indicators. “We’re implementing DASH because we want to have a more data-driven environment, where educators and administrators have easy access to all the data,” Guillory said. “With that information they can make better teaching decisions for the students.”

Follett’s Destiny® Now Integrates SAFARI Montage® Video

Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Incorporating Video-On-Demand in lesson plans and student research projects just got easier, thanks to a feature in the latest version of Follett Software’s Destiny Library Manager which gives students more direct access to videos on SAFARI Montage. Follett Software Company and SAFARI Montage recently announced the new feature.

Destiny 9.0 now supports searching of SAFARI Montage digitally delivered videos. When Destiny users load the MARC Records for SAFARI Montage into their database, those records will appear in Destiny search results. Students and teachers will see the URL for SAFARI Montage titles right in title details. Clicking on the URL takes the user directly to the district’s SAFARI Montage server. Users can even add reviews or recommend these titles.

“School libraries and media centers are trying to make the transition from being mere book repositories to becoming a ubiquitous resource that impacts student learning 24/7,” according to Follett Software Company President, Tom Schenck. “Being able to streamline digital content like SAFARI Montage videos into Destiny search results makes Destiny a more powerful tool to help build tomorrow’s school libraries,” Schenck said.

“The integration of SAFARI Montage and Destiny Library Manager is a Win-Win-Win, with the biggest win being for our co-customers who benefit from SAFARI Montage titles appearing in normal Destiny search results,” said Andrew Schlessinger, CEO, Library Video Company and SAFARI Montage.

Less Searching, More Learning
One of the Destiny users that will benefit from the new integration is the Baltimore County Public Schools, the nation’s 25th largest school district with an enrollment of over 100,000 students. The district uses Destiny Library Manager as a central point of access for all sorts of digital content, including ebooks, web pages, information databases, on-line courseware and, of course, streaming video.

Della Curtis, Coordinator of Library Information Services for the district, likes the way that the integration of SAFARI Montage titles within Destiny makes information more accessible for students. “Seamless integration of technology assets owned or licensed by our school district is a critical management component to achieving our goal of providing an accessible information landscape for our educational community.” Curtis said. “Reduced time required for ‘searching’ for print, visual and multimedia can now be applied to using resources and ‘creating meaning.’”

Integration of video into library search results is just another step in creating the district’s vision of a more advanced ‘information architecture,’ Curtis said. “We’re moving forward in realizing the vision of a digital curriculum that is a ‘click away’ to knowledge assets owned, licensed by the school district and/or targeted public domain content,” she said.

About SAFARI Montage
Library Video Company’s SAFARI Montage system is the award-winning, broadcast-quality, Video-On-Demand solution for school districts which comes preloaded with educational video titles from the industry’s leading video publishers, including Schlessinger Media, PBS, The History Channel, National Geographic, Scholastic, Disney Education, BBC, Sesame Street and more. SAFARI Montage WAN Manager — the only Wide Area Network Digital Media Management solution — provides maximum flexibility for a school district to upload and manage all of their district’s digital video from a central location. This ground-breaking product gives school districts the ability to upload their own video content at the district level and easily disseminate it to all classrooms throughout the district. www.SAFARIMontage.com

New Version of Follett’s Destiny® Empowers Students

Tue, 28 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Users of Follett’s Destiny Resource Management Solution™ now have the option to save time and aggravation by empowering students and teachers to manage their own usernames and passwords. That and many other options for customizing the look and feel of Destiny are part of the latest version of the award-winning system.

Among other new customization options, users are now able to choose the background, colors and images that are displayed during search sessions in Destiny Quest™. Other new features include expanded flexibility in narrowing searches and the ability to track consumables like workbooks and study guides through Destiny Textbook Manager™.

“The response to Destiny from K-12 districts continues to be very strong,” according to Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “More than 28,000 Destiny schools are finding that this approach to instructional resource management is helping them do a better job serving students while freeing up staff time and budget dollars. And the more feedback we get from them, the better Destiny becomes,” Schenck said.

New Functionality in Destiny Quest, Library Manager™
Destiny Library Manager, and its new online searching interface, Destiny Quest, have been significantly enhanced in Version 9.0:

Patron Empowerment: This new site-based feature gives users the option to let patrons manage their own usernames and passwords, removing a challenging and time-consuming task from librarians and system administrators.
Custom Look and Feel: Destiny Quest can now be customized, including the background, colors and images that are displayed during a search session. Users may choose from the original “blue maze” background or select a theme geared toward elementary users or a theme designed to appeal to high school users.
More Social Networking Features: Students can now use even more features within Destiny Quest to connect with each other as they connect with the library. Users can now recommend a book or other resource to their peers; the recommendation shows up in the recipient’s “My Info” screen.
New Search-Narrowing Tools: Destiny Quest users can get a better handle on search results by sorting them alphabetically, by genre and sub-genre, or even by the number of pages or the star rating given by other students.

Textbook Manager Now Tracks Consumables
Destiny Textbook Manager, which allows districts to save time and money by centrally tracking and circulating their textbooks, has also seen a number of improvements:

Track Consumables: A new option will enable users to track workbooks, study guides and other consumables with the same system they use to track textbooks. The feature allows users to track the number of copies of a consumable title, perform an on-hand count and update the count each year as part of a periodic inventory.
Easier Set-Up: Textbook Manager now lets schools or districts get started more easily. Textbook coordinators may now track textbook copies without having to barcode them and view a summary of the number of copies without barcodes. Users can also update the number of copies without barcodes as part of the periodic inventory.
Simplified Check-Out: District-level administrators can now set textbook loan policies centrally and have them instantly available at sites. Destiny 9.0 now includes a built-in safeguard message to prevent the checkout of textbooks to a past due date.

Asset Manager™ Easier to Set Up
Destiny Asset Manager, which helps districts centrally control all their education resources, is now easier than ever for district staff to set up and use:

Easy-to-Use Templates: Destiny 9.0 now includes an intuitive, wizard-based interface that allows users to select from a number of pre-defined asset template tree structures to view, download and modify.
Faster Asset Navigation: The latest version lets departmental asset managers view only the “branches” of their asset “trees” that are pertinent to their areas. This lets district staff quickly find the assets they’re responsible for without wading through an entire district’s inventory.
Create Packing Slips: Asset transfers are now more efficient with Destiny Asset Manager’s option to create a packing slip when transferring assets.

Texas District Adds Follett’s Destiny Textbook Manager™ to Reduce Textbook Losses

Thu, 02 Oct 2008 00:00:00 GMT

After years of trying to keep track of its textbook inventory in multiple spreadsheets, McKinney (TX) Independent School District decided it was time to adopt a more efficient system. The district has chosen Destiny Textbook Manager from Follett Software Company in an effort to save staff time and reduce the number of textbooks it loses each year.

McKinney ISD, a 23,000-student district serving the North Dallas area, tested the new textbook system last spring and is rolling it out to all schools this month. According to Sonja Bens Harrison, the district’s Director of Administrative Services, a major goal in adopting the system was to reduce textbook losses.

“We’re looking at textbook losses really going down. We want to substantially cut losses back to almost nothing,” Harrison said, adding that the centralized system will help the districts transfer needed books between schools rather than simply buying extra copies. “Destiny gives us a chance to have a strong textbook inventory, and will allow us to keep up with our books. That saves time, energy and money,” she said.

Destiny installs at the district office and is available to users throughout the district via the web. School staff check books in and out of inventory simply by scanning their barcodes. According to Harrison, the system will be dramatically more efficient than the way the district previously handled textbooks. “We had everything in spreadsheets. You had to actually go to a campus or warehouse to verify information,” she said. “With Destiny we can log on from any campus in the system, from a laptop anywhere, and keep up with warehouse and campus inventory, look at loss reports, add or delete inventory and more.”

Before adopting Destiny Textbook Manager, McKinney ISD had used Destiny Library Manager™ also from Follett Software, so the addition of the new tracking capabilities was fairly straightforward. “Everybody’s so excited about getting the system,” Harrison said. “They’re definitely looking forward to the change. Our staff likes the idea of knowing that textbooks will be present and accounted for.”

Alabama School District Adopts Follett’s Destiny Textbook Manager™ To Cope With Rapid Growth

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

One of the fastest-growing counties in Alabama has chosen Follett Software’s Destiny Textbook Manager to help it cope with a population that’s expected to double within the next decade.

Baldwin County Public Schools, headquartered in Bay Minette, AL, serves a community that’s growing so rapidly that it’s struggling to build schools fast enough. The district recently completed three new facilities and is building another six, all part of a $270 million capital improvement campaign.

With the pressures of rapid growth and continual student reassignments, the task of keeping schools stocked with textbooks had overwhelmed the district’s old management system, according to Textbook Specialist Sheila Geddie.

“We’re adding new sites each year, growing by leaps and bounds,” Geddie said. “We needed to track textbooks to help control costs and enable us to transfer books from school to school rather than purchasing new textbooks every time someone needed one. We had a textbook program from another company, but it could not handle the variables, such as growth, that we needed to track. And it wasn’t web based, so schools couldn’t use it. We needed web-based flexibility in order for everyone to get a handle on their textbooks,” Geddie said.

To cope with district growth, Baldwin County switched to Destiny Textbook Manager, which it expects to have fully on line for the coming school year. The system installs at the district office and is accessed in the schools via any web-enabled computer. “We chose Destiny because of its flexibility, its site-based features, and the type of reports it generates,” Geddie said. “We liked the ease of operation, and just fell in love with the whole package.”

According to Geddie, Destiny will also help the district anticipate the needs of its continually changing community. “Our demographics change every year, and we need to provide for special programs for student subgroups,” Geddie said. “Destiny Textbook Manager will enable us to forecast books for certain areas of the county. As new students register we can forecast our needs for the coming Fall and have those books in the schools and ready to go.”

Districts Using Follett’s Destiny® Jump 82%

Tue, 12 Aug 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company’s Destiny Resource Management Solution is now being used in one out of every four U.S. public schools. The number of districts using Destiny to manage library books, textbooks, media or instructional assets has grown dramatically in the past year.

One out of every four U.S. public schools are now using the Destiny Resource Management Solution™ to manage library books, textbooks, media or instructional assets – a number that has grown dramatically in the past year, according to Follett Software Company.

For instance, the number of districts using Destiny Library Manager™ jumped 82% from March 2007 to March 2008, company records show. Districts using Destiny Textbook Manager™ nearly doubled, growing 94% in the same period.

The growth in Destiny adoptions comes as districts are attempting to do a better job of getting instructional resources into the hands of students, according to Tom Schenck, President of Follett Software Company. “As districts push ahead with their school improvement plans, they’re seeing the value of making sure that students have easy, timely access to library resources, textbooks and every other instructional resource,” Schenck said. “Having resources sit idle because staff and students can’t find them, or don’t even know they’re there, is no longer an option. Destiny addresses those instructional goals head-on.”

Continued budget challenges are also driving the move to Destiny, Schenck believes. “Having the kind of centralized, real time command and control that Destiny provides helps districts save money on instructional assets as well as on hardware maintenance costs,” he said.

Major districts that have recently adopted or significantly expanded Destiny include:

Wake County Public School System, headquartered in Raleigh, NC, is using Destiny Library Manager in 151 of its schools.
Charleston County (SC) School District recently signed a contract to use Destiny Library Manager in 76 schools.
Caddo Public Schools District, based in Shreveport, LA, will use Destiny Library Manager at all 75 of its schools.
Providence (RI) Public School District will use Destiny Textbook Manager at 45 sites.
Springfield (MA) Public Schools have signed a contract to use Destiny Library Manager in 43 schools.
Bay District Schools, serving the Panama City, FL, area, is using both Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager at 38 sites.
Evansville Vanderburgh (IN) School Corporation is also adopting a combination of Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager at 36 schools.

Follett’s Latest Release -- Destiny® 8.5

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 00:00:00 GMT

School districts that upgrade to the latest version of Destiny can jump-start their eBook collection with 65 free eBooks per school. The offer is just one of the benefits for users of Version 8.5 of the Destiny Resource Management Solution™, which is being announced by Follett Software Company. This offer expires December 15, 2008.

Users of the new Destiny Library Manager™ release can choose from a list of classic titles in the middle- and high-school ranges, available through a special arrangement with Follett Library Resources. Once downloaded, the eBooks are searchable and available through Destiny Library Manager™.

“The eBook offer is characteristic of all the excitement and innovation in Destiny 8.5,” said Follett Software President Tom Schenck. “We’ve included a set of dramatic new features that will help districts improve student outcomes and get the most out of their investment in instructional resources. Whether it’s using the power of social networking to get students more engaged in the library or turning textbook surpluses into cash, Destiny is uniquely positioned to meet the needs of 21st century districts,” Schenck said.

Schenck said that the release of Destiny 8.5, coupled with the recently announced release of TetraData® DASH and Analysis Suite version 7.0, demonstrates Follett Software’s commitment to helping schools track and use information and resources more effectively. “We think these technologies have an enormous potential to help school districts do a more focused job instructing students. In an era of shrinking education budgets, that focus is more critical than ever.”

Destiny Library Manager Improvements
Destiny Library Manager features a number of enhancements that help make the school library more integral to student learning and classroom instruction:

Destiny Quest™: Version 8.5 of Destiny Library Manager includes Destiny Quest, the new online searching interface focused on the student that is being unveiled at NECC 08. Destiny Quest combines a visually engaging interface, broad-based integrated searching power and social networking components to create the new library for the 21st century learner. The interface offers dramatic new functions, such as the ability to post ratings and reviews – including audio and video reviews – and a function that lets users virtually browse library shelves.
Guided Reading Support: In addition to Accelerated Reader®, Scholastic® Reading Counts and Lexile® information, subscribers to the Reading Programs service for Destiny can now see Fountas and Pinnell reading level for books. The information makes it easier to implement the popular Guided Reading approach in classrooms.
Fast Access to Digital Content: Destiny users can now upload audio files, videos, PDFs, Word documents, PowerPoint files and other digital content to a MARC record, so that a link to the digital content displays in the title details. Digital content is keyword searchable, so students can quickly find and access it with a single click.
Share Book Recommendations: Using Destiny Library Manager 8.5, teachers, students and media specialists can recommend library books or media to other patrons. The recommendations appear in the student’s “My Info” space.
Patron Input on Collection Development: Users can now suggest library books or media they would like to see in the collection from within Destiny. They can also add a note to explain why the book would be a useful addition. Destiny compiles the recommendations into a “Wish List” for each site, which can be viewed by users with administrator access.

New Features in Destiny Textbook Manager™
Destiny 8.5 includes several improvements in the Destiny Textbook Manager module as well:

Save and Generate Revenue on Textbooks: Destiny Textbook Manager lets districts upload textbook inventory information to Follett Educational Services, which provides detailed, real-time financial reports on how much the district can save by buying pre-owned copies of needed texts, and how much revenue they can generate by selling surpluses.
Easier Textbook Transfers Between Schools: Destiny 8.5 now makes it easier to identify copies belonging to other sites and provides the option to transfer ownership of the copy without initiating a formal transfer. New capabilities make it possible to track copies added, marked lost, or transferred/received.
More Powerful Reports: District textbook managers can now view comprehensive textbook statistics in a new report format, including a new column showing the checkout percentage by school. In addition, sites now have the ability to review textbook statistics for prior years. A “Subject” field has been added to the textbook title record. Authorized users at the site, district or state level can select a subject from the dropdown list and add, edit or delete subjects.
Faster, Easier Barcoding: Rather than generating new barcodes when they implement Textbook Manager, districts can now opt to use pre-existing barcodes simply by scanning or typing in a list of barcodes. In addition, textbooks previously barcoded with the Follett Classic “T” prefix will now be accepted by Destiny Textbook Manager.

Destiny Asset Manager™ Upgrades
Destiny Asset Manager, which helps districts track all their fixed and movable assets from a single, centralized location, has also received new features in the 8.5 version:

Automated Preventive Maintenance Notification: To help custodians keep on top of item maintenance, asset administrators now have the ability to add scheduled maintenance information for asset items and generate automatic email notification.
Expanded Asset Value Report: The Asset Value report has been expanded with an itemized reporting function which displays all items for a chosen asset type.
Automated Transfer of Data to Purchasing Systems: Asset Manager now lets users automate and schedule the export of information from Asset Manager to district purchasing systems.

Administration Improvements for All Destiny Modules
All modules in the Destiny Resource Management Solution have received common improvements in version 8.5:

Enhanced District-Level Control: A number of new features in Destiny Library Manager make it easier to coordinate the library management district-wide. For instance, a district-level administrator can now configure and edit the open/closed days on the district calendar and have those changes take effect at individual sites or site types. The district now also has the ability to set up and control library policies and define patron and circulation types at the site. District users can be allowed the ability to log directly into school sites with only one user name and password.
Automatic Email Transfer Notification: When a textbook or asset is being transferred from one site to another, Destiny will automatically generate an email to the receiving location, notifying them that a transfer needs processing.
Microsoft Vista Compatible: Destiny 8.5 can be now accessed from computers running Microsoft VISTA and Microsoft Windows 98.

Follett Software Introduces New Online Search for The 21st Century Learner

Mon, 30 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

A new online searching interface for the digitally native student is being unveiled at NECC 08. Destiny Quest™, a new feature within the widely used Destiny Library Manager™ solution, combines a visually engaging interface, broad-based integrated searching power and social networking components to create the new library for the 21^st century learner. The product is being announced by Follett Software Company.

Destiny Quest connects the teacher and student with resources to support curriculum and encourage development of research tools they'll need for today's new information environment. The new interface fosters greater collaboration among students, teachers, media specialists and parents. Destiny Quest strengthens the library-classroom connection and helps improve information literacy by providing technology tools to effectively search, manage, organize and interpret vast amount of information from the district’s collection and across the Internet.

Best of all, Destiny Quest is now included in Destiny Library Manager 8.5; there's nothing additional to buy.

"Today's students don't remember a time without computers and the Internet," said Follett Software President Tom Schenck. "They view the information universe in an entirely different way – without the boundaries and physical restraints some of us adults are used to. They expect to find what they're looking for whenever they want it, whatever and wherever it is. And they want to collaborate, to communicate and to have fun doing it. We&'ve designed Destiny Quest to be a place where digital natives will feel at home," Schenck said.

"They Loved It"
Linda Goodballet, Instructional Media Center Coordinator for Vista Unified School District in Oceanside, Calif., previewed Destiny Quest with several students in her district, and was impressed with the results. “They loved it,” Goodballet said. “I think Destiny Quest really captures the look and feel that students expect from the programs they use now. It really engaged their interest, and they were more prone to use Destiny Quest a little bit longer and move around it a little bit easier because it’s more intuitive and user friendly,” she said.

Goodballet especially liked the ability to access digital content directly through the Destiny Quest interface, and the ability for students to “virtually” browse the actual library shelves. “That’s really a great feature, because it’s a more visual connection to the actual library bookshelf,” Goodballet said. “I think that transfer of information is really going to build in the student’s mind, and encourage them to actually look around a bit when they get to the shelves, which is something we’re always trying to teach them to do.”

Engaging Interface, Collaboration Tools
Destiny Quest offers new features today’s digitally native students expect in an online interface:

Engaging, visually rich interface: Destiny Quest features a new, graphically engaging interface that offers many of the same visual cues they're used to from popular Internet sites. Cover images of books available through TitlePeek™ are featured in more locations, and there's more dynamic, click-and-drag action than in a more traditional search interface.
Students rate, review, share opinions on books: Destiny Quest lets students give star ratings to books, and they can write expanded, moderated reviews on books they’ve read. Students can read the reviews of others, creating an engaging social networking environment.
New “My Info” Space: Students can bookmark and store information sources they like in a personalized space for immediate, easy retrieval wherever they use Destiny^®.
Virtual Shelf Browsing: Destiny Quest features a Carousel View that lets students browse the actual library shelves online, seeing books on either side of the book they’ve found in a search. The feature makes it easier to find related titles that are available in the school library.
Multiple Library, Internet Results Integrated in One Easy Search: Students and teachers can search every library in the district, plus with Enriched Content Services, they can also search educator-approved websites and other digital content. Search results integrate all results seamlessly.
Next-Generation Search Tools: Destiny Quest features an arsenal of search tools to help users find information faster and navigate more intuitively. Searches can be narrowed by keyword, author, publication year and other terms to produce more refined results. A “You May Also Like” feature makes active recommendations for further reading based on the student’s search history and circulation history. Destiny Quest also features a menu that drops down while the student enters a search term, providing spelling suggestions and alternate search terms based on previous searches. As students dig down into search results, they see a trail of search levels at the top of the screen, allowing them to backtrack to any level with one click of the mouse.
Digital Content Immediately Available: When digital content, like eBooks, video or audio files, show up in search results, students can access them directly by clicking on them, without having to exit Destiny.

Destiny Quest is being released as part of Version 8.5 of the Destiny Resource Management Solution™. Existing Destiny Library Manager users will be able to access Destiny Quest upon upgrading, and it will be available to all new Destiny Library Manager districts.

New TetraData® Version 7.0 Helps School Districts Build a District-Wide Data Culture

Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:00:00 GMT

MCHENRY, IL – May 28, 2007 – The latest release of the TetraData warehousing and analytics tools is designed to make it easier to communicate student performance data across the school district. Follett Software Company recently announced the release of TetraData DASH and Analysis Suite version 7.0, which helps build a district-wide “data culture” that results in improved instruction and better decision-making.

TetraData 7.0 includes TetraData DASH and TetraData Analysis Suite, both of which now use “Virtual OLAP Dynamic Dimensions” technology to allow more rapid and flexible access to the districts’ data in real time. DASH presents easy-to-understand summary views of district-defined performance indicators; Analysis Suite lets users develop more refined queries, finding answers that support better teaching. As a result, users can now communicate vital facts about student performance to every stakeholder in the district, in a way that’s tailored to their unique school improvement and student performance strategies.

“With version 7.0, TetraData really becomes a visual canvas for district-wide goal alignment and continuous improvement,” according to Sue Adelmann, TetraData Senior Product Manager at Follett Software Company. “Starting from foundational National Center for Education Statistics’ (NCES) Education Performance Indicators, DASH can be easily tailored to fit the unique DNA of every school district,” Adelmann said.

“We’ve added the ability to configure indicators and create custom indicator templates,” Adelmann said. “DASH delivers actionable data in the right place at the right time, regardless of whether schools are under-achieving or over-achieving, or somewhere in the middle, and no matter what the population mix or stage of continuous improvement. With VOLAP Dynamic Dimensions any data that is captured in the warehouse can be measured on the fly. DASH is always ready to present fresh indicators as district goals evolve with each cycle of continuous improvement, and it becomes the ideal support system for fostering a strong ongoing data culture,” Adelmann said.

Fostering a “Data Culture”
Linn Benton Lincoln Education Service District (LBL) headquartered in Albany, OR, recently piloted TetraData 7.0, having implemented a previous version in 2006. LBL, which provides educational support programs and services to 12 component school districts, 87 schools and approximately 33,000 students in Linn, Benton and Lincoln counties, plus another 30,000 students in districts outside its region, is committed to the goal of giving teachers and administrators the information they need to make the best possible educational decisions for students.
“LBL’s commitment has always been about using data to inform student learning and instruction,” said Susan Halliday, LBL’s School Improvement Coordinator. “With DASH we can actually get people who are not interested in building report queries to get that first look at the information they need. We’re getting data into the hands of more people, and we have more people knowing what the appropriate questions to ask are,” she said.
“We’re starting to develop a whole data culture throughout our service area,” Halliday added. “We’re really excited about being able to make data-driven decision making more of a rule as opposed to an exception.”
TetraData 7.0 offers LBL “a lot more flexibility,” Halliday said. “We have more control over the structure of our performance indicators, how the indicators are supported, and we can specify custom indicators. That really lets us get at what people want to see, in the way they want to see it.”

About TetraData Solutions
Follett Software’s TetraData data warehousing and analytics 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. With TetraData solutions, educators and administrators from the statehouse to the schoolhouse find it easier to make decisions that can improve instruction and student outcomes.

About Follett
Follett Software Company is the partner that over half of America's school districts trust to help them manage everything from library resources and school assets to information for data-driven decision-making. Follett Software Company helps districts of all sizes track and use information and resources more efficiently so their dollars are best leveraged to help each and every student.

Follett Software is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation – a $2.37 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.

Asheville City Schools Switch to Follett’s Destiny® For Centralized Library Management

Tue, 06 May 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Asheville (NC) City Schools have switched from a site-based library management system to Destiny Library Manager™ from Follett Software Company. The district made the move as part of a larger effort to consolidate major applications at the district level.

“Our district has been gradually centralizing everything on a single main server,” according to June McCracken, director of accountability for the Asheville City Schools. “Destiny is designed to operate from one main server, so this was one more component of that process,” she said.

Destiny operates from the district server, and is available to all school libraries via the web. Teachers can also use Destiny from the classroom, and students can access it from home, using any Internet-connected computer.

“Asheville had been previously using a site-based library management application from Follett Software, but decided to upgrade to Destiny as part of the centralization process,” McCracken said. “We have been pleased with the Follett product in the past, so when it came time to centralize it was natural to upgrade to the new Destiny system,” she said. “Plus we had been using our previous product for about five years, and it was time for us to get the new features.”

Among those new features is a more student-friendly look and feel, according to Peggy Weaver, a media specialist at Asheville High School. “It’s a web environment, with clickable icons, and that’s an approach that students are especially accustomed to. It’s decreased the sense among our 21st century students that ‘Oh, that library is so yesterday.’ It keeps them from floundering in Google-land and keeps them focused on quality resources,” Weaver said.

“We especially like the ability to see book covers as part of the search, and TitlePeek™, gives kids access to the first chapter of many of the books,” Weaver added. “We do try to promote leisure reading, and the features in Destiny help students select books and talk about what they’ve read.”

Destiny also helps classroom teachers make better use of the library, Weaver said. “If a teacher says she or he is going to be doing Greek Mythology we can create online resource lists. Kids have access from any computer and go to their teacher’s resource list, which gives them online resources and library books they can reserve. We can build entire curriculum units online within Destiny,” she said.

New Follett Destiny® Release Lets Students Share Opinions on Library Books

Wed, 16 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Students using the latest version of the Destiny Resource Management Solution™ from Follett Software Company now have a new source of information when deciding what book to read – the opinions of their classmates.

Destiny Library Manager Version 8.0 allows students, as well as librarians and staff, to rate each book with a five-star rating, and include a text review of the book that other users can read. The feature is designed to help get students more engaged in literature, and motivate them to write as well as read.

The new Destiny release also features a number of other significant improvements, including a Visual OPAC that users can configure to display larger text, simpler icons and book cover images. The enhanced graphic search is designed to appeal to elementary-level students or emerging readers. In addition, the program helps students who may have misspelled a search term by showing a “Did you mean?” prompt that gives up to five alternate term suggestions based on data cataloged in the collection. The options displayed are guaranteed to return a hit.

Destiny Library Manager now provides circulation reports by homeroom and grade level, allowing media specialists to determine which patrons and classes have the highest circulation rates, and identify books with the highest circulation.

Top 10 Lists are “Awesome”
“The ability to show the top 10 readers and classrooms is awesome,” said Paula Yohe, director of technology/library media center for Dillon School District Two in Dillon, S.C., one of the first districts to use Destiny 8.0. “The ability to promote top readers and top homerooms really helps to motivate students to read.”

Yohe is also impressed by the student rating/review function. “That’s just so cool,” she said. “Letting kids see peer recommendations on books is just so meaningful to them. And for kids to be able to share their own ratings and reviews is great for their self-esteem.” Yohe feels that the “Did You Mean?” helper is an important benefit, especially for younger students.

Other improvements in Destiny 8.0 include:

• Homeroom and Grade Level Circulation Report: Destiny Library Manager now provides circulation reports by homeroom and grade level, allowing media specialists to determine which patrons and classes have the highest circulation rates, and identify books with the highest circulation.
• New Server Health Reports: Destiny now gives technical administrators a snapshot of the performance of all their Destiny modules. Reports include request response times, browser reports, bandwidth reports and server uptime, among others, enabling more accurate system monitoring and troubleshooting.
• Tracking for Textbook Kit Items: Destiny Textbook Manager™ now includes support for managing textbook kit and component items, helping districts make sure that resource kit items like workbooks, CDs and manipulatives stay with the textbooks they support.
• Faster, Easier Global Changes: Users of any Destiny module can now make global changes to a particular category of items; they can then assign these changes to barcode labels, spine/pocket labels, transfers, updating copies individually or globally, and Report Builder Limiter functions.

# # #

North Carolina School District Gets Advanced View of NCLB Performance

Thu, 10 Apr 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Administrators at one North Carolina school district are on the fast track to better instructional decisions, thanks to the adoption of advanced analytics and communication tools from Follett Software Company.

Iredell-Statesville Schools, based in Statesville, N.C., recently began using TetraData DASH, which helps rapidly communicate vital information regarding school performance to principals and staff throughout the district. DASH serves as an easy-to-use, front-end vision alignment tool for the district’s TetraData Warehouse, which it implemented last year.

"Every school superintendent, school principal and classroom teacher realizes the importance of data-driven decision making,” said Dr. Terry Holliday, superintendent for the district, “The problem is having the data when you need the data and having the data in a format that is understandable. With DASH, our decision makers have the data when they need the data.

"Decision makers in our school system get right to the work of deciding what is working or not working to help more children be successful,” Holliday added.

According to Pam Henderson-Schiffman, Chief Accountability and Technology Officer for Iredell-Statesville Schools, DASH is helping to transform all the district’s data sources into usable information. “We have a myriad of data that we need to rapidly communicate to our teachers and principals,” Schiffman said, adding that the district’s warehouse combines student demographic information, state test scores, district quarterly assessments, staff demographics and certification levels, and more. Using DASH, district staff can now see custom-designed reports interrelating any or all of that data simply with one quick click.

Predictive Analysis
One way DASH is improving instruction by quickly communicating the results of the district’s quarterly Predictive Assessment, which is designed to help teachers see how students are likely to do on state tests, Shiffman said. “We use DASH to share data from the Predictive Assessments to inform instruction,” she said. “Teachers use these data to determine how they need to adjust their teaching strategies in order to help students be successful. We also use these data to monitor the progress of our students in No Child Left Behind subgroups.”

The TetraData solution saves massive amounts of time compared to compiling reports manually, according to Schiffman. “Typically, principals were looking at state test scores, and often wanted them disaggregated by the NCLB subgroups,” Shiffman said. “Before, if I were to do that report prior to state’s release of data, it would take me six to eight hours for a single school. I can do the same thing from the warehouse in five minutes with DASH,” she said.

SUNLINK Uses Advanced Tech To Measure School Library Impact in Florida

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

What impact does Florida’s investment in school libraries have on student reading achievement? The answer will come from a statewide data collection effort currently underway by SUNLINK, a project of the College of Education at the University of Central Florida (UCF) and funded by the Florida Department of Education. SUNLINK is gathering data from web-based district library management systems into a centralized data warehouse to compare the relationship between collections, circulation and FCAT reading scores.

The SUNLINK project began collecting data from Miami-Dade, Pinellas, Polk, Leon and St. Lucie school districts in fall of 2007. The goal is to compare library media circulation data to reading achievement, to better integrate library media into instruction, and enhance state library media policies, according to Dr. Tom Atkinson, a UCF professor and director of SUNLINK.

“One of the underlying goals is to help school districts show that libraries are a very important resource in preparing students for high-stakes tests and promoting lifelong reading. We suspect higher circulation may relate to higher FCAT scores. If so, we could further increase scores by improving the collections and focusing more attention on circulation,” Atkinson said.

According to Atkinson, the project will provide important benefits for teachers and administrators in the districts. “This project gives schools the ability to analyze how circulation relates to FCAT scores. It encourages school media specialists and administrators to examine ways for improving student achievement,” he said. “This data may help identify students at risk and provide individualized reading guidance for selecting materials that prepare students for testing.”

The districts included in the study all use Destiny Library Manager™, a centralized web-based library management program from Follett Software Company. The program allows each district to easily collect library circulation and collection data. Information from each district is transferred to a data warehouse, also provided by Follett, which then compares the data to FCAT reading scores and other state data.

Atkinson said the use of the TetraData warehouse equipped with TetraData Analysis Suite’s automated analytics tools saved time in implementing the SUNLINK data collection project. “It saved us a lot of time and effort, because the data was already at our fingertips. It was very easy to capture data and immediately begin analyzing it. With limited resources, we needed a solution that avoided a lot of external programming for the district MIS systems and protected the identity of the students,” he said.

“Because the data analyzer automates our views of the data, it’s much faster to interpret meaningful results. It really brings the data to life,” Atkinson said.

Although the project has yet to publish results, it’s already having a significant impact on other Florida school districts, Atkinson said. “This is starting a wildfire across the state. Many schools that were not part of the initial project have begun comparing their circulation data to FCAT scores. A task force of media specialists from several districts will guide the analyses and are anxious to collect and review their own data. We’ve started something that’s quickly moving beyond our immediate expectations,” he said.

About SUNLINK
Under the direction of the College of Education at the University of Central Florida, the SUNLINK Project provides an online database of records for materials in Florida’s public school library media centers. It enables students, teachers, parents and school administrators to locate and share reading and instructional materials through an interlibrary loan.

Funded by grants from the Florida Department of Education for 20 consecutive years, the database contains more than 1.7 million titles and more than 26.5 million holdings from 2,757 schools in all 67 Florida school districts. The database also includes more than 25,000 reviewed websites, more than 396,000 book jacket cover images and nearly 2,000 streaming video segments.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management Solution, Destiny Library Manager, TetraData Warehouse, TetraData Analysis Suite

Norfolk Adopts Follett’s Destiny® To Streamline Library Management

Wed, 06 Feb 2008 00:00:00 GMT

Norfolk Public Schools has centralized the management of its 55 library sites using Destiny Library Manager™ from Follett Software Company. The 36,000student district started using the web-based library management system when Virginia schools opened in September.

Destiny allows the district to maintain catalogs for all its K-12 libraries, plus several auxiliary sites, from the district office. The information can be accessed via the web, allowing all users to search for books across the entire district.

According to Elaine Marrion, senior coordinator of the district’s Office of Media Services, Norfolk first considered centralizing library management as a way of freeing staff of the burden of maintaining older site-based systems. “It’s a very easy and streamlined way to go,” Marrion said. “With a centralized system our network engineers don’t have to spend so much time with all these different local systems. And not having to deal with site maintenance means our library media specialists can use their time for instruction rather than for clerical and technical tasks.”

Marrion said the use of Destiny sharply reduces the amount of time library media specialists spend maintaining their records. “Student and faculty data is automatically added. New titles are automatically added and updated. This gives the person at the school level so much more time to do the things they do best, which is to work with our students and teachers,” she said. The district installed the system over the summer and trained library staff on it just before school started. So far things have gone “amazingly smoothly,” Marrion said.

“We’ve just started using it, but I know the library media staff likes it a lot,” she said. “They’ve been visiting each other’s Destiny sites to see what materials are there and how each school has customized its site.”

Norfolk also chose to enhance its Destiny implementation with TitlePeek™, a subscription service that lets students preview books online. “We’ve implemented TitlePeek, and we love it,” Marrion said. “It gives a more professional look to the catalog, and it’s very enticing to see book covers and all the enhanced information you get through TitlePeek.”

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management Solution, Destiny Library Manger, TitlePeek.

Georgia District Adopts Follett’s Destiny® To Cut Maintenance Time, Costs

Wed, 30 Jan 2008 00:00:00 GMT

For one large school district in Georgia, improving library service has meant eliminating library servers.

For the Douglas County School System, based in Douglasville, GA, adopting Destiny Library Manager™ from Follett Software Company has been part of a move to save money and time on district network maintenance. Douglas County Schools began using the centralized web-based library management system in its 30 schools at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year.

“We were previously maintaining servers at 30 different locations in the district,” said Todd Hindmon, Director of Technology for Douglas County Schools. “We’ve had an active program of consolidating servers at the district office, and Destiny will help with that,” Hindmon said.

With the district’s previous site-based library management system, the simple act of installing updates would be a big drain on district technology staff, Hindmon explained. “We would have probably had four or five people out doing upgrades, and each one would take 30 minutes to an hour per server,” Hindmon said. “When you added it all up, it came to about 30 hours of staff time every time we did an update.”

Under Destiny, however, the catalogs of all district libraries are maintained on a single server, and are accessed at the schools via the web. “Having Destiny right in the district data center where the engineers are allows us to give better support to schools, and we’re not having to spend 30 to 45 minutes driving out to fix problems.”

Hindmon said that once staff and students in schools are comfortable using Destiny, the district will make it available for its 25,000 students, as well as parents and staff, to log in from home or anywhere they have web access. In the meantime, media specialists are responding positively to the new system, Hindmon said. “Media specialists are now able to look at each other’s media centers and see how they have things set up, and they’ve found that really helpful. One media specialist is using Destiny to mentor a new colleague at a different school, something that wouldn’t have been possible before,” Hindmon said.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management Solution, Destiny Library Manager

TetraData Helps Kyrene Teachers, Administrators

Thu, 13 Dec 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Summary:

By using a data warehouse solution from TetraData, Kyrene Public Schools were able to maintain high performance under No Child Left Behind, even with an increased population of Title I students.

Data-driven decision-making tools let teachers make better instructional decisions

Teachers and administrators in Kyrene Public Schools have been able to maintain high academic standards despite big shifts in student population, thanks in part to the TetraData Analysis Suite™ from Follett Software Company.

The district, which serves schools in Phoenix, Tempe and surrounding communities, has been using a TetraData warehouse along with the Analysis Suite since 2004. The Analysis Suite lets administrators and staff query data and view reports that interrelate state test scores, formative assessments, demographic data and more to help them see patterns and devise effective instructional interventions.

“We use data on several levels,” said Daniel Neville, Assistant Director of Technology Services for
Kyrene School District. “A good example would be when our principals work on their school improvement plans. As part of the process they analyze historical student data, evaluate trends, and come up with goals for the coming year. Our warehouse is an integral part of that process,” Neville said.

In the classroom, teachers are getting a lot more information about students, according to Neville. “Teachers are able to see the assessment history of new students, as well as the student’s classroom experience as the year goes on. All this information leads to much richer discussions among teachers, between teaching teams and between teachers and principals. Instead of just having a feeling about what’s going on in the classroom, we can actually see the patterns that are happening.”

Maintaining High Standards:

While it’s difficult to document a one-to-one relationship between the greater use of data and student performance, Neville feels that use of the data warehouse has enabled the district to maintain high student performance despite some recent shifts in student demographics. “We’ve gone from having just two Title I schools five years ago to having six of them today,” Neville said. “Not only is this an increase in economically disadvantaged students, but this population also tends to move around much more.”

Nevertheless, last year every school in the district met or exceeded state performance and progress goals. Even more impressive, 22 of the 25 schools in the district got the state’s highest performance ranking, including three of the Title I schools.

The district is just bringing online a new version of the TetraData warehouse, which will let them incorporate student discipline and attendance data into reports. “It’s no surprise that there’s interplay between attendance, discipline and achievement,” said Neville. “But having this information in the warehouse will allow us to shift our focus from anecdotal assumptions to hard facts. We will be able to disaggregate that data and target specific student subgroups that can become part of the school goal for intervention.”

Alabama District’s Adoption of Follett’s Destiny® Brings the Library to the Student

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Summary:

Hoover City Schools in Alabama have adopted Destiny Library Manager as part of a program to give students greater access to the district’s school libraries. The students will be able to search for and request books from home, then have the books delivered to their desks the next morning.

Key Terms:

School Library Automation, Destiny Library Manager, Hoover City Schools, School Library Management, TitlePeek, One Search, WebPath Express.

Additional Links:

Destiny Resource Management Solution, Destiny Library Manger, TitlePeek, One Search, WebPath Express.

A student in the Hoover City Schools can search for a book for a class assignment right from home, and have it delivered to his or her desk the next morning.

That’s just one of the benefits the Alabama district is bringing to its 12,000 students after adopting Destiny Library Manager™ from Follett Software Company. Hoover City began using the centralized web-based library management system at the beginning of the 2007-2008 school year.

Unlike the site-based library automation the district used previously, Destiny maintains the catalogs of all 16 district libraries on a single set of servers at the central office. Librarians, teachers, students and even parents can access the library records from any computer with Internet access.

According to Hoover High School Library Media Specialist Sonya Jordan, the district switched from its older site-based library system because it wanted to make library resources more available to students. “We wanted to give students the advantage of being able to search from home for materials that they need for assignments, and we wanted get their parents involved and let them see what library resources are available,” Jordan recalled. “We wanted to be on the web, and Destiny gave us that option.”
Jordan was one of two library media specialists who served on the district’s Destiny implementation team. She said that students are responding well to the new system. “Students especially love Destiny. They love the fact they can renew their own materials at home and reserve materials at home,” Jordan said. “We check for reservations in the morning and actually deliver the material to students in the classroom.”

Additional Services:

Hoover City Schools opted to enhance their Destiny implementation to bring even more benefits to students. They have chosen to use TitlePeek™, which gives students a chance to preview books on-line; and One Search™, which lets students get information from the school library and the Internet as a whole with a single search, and WebPath Express™, which limits student searches to approved, grade-appropriate web sites.

“We want to encourage reading among students,” Jordan said. “With TitlePeek, students can not only see a picture of the books they find in a search, they can actually read the first few pages of many of the books. It really helps them find books they’ll enjoy.”

About Destiny Resource Management Solution:

Follett Software Company addresses the challenges of education resource management with its award-winning Destiny Resource Management Solution™. Destiny is a comprehensive, browser-based system that gives districts and schools the power to manage resources centrally. The solution includes Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Textbook Manager™, Destiny Media Manager™ and Destiny Asset Manager™. Districts can choose to deploy the system in its entirety or select those modules that address top resource management priorities.

# # #

Follett Customers See Benefits One Year After Sagebrush Acquisition

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Summary:

One year after Follett Software Company acquired the Sagebrush library automation business, schools owning InfoCentre™, Athena™, Spectrum™ and Accent™ have seen on-hold times for customer support drop to well under a minute, just a fraction of the time it used to take. Follett has continued to support Sagebrush products, releasing two new versions of InfoCentre with dramatically improved reliability and performance.

Key Topics:

Sagebrush, InfoCentre, Athena, Spectrum, Accent, Winnebago, library automation, customer service

Customer Service Improvements:

Thanks to a significant hardware investment and an intensive management initiative, Follett has dramatically improved the technical support experience for former Sagebrush customers. Average wait times are now down to under a minute, and most email questions get a response within 24 business hours, according to Kristen Faron, Follett’s director of technical support.

“There’s been an awesome change,” Faron said. “Some of the customers were nervous at first – the acquisition came right when many of them were trying to get help updating their patron records. But they saw the process go smoothly. They’ve also seen more steady improvement in customer service ever since. From what Sagebrush customers have been telling us at trade shows and site visits, they’ve been very pleased.”
One customer who’s noticed the change is Hugh Clark, technology specialist at East Chapel Hill High in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, a school that uses InfoCentre. “The main thing is they respond much quicker to customer service needs,” Clark said. “Before when we would call we might be on hold for 30 or 45 minutes. It was usually a problem they got to the bottom of, but it seemed like they just didn’t have the staff to respond to the phone. Now we wait three or four minutes at most,” he said.

Product Improvements

In January, Follett released InfoCentre 2.3, giving users the option to access its State Standards service, which correlates materials in the library collection to the specific standards of each user’s state or province. The upgrade enabled classroom teachers to find materials that support standards-based classroom instruction, and allows librarians and media specialists to analyze how well their collections support the school’s teaching objectives, all from within the InfoCentre interface. This version included access to a MARC record database ten times larger than their previous one, and runs faster and smoother.

More recently, Follett introduced InfoCentre 3.0, which makes it easier to deal with grade and homeroom circulation, lost copies and fines, gives users access to Follett’s WebPath Express™, and allows InfoCentre to run under Follett Remote even when the server is down or the Internet connection is lost.

Nor have all the improvements been one-way. Destiny® 7.5, a version of Follett’s flagship education resource management solution released earlier this year, included a number of popular features from former Sagebrush products, such as greater customization options and the ability for patrons to see which books their peers are checking out the most.

Follett most recently announced Destiny® 8.0, which features a number of significant improvements, including new Server Health Reports that give technical administrators a snapshot of the performance of all their Destiny modules. The new version of Destiny Library Manager™ lets students, teachers and librarians write reviews of books and post them in the bibliographic record for other patrons to read, encouraging students to respond to literature and share their written work. Improvements to Destiny Textbook Manager™ lets districts view textbook availability across all schools to meet transfer request needs and route transfer requests made to schools.

Pressure-Free Upgrade Options

While Follett has continued to support Sagebrush products, many Sagebrush customers have been pleased to find that Destiny is now an easier upgrade option for them. One such customer is South Lake School District in St. Claire Shores, Michigan, a long-time Athena user.

“We were looking into getting an upgrade to the new Sagebrush InfoCentre program,” recalled Charlotte Rebelein, a media specialist in the district. “Then over the summer our sales rep called us to let us know that Athena and Sagebrush had been purchased by Follett. We had to take a little more time to look at everything, but in the end we determined that Destiny was the product for us, because it has so much more available. The capability of being able to access it through the web, and the ease of use was very, very appealing to us.

“It was a no-brainer to go with Destiny,” Rebelein said.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution™

Follett Software Company addresses the challenges of education resource management with its award-winning Destiny resource management solutions. Destiny is a comprehensive, browser-based system that gives districts and schools the power to manage resources centrally. The solution includes Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Textbook Manager™, Destiny Media Manager™ and Destiny Asset Manager™. Districts can choose to deploy the system in its entirety or select those modules that address your top resource management priorities.

# # #

Follett Releases InfoCentre™ 3.0

Thu, 25 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The latest version of InfoCentre from Follett Software Company makes library management even easier for K-12 schools. InfoCentre 3.0 now makes it easier to deal with grade and homeroom circulation, lost copies and fines. It also gives users access to powerful optional services from Follett Software.

The new version of InfoCentre automatically creates Grade and Homeroom lists based on the values in a school’s patron records. Users can then specify grade or homeroom values simply by picking them from a list. Version 3.0 also lets users keep track of previously lost books that have been returned or paid for, and lets them quickly see the estimated fine for an overdue copy.

“We are happy to be able to bring important new functions to our InfoCentre customers,” said Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “I think it’s a good example of our continued commitment to provide best-in-class technology across our entire line of information and resource management products.”

InfoCentre 3.0 includes many additional improvements:

• Follett Remote Support: Users can now update InfoCentre’s circulation records with circulation transactions logged with Follett Remote. Follett Remote lets users continue to perform many tasks offline if they lose their Internet connection or their InfoCentre server becomes unavailable. Users can circulate library materials or textbooks, conduct transactions in classrooms or bookmobiles, and take inventory with a workstation that has no Internet connection.

• Support for WebPath Express™: WebPath Express is an Enriched Content Subscription from Follett Software Company that provides over 73,000 K-12 relevant, safe and age-appropriate websites. These quality sites are hand-picked by educators and verified for factual accuracy and objectivity. New sites are continually added, and are updated and monitored routinely to ensure content remains appropriate. After updating InfoCentre with WebPath Express, patrons can find and view these websites simply by searching the library's catalog.

• Misshelved Copy Management: The new Misshelved Copies report makes it easier than ever to identify misshelved copies. Once books are inventoried in the order that they appear on the shelf, the report automatically identifies copies inventoried out of call number order. To help users locate misshelved items on the shelf, InfoCentre also lists the copies shelved immediately before and after each misshelved item.

About Follett

Follett Software Company is the partner that over half of America’s school districts trust to help them manage everything from library books to laptops, textbooks to trombones, computers to curriculum kits and digital cameras to data warehousing. All of the information is used in the support of data-driven decision-making. Follett Software Company helps districts of all sizes track and use resources more efficiently so their dollars are best leveraged to help each and every student.

Follett Software is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation – a $2.37 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.

New Follett Destiny® Release Helps Administrators Monitor Server Health

Thu, 18 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

The latest version of the Destiny Resource Management Solution™ from Follett Software Company brings a number of new functions to users, from monitoring server health to sharing library books ratings to more efficiently transferring textbooks from school to school.

Destiny Version 8.0 features a number of significant improvements, including new Server Health Reports that give technical administrators a snapshot of the performance of all their Destiny modules. Reports include request response times, browser reports, bandwidth reports and server uptime, among others, enabling more accurate system monitoring and troubleshooting.

The new version of Destiny Library Manager™ lets students, teachers and librarians write reviews of books and post them in the bibliographic record for other patrons to read, encouraging students to respond to literature and share their written work. Improvements to Destiny Textbook Manager™ let districts view textbook availability across all schools to meet transfer request needs and route transfer requests made to schools.

“These new features further improve Destiny usability and flexibility,” said Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “We continue to incorporate our experience as the market leader into creating solutions that expand the ability of districts to make the best use of educational resources,” Schenck said.

Other improvements in Destiny 8.0 include:

Homeroom and Grade Level Circulation Report: Destiny Library Manager now provides circulation reports by homeroom and grade level, allowing media specialists to determine which patrons and classes have the highest circulation rates, and identify books with the highest circulation.
Tracking for Textbook Kit Items: Destiny Textbook Manager now includes support for managing textbook kit and component items, helping districts make sure that resource kit items like workbooks, CDs and manipulatives stay with the textbooks they support.
Customizable OPAC Interface: Destiny’s Visual OPAC can now be configured to display larger text, simpler icons and book cover images to appeal to elementary-level students or emerging readers.
Faster, Easier Global Changes: Users of any Destiny module can now make global changes to a particular category of items; they can then assign these changes to barcode labels, spine/pocket labels, transfers, updating copies individually or globally, and Report Builder Limiter functions.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution
Follett Software Company addresses the challenges of education resource management with its award-winning Destiny Resource Management Solution™. Destiny is a comprehensive, browser-based system that gives districts and schools the power to manage resources centrally. The solution includes Destiny Library Manager, Destiny Textbook Manager, Destiny Media Manager™ and Destiny Asset Manager™. Districts can choose to deploy the system in its entirety or select those modules that address top resource management priorities.

About Follett
Follett Software Company is the partner that over half of America's school districts trust to help them manage everything from library books to laptops, textbooks to trombones, computers to curriculum kits and digital cameras to data warehousing. All of the information is used in the support of data-driven decision-making. Follett Software Company helps districts of all sizes track and use resources more efficiently so their dollars are best leveraged to help each and every student.

Follett Software is a subsidiary of Follett Corporation – a $2.37 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 .

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TetraData Helps San Jose Become the “Definition of Closing the Achievement Gap”

Wed, 17 Oct 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Summary:

The San Jose Unified School District is using data warehousing and analysis tools from TetraData to increase student performance and meet AYP goals under No Child Left Behind (NCLB). The warehouse supports the district’s Cycles of Inquiry approach to data-driven decision making, producing results that have been lauded by California Superintendent of Schools Jack O’Connell.

Key Topics:

Data warehouse, data-driven decision making, formative assessment, benchmark assessment, No Child Left Behind, NCLB, Annual Yearly Progress, AYP, Academic Performance Index, API, California Department of Education, San Jose Unified School District, San Jose USD, Program Improvement, PI, school improvement plans, Title I, English Language Learners, ELL, California Standards Test.

Everyday Miracles

"These school staffs are performing miracles each day," Lauck said. "For example, they are moving, on average, more than 50% of their students out of Far Below Basic on the California Standards Test and similar percents of students out of Below Basic and Basic into proficiency. Not surprisingly, their teaching practices are focused on well-defined cycles of inquiry based on data."

Lauck said that the information the school data teams receive from the TetraData warehouse gives them the tools they need for school improvement. "They know precisely how students are progressing and how to regroup them according to their needs. Using the longitudinal capabilities of our warehouse, we also have been able to identify those extraordinarily skilled teachers whose students consistently make strong gains. Even more exciting is that we will be using the technology and observation decks of our Professional Development School this year to videotape some of these teachers in action so that we can disseminate their best practices as models throughout the district," she said.

According to Lauck, the district’s "cycles of inquiry" are based on formative benchmark assessments administered to all students every six weeks – a total of 530 assessments across the district in the course of the year. All this data is fed into the data warehouse, along with student demographic information, state test scores and more. As a result, the district can provide a constant stream of timely feedback for teachers, and for school-based data teams that make decisions on instructional interventions and teacher coaching.

This constant cycle of assessment and response "makes a huge difference," Lauck says. "We know that schools that run tight cycles of inquiry around their data, creating plans for every six weeks, make double-digit gains in performance for English Language Learners. Those schools consistently score highest in the county for improvement. They’re just doing a phenomenal job with disadvantaged students."

# # #

Follett Software Announces Improvements to TetraData Warehousing and Analysis Tools

Sun, 24 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

School districts looking to make effective data-driven decisions now have more flexible and secure tools to help them, thanks to new versions of data warehousing and analytics tools from TetraData, a subsidiary of Follett Software Company. New updates to TetraData’s DASH, Analysis Suite, Academic Planner and Warehouse Studio products are being announced today at NECC 07.

TetraData’s latest tools make it easer to access and analyze student data, and let school administrators establish data security policies that are uniquely tuned for specific K-12 environments. Educators and administrators from the statehouse to the schoolhouse will find it easier to make decisions needed that can improve instruction and student outcomes.

“Education leaders have recognized that it’s vital they do a better job in gathering and making sense of student data,” according to George Gatsis, vice president of product management and development. “It's part of a larger movement to use technology to get a clearer picture of what’s happening in schools, and how to do a better, more cost-effective job of teaching children. FSC through TetraData is continuing to provide leadership in that effort.”

“A growing number of districts and state consortia have already discovered the power of these tools to combine many sources of data and turn it into actionable information,” added Martin Brutosky, chief operating officer of TetraData. “With the new versions of the TetraData tools, educators at all levels will have an easier time making data-driven decisions,” Brutosky said.

All TetraData products now feature improvements:

DASH: In Version 1.5 of the DASH data dashboard and portal, all web components can now be delivered via Microsoft’s SharePoint technology. This gives states and districts the ability to leverage SharePoint’s simple delivery framework as a central portal for D3M information sharing and collaboration across their enterprise. For instance, users need only perform a single SharePoint log-in to access all DASH web components.

In addition, the product’s interface has been enhanced to let users jump to a specific View (schools, grades, teachers, classes or students). Users can start looking at the health of their district and drill down to an individual student—with only two clicks. Educators can quickly see exceptional problem areas and easily track progress over time. DASH also now features Flash tutorials that demonstrate basic system functions including navigation, reports access, changing passwords, searching for a student, and more. These tutorials were designed to help non-technical users be self-sufficient with minimal district technology support.

Analysis Suite: Analysis Suite version 5.5 features a number of important security enhancements that help schools and districts compare their performance with peers without compromising student privacy. In both district level and mixed-enterprise state-wide and regional applications, administrators can now define user access profiles and very specific data access policies at all levels. For example, the state can opt to let principals see their own school and student data as well as other schools in the district or state. These sophisticated constraint rules were designed specifically for K-12, and can reveal rich data patterns while protecting sensitive student data and honoring FERPA laws.

Academic Planner: Version 1.5 of this Academic Plan tool makes it easier to track students who have been assigned Academic Plans and follow the status of those plans. Educators can now record academic consequences for each student with a plan, and can make those consequences part of a student's permanent Academic Plan.

Warehouse Studio: This warehousing tool allows data analysts to define relationships between widely diverse data sets, allowing end users to see the relationship between state and local data, and between attendance, demographics, test performance and other sources of information. New enhancements allow analysts to view differences between the current database mapping schemes and those of an attached metabase, making it faster to update the warehouse as improvement goals evolve and data needs change. Data analysts can also upgrade a mapping to a given version of a Central Data Store (CDS). The upgrade applies changes to the current mapping and assigns a user-defined flag to each addition, change and delete.

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

Test new website

Fri, 15 Jun 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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Follett Software Bridges The Gap Between Data and Better Instruction

Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:00:00 GMT

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

About Follett Software Company

Follett Announces New Version of Sagebrush InfoCentre™

Tue, 30 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

Teachers and media specialists can quickly find materials that support their specific state standards with the latest version of InfoCentre from Follett Software Company. InfoCentre 2.3 is the first new version of a Sagebrush product since Follett acquired the company’s library automation business in August of last year.

The new version of InfoCentre gives users access to State Standards, which correlates materials in the library collection to the specific standards of each user’s state or province. This enables classroom teachers to find materials that support standards-based classroom instruction, and allows librarians and media specialists to analyze how well their collections support the school’s teaching objectives.

“We’re pleased to be able to bring new functionality to InfoCentre users,” said Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “The release of InfoCentre 2.3 is part of our commitment to continue to improve and support the library solutions for the customers we added with the Sagebrush acquisition.”

In addition to State Standards, InfoCentre users now have access to a number of other exciting new functions:

Improved MARC Source service: Subscribers to this service now have enhanced cataloging power. Online access of MARC records has increased significantly from 700,000 to more than 7,000,000 high quality K-12 records sourced from Follett’s powerful Alliance Plus database.
Follett eBooks management: Librarians can now use InfoCentre to catalog, track and circulate eBooks purchased from Follett Library Resources just as they would any other library material.
Grade information included in key reports: Grade information can now be included on the eight most frequently-used reports, making it easier to communicate with classroom teachers about books their students have checked out.
Performance enhancements: Updates to the technical infrastructure means Version 2.3 runs more smoothly and returns faster results.

About Follett

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. Schools and districts choose from Follett’s expanding suite of innovative products, leveraging technology to streamline administrative tasks, drive accountability, engage students and encourage achievement. The company’s flagship product – Destiny Resource Management Solution™ – is an integrated suite of browser-based applications that centralizes management of library materials, media, textbooks and fixed and portable assets. The company recently acquired TetraData, the nation’s leading provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 districts.

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.

# # #

Latest Release of Follett's Destiny Helps Districts Make Data-Driven Decisions

Wed, 24 Jan 2007 00:00:00 GMT

District administrators will have an easier time making effective, data-driven decisions thanks to the new Report Builder being introduced with the latest version of the Destiny Resource Management Solution™ from Follett Software Company. Destiny is the most widely used Educational Resource Management (ERM) system in U.S. schools.

Destiny Version 7.0 features a Report Builder that employs an easy-to-use wizard interface. Non-technical users can now view reports in HTML or export to XML format for easy import into a spreadsheet. District staff can easily edit, modify, sort and filter the reports and push them down so they can be used at each site. Sites share results with the district or with other schools, so all decision makers can analyze trends and make informed decisions. There’s no minimum or limit to the size of each report. The Report Builder works with all Destiny modules, and can even combine patron data from multiple modules into a single report.

“The new Report Builder in Destiny fully leverages all the data districts capture while managing their educational resources,” said Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “With the reports that are now possible, district administrators can act directly to improve instruction, reduce waste and save budget dollars,” Schenck said.

Follett has made a number of other improvements to the Destiny Resource Management Solution in this new release:
• Destiny Library Manager™: The flagship product in the suite lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom. Search functions in the program have also been improved, including a function that allows English-speaking students to search screens that have been translated to Spanish and French.
• Destiny Textbook Manager™: This award-winning, easy-to-use system gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory, increasing accessibility and accountability. Textbook Manager now also includes a forecasting feature that lets users see the anticipated demand for textbooks by comparing current usage with enrollment data.
• Destiny Media Manager™: Designed to help districts make sure that students get the learning resources they need, Destiny Media Manager is one of the first browser-based solutions that allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all kinds of district instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more. The latest version provides an option for district media centers to configure delivery dates on a per school basis. This is ideal for districts that do not ship materials every day to each school.
• Destiny Asset Manager™: Follett recently expanded Destiny with Asset Manager, which provides browser-based tracking and management of all of a district’s fixed and portable assets. The system optimizes access, availability and use of assets, and improves asset accountability throughout the district. Destiny Asset Manager helps districts improve their control of vital assets such as laptops, PDAs, AV equipment, band instruments, maintenance equipment and more.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

Destiny Resource Management Solution is an integrated suite of browser-based applications that streamlines the control of instructional assets, allowing K-12 districts to devote more time and resources to student learning. The Destiny Resource Management Solution helps districts save time and money through central management of key resources, resulting in enhanced student achievement, increased collaboration, and maximized investments and accountability for district-wide resources.

About Follett

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 centralizes management of library materials, media, textbooks and fixed and portable assets. The company recently acquired TetraData, the nation’s leading provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 districts. Leveraging technology to streamline administrative tasks, drive accountability, engage students and encourage achievement, Follett Software solutions are helping educators shape the future through data-driven decision making.
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 media inquiries, contact Scott Knickelbine at 800-710-3600.

# # #

TetraData Wins InnoVision Technology Award

Thu, 30 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

TetraData’s DASH™ dashboard and data portal has won a 2006 InnoVision Technology award for innovation in education, the company has announced. The award honors innovative, technology-based projects and programs that impact education in the South Carolina Upstate region.

“The judges were impressed with TetraData’s innovative utilization of data for measuring, monitoring and improving learning,” according to a statement released by the program’s founding sponsor, Deloitte & Touche LLP.

“We’re excited that the distinguished panel of InnoVision judges recognized the importance of the DASH technology,” said Martin Brutosky, Chief Operating Officer of TetraData. “Because of state and federal mandates, districts have been busily gathering all sorts of data on students. But until DASH, there really hasn’t been a way to see, in a single glance, what all that data means. We think DASH has the potential of helping schools make breakthrough gains in student performance. The InnoVision Award is just more confirmation that we’re on the right track,” Brutosky said.

About TetraData DASH

DASH is a decision-support tool that provides just-in-time monitoring via a browser-based dashboard. As a dashboard and data portal solution it lets administrators monitor the indicators of success in their districts. DASH allows users to view key educational performance indicators such as daily attendance, student scores and graduation rates. It also has the capacity to provide information by grades, by class and among their teachers and students. TetraData DASH provides an organized, easy-to-understand way to measure progress and success in school districts across the country. Since its general release in January of this year, three U.S. school districts have completed full implementation of DASH.

About TetraData Corporation

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 an individual student level. TetraData is located in Greenville, South Carolina. The company became a division of Follett Software Company in August 2006.

About Follett Software Company

National Price Tag for School Asset Loss: $15 Billion

Wed, 15 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Asset loss and damage costs the nation’s public schools just under $15 billion annually, or $306 per child per year.

Those are the latest findings from a national study of district asset management, conducted in conjunction with Quality Education Data. The new findings come from an analysis of responses in light of district enrollment data. The study was co-sponsored by Follett Software Company.

The study surveyed 479 district business managers, administrators and technology chiefs in all 48 contiguous states. Respondents were asked about the problems they faced in managing assets, and about the systems they used to keep track of everything from laptops to band uniforms. They were also asked to estimate the cost of loss, damage and redundant purchases of these assets.

“$15 billion in losses is almost 4% of total K-12 education spending,” said Jeanne Hayes, President of The Hayes Connection, another of the study’s co-sponsors. “If every district were to recover even one-half of those losses, they would have some significant increases to fund their growing need for technology in light of other cuts.”

Other major findings of the study include:

At an annual loss/damage cost of $306 per student, an average-sized district loses about $855,000 per year.
Building-related damage is the most expensive item for districts, costing an average of $147 per student per year, or some $7 billion nationally.
Loss and damage of PCs, laptops and other high-tech equipment costs $32 per student, or more than $1.5 billion dollars nationally.

Surprisingly, small districts seem to suffer as much asset loss and damage as big ones do. The study showed no correlation between enrollment size and either total loss/damage or loss/damage per child.

Reported asset loss/damage figures are summarized in this table:

Asset Type	Avg. Annual Loss/Damage Cost Per Student	National Cost*
Buildings	$147.04	$7,142,490,793.16
Furnishings	$10.11	$491,201,747.81
PCs, Laptops, etc.	$32.27	$1,567,658,956.31
Software	$6.15	$298,565,233.06
Lab Materials	$1.51	$73,178,480.94
AV Equipment	$12.91	$627,203,338.02
Textbooks	$13.96	$678,079,001.05
Library Books	$12.58	$611,196,062.66
Grounds Maint. Equip.	$4.44	$215,870,079.36
Sports Equip.	$2.69	$130,779,974.60
Musical Instruments	$2.13	$103,621,305.99
Art Supplies	$1.30	$63,107,479.36
Buses	$58.46	$2,839,705,978.19
Drivers Ed cars	$1.10	$53,197,836.72
TOTAL	$306.66	$14,895,856,267.23

*National cost is derived by multiplying the average annual loss/damage cost per student by the total 2006 public school enrollment as reported by the National Center for Education Statistics.

“These new findings really show why Educational Resource Management is becoming such a big concern for school districts,” according to Follett Software President Tom Schenck. “They give additional insight into why districts are increasingly adopting solutions like the Destiny Resource Management Solution. I think as more districts become aware of the problem, there is going to be a major move toward centralizing and integrating the management of all fixed and portable assets.”

About Follett

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 centralizes management of library materials, media, textbooks and fixed and portable assets. The company recently acquired TetraData, the nation’s leading provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 districts.

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 media inquiries, please contact Scott Knickelbine at 800-710-3600.

# # #

South Carolina Adopts Follett Software's Destiny Textbook Manager Statewide

Wed, 08 Nov 2006 00:00:00 GMT

South Carolina will track every state-owned K-12 textbook using Destiny Textbook Manager from Follett Software Company.

The South Carolina Department of Education is piloting the program in five districts this fall, and will begin the process of implementing it in all of the state’s 1,150 schools starting this January. The centralized system will be maintained on servers in the state DOE’s office, and distributed state-wide via the web.

The primary motivation behind the state-wide implementation is to ensure that all students have access to the textbooks they need, according to Dr. Jim White, the state’s Manager of Instructional Materials. “We need to make certain that students have all of the textbooks that they’re supposed to have,” Dr. White said. “The lion’s share of that work is done by local schools and local school district offices.

“While some districts in South Carolina are already using Destiny Textbook Manager, the state felt that a centralized implementation would make the program affordable for all districts,” Dr. White said. In addition to making Textbook Manager available to all schools via the web, the state will also be providing every school with barcodes and a barcode scanner to use in tracking state-owned books.

The state is also hoping to reap some savings by reducing the number of lost textbooks, according to Dr. White. “By state law, local districts are responsible for textbook loss and damage, and they bill students to recover their costs. Although some schools have very good inventory systems in place, others don’t. We believe our new system will help all schools and districts keep better track of materials and recover fees when they’re due.”

“We think South Carolina clearly understands the importance of maintaining careful control of textbooks,” said Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “It’s not just a cost issue – it’s an equity issue. By taking these innovative steps, the state is assuming a leadership role in making sure all students have equal access to instructional materials. We’re proud to be a partner in that process,” Schenck said.

About Destiny Textbook Manager

Destiny Textbook Manager is an easy-to-use system that saves districts and schools time and money by giving them total control of their textbook inventory – anytime, anywhere. Using Destiny Textbook Manager, school or district staff quickly check textbooks in and out of inventory using a barcode scanner. Because the program is entirely web-based, books can be checked in or out at any scanner-equipped computer on the school’s network. Destiny Textbook Manager records the holder of the book and its condition at check out, and updates condition information when the book is checked back in. Destiny creates a single textbook database for the district, allowing textbooks to be efficiently transferred between schools.

Textbook Manager is part of the Destiny Resource Management Solution™, an integrated suite of browser-based applications that streamlines the control of instructional assets, allowing K-12 districts to devote more time and resources to student learning. The Destiny Resource Management Solution helps districts save time and money through central management of key resources, resulting in enhanced student achievement, increased collaboration, and maximized investments and accountability for district-wide resources.

About Follett

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 centralizes management of library materials, media, textbooks and fixed and portable assets. The company recently acquired TetraData, the nation’s leading provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 districts.
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 media inquiries, please contact Scott Knickelbine at 800-710-3600.

# # #

Follett Software, TetraData Win Awards of Excellence from Technology & Learning

Wed, 18 Oct 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Products from Follett Software Company and its newly acquired division, TetraData Corporation, have been honored with Awards of Excellence by Technology & Learning Magazine. Destiny Library Manager and TetraData DASH both received recognition as outstanding products.

The prestigious recognition program, now in its 24th year, honors innovative applications that break new ground in some important way, as well as best-of-breed examples that demonstrate clear superiority over similar products in the market. This year's winners were chosen by more than 35 educator-judges who test-drove the more than 110 entries, logging in many hours in computer labs at San Francisco Bay Area schools.

“This year's educator-judges certainly gave all entries a grueling test-drive," said Technology & Learning’s Editor in Chief, Susan McLester. "These award winners reflect the highest quality in education technology products today.”

“It’s certainly a proud day for us when both Destiny and TetraData DASH get this kind of recognition,” said Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “I think it shows why our new partner, TetraData Corporation, is such a good fit with the Follett Software Company team. It’s another example of the excellence we strive for in everything we offer.”

“It means a lot to us to be recognized by this distinguished panel of educator judges," said Martin Brutosky, Chief Operating Officer of TetraData Corporation. “And we're very pleased that we and Follett Software were honored in the same program. It shows that we share the same commitment to product quality and customer service.”

Destiny Library Manager is the most widely used district library management solution in America. It lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom. Destiny Library Manager™ is the flagship product in the Destiny Resource Management Solution, an integrated suite of browser-based applications that help centralize and streamline the management of key instructional resources and assets, allowing K-12 districts to reallocate staff and financial resources to student learning.

TetraData DASH is the premier dashboard and data portal for education. With TetraData DASH, stakeholders from the school house to the state house can monitor their school system's performance at a glance. Colorful, easy-to-read gauges reveal information important to educators – test scores, absentee rates, disciplinary incidents, etc. – without having to dig through tons of data or stacks of reports. Using color-coded icons, TetraData DASH highlights how schools, classes, teachers and students are performing at any time. It is role-based, so stakeholders can access only the information pertinent to them.

About Follett

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. TetraData is located in Greenville, South Carolina. TetraData became a division of Follett Software Company in August 2006. More information on TetraData’s products and services is available at www.tetradata.com.

# # #

2006 Innovision Technology Award Finalists Named

Tue, 05 Sep 2006 00:00:00 GMT

The InnoVision Technology Awards Advisory Board today announced the finalists for the 2006 InnoVision Technology Awards. Awards are presented in five categories: Technology Development, Technology Application, Small Enterprise, Innovation in Education, and Community Service.

This year’s finalists include:

Clemson University
eBridge Solutions
Furman University
Glucotec, Inc
Innegrity LLC
KEMET Electronics
Michelin North America
ScanSource, Inc
SAE International
Techtronic Industries North America
TetraData Corporation, a subsidiary of Follett Software Company

The InnoVision Technology Awards program, founded in 1999 by Deloitte & Touche, recognizes and honors Upstate businesses, individuals and organizations that have demonstrated significant advancements in the areas of innovation and technological progress.

Winners will be named at the 2006 InnoVision Technology Awards dinner at the Palmetto Expo Center on November 15, 2006. The achievements of finalists and winners will be highlighted in videos at the event.

“The judges, an independent panel whose members reside outside the Upstate region, continue to be impressed with the diversity of the technological advances here. The robust success of this year’s finalists is a strong reflection of the continued prominence of the Upstate region as a technology leader in South Carolina,” said Amy Robichaud, InnoVision Advisory Board Chair.

About InnoVision

The InnoVision Technology Awards program, founded in 1999 by Deloitte & Touche, is dedicated to the advancement of technology in the Upstate through communication, education and recognition of the spirit of innovation and technological progress. Through its annual awards program, InnoVision recognizes and honors Upstate businesses, individuals and organizations that have demonstrated significant advancements in these areas. The InnoVision Technology Forum Series provides an opportunity to learn about key advancements, innovation and leading edge technologies in the Upstate. For more information about InnoVision, visit www.innovisionaward.org.

For more information, contact Amy Robichaud, Deloitte & Touche, LLP, at arobichaud@deloitte.com, phone 704-227-7810.

# # #

Follett Acquires TetraData Corporation

Mon, 28 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company, the country’s leading provider of integrated, browser-based applications that centralize the management of a school district’s educational resources, today announced that it has acquired TetraData Corporation. TetraData is the premier provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 school districts. TetraData solutions, which are installed in more than 300 school districts nationwide, facilitate “No Child Left Behind” reporting as well as data driven decision making to help educators achieve high performance and improved student outcomes.

“By acquiring TetraData, we have significantly expanded our ability to help K-12 districts maximize the effectiveness of their educational resources. Just as important, we can now play a much larger role in helping our customers ensure that each and every student achieves his or her full potential,” said Tom Schenck, president of Follett Software Company.

“Follett and TetraData are both market leaders with a shared commitment to providing unmatched customer support and using technology to enhance the educational process. By leveraging our combined resources, we are better able to deliver leading-edge solutions that support our customers’ goals and empower education,” added Schenck.

TetraData will continue to operate under the TetraData name as a subsidiary of Follett Software Company. Martin Brutosky, CEO of TetraData Corporation, will become Chief Operating Officer of TetraData and report to Tom Schenck, President of Follett Software Company.

About Follett

About TetraData

TetraData is the nation’s leading provider of data warehousing, analysis and reporting solutions for K-12 districts. TetraData’s solutions help educator 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 an individual student level. TetraData is located in Greenville, South Carolina.

# # #

For general inquiries, please contact Linda Andries at Follett Software, 800-323-3397. For media inquiries, please contact Scott Knickelbine at Lownik Communication Services, 800-710-3600.

Follett Digital Resources Acquires Interactive Constructs, Inc.

Wed, 16 Aug 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Digital Resources, which was formed in October 2005 to provide leading edge solutions and services for distributing digital content, today announced that it has acquired Interactive Constructs, Inc. (ICI) - a leading developer and provider of custom e-learning and web publishing solutions for education and publishers. Follett Digital Resources (FDR) is part of Follett Technology Solutions and International Group (FTSIG) and FTSIG is one of three groups which make up Follett Corporation, a $2.2 billion, privately-held company that has been providing products, services and solutions to the educational marketplace for more than 130 years.

“Follett’s acquisition of ICI clearly demonstrates our commitment to playing a strategic role in the supply chain of digital content and creating a digital infrastructure supporting our goal of being a premier provider of solutions for distributing digital content,” said Chuck Follett, President of Follett Technology Solutions and International Group.

“Through this acquisition, Follett Digital Resources will be better positioned to meet the growing digital delivery needs of educational publishers and schools alike,” added Michael Johnson, Chief Operating Officer of Follett Digital Resources.
“Combining the resources of Follett and ICI, we will be better able to support our customers in delivering interactive digital content that engages learners,” added Johnson.

Interactive Constructs, Inc. will remain in Medford, Massachusetts and operate as a subsidiary of Follett Digital Resources. Kevin Polk, ICI's co-founder and President, will become Follett Digital Resources' Vice President of Educational Technology and will report to Michael Johnson.

Follett Corporation’s different businesses are organized under three business groups – the Follett Higher Education Group, the Follett Educational Distribution Group and Follett Technology Solutions and International Group. The Follett Technology Solutions and International Group includes Follett Digital Resources, Follett International and Follett Software Company. Follett Corporation was founded in 1873 and has its headquarters in River Grove, Illinois.

Interactive Constructs, Inc. was founded by Kevin Polk, Chaki Ng and Leslie Polk in 1996 as a consulting company providing custom e-learning solutions. Today, ICI provides solutions ranging from web authoring and content management to assessment and complete learning management systems. In fact, Scholastic uses ICI's Lycea platform and ICI's professional services in the development and maintenance of its award-winning reading intervention program, READ 180®. In addition, ICI has created Lycea™ - a set of web-based development tools that allow content providers to migrate legacy content to the Web and create new interactive content that supports unique personalized experiences based on assessment and individual profiles.

# # #

Follett Acquires Sagebrush Corporation's Library Automation Business

Wed, 26 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company, the country’s leading provider of K-12 library automation solutions including Destiny Resource Management Solution™ -- the award-winning suite of integrated, browser-based applications that streamlines control of a school district’s instructional assets ranging from library books and textbooks to laptops and band instruments -- today announced that it has acquired Sagebrush Corporation’s library automation business including Accent™, InfoCentre™, Athena™ and Spectrum™.

Follett’s acquisition of Sagebrush’s library automation business enhances its ability to continue providing K-12 libraries and school districts with unmatched customer support and leading edge solutions that facilitate the business of education and allow librarians and teachers to devote more time to their core mission of education.

“Sagebrush has been a highly respected name in library automation for more than two decades and we are committed to continuing to provide Sagebrush customers with outstanding service and innovative software solutions,” said Tom Schenck, President of Follett Software Company. “Delivering outstanding support to our new customers is of utmost importance to us and we plan to continue supporting Sagebrush products for the foreseeable future,” added Schenck.

“Follett and Sagebrush share a strong commitment to customers and innovation and we are pleased that, in this manner, Follett will be meeting the future needs of our library automation customers,” said Jim Zicarelli, former CEO of Sagebrush Corporation. “Sagebrush Books and Sagebrush Library Services will continue as a new separate company,” added Zicarelli.

The Sagebrush library automation business will initially operate under the Sagebrush name as a subsidiary of Follett Software Company and over time will be integrated into Follett Software Company.

“Our highest priorities are to ensure that the transition from Sagebrush to Follett is seamless and simple and to keep our new customers involved and informed throughout the integration process. Consequently, as we make any future changes to the Sagebrush product line, we will work closely with our new Sagebrush customers to make the timing of upgrades to new technology as easy and seamless as possible,” added Schenck.

About Follett

For more than two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions that streamline the business of education. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts manage instructional resources and other assets more effectively. Follett Software products allow schools to devote more time and money to instruction by creating new operational efficiencies that free up resources and reduce staff workload. More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software.

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.

District Adoptions of Follett's Destiny® Jump 300%

Thu, 20 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

District adoptions of Follett Software Company’s Destiny Library Manager™ and Destiny Textbook Manager™ in the 05-06 school year jumped 300% over the previous year, the company has announced. The two modules are part of Follett’s Destiny Resource Management Solution™.

Destiny Library Manager is now used in nearly 8,000 schools nationwide. Introduced in 2003, the product lets districts easily and quickly centralize library functions. Destiny Textbook Manager, introduced a year later, is now in use in almost 2,500 schools. It uses a browser-based system and barcode technology to let districts centralize textbook management, reducing loss and damage.

“The continued dramatic rise in Destiny adoptions shows that districts are under increased pressure to streamline their operations,” according to Follett Software Company president Tom Schenck. “More and more, they are coming to realize that a centralized Educational Resource Management approach is the way to go. It not only helps maximize the district’s budget, it also improves educational outcomes by making sure students get the materials they need, when they need them.”

Large District Adoptions

The jump in Destiny sales was helped by its recent adoption by a number of major districts:

Duval County Board of Education (Jacksonville, FL) adopted both Destiny Library Manager and Textbook Manager, which will be used at 158 schools.
District of Columbia Public Schools (Washington, DC) adopted Destiny Textbook Manager for use at 148 schools.
Granite School District (Salt Lake County, UT) is now using Destiny Library Manager at 89 schools.
Oakland Unified School District (Oakland, CA) will use Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager at 109 schools.
Oklahoma City Schools (Oklahoma City, OK) has adopted Destiny Library Manager at 80 schools.
Lee County Public Schools (Fort Myers, FL) will use both Destiny Library Manager and Destiny Textbook Manager at 73 sites.
Muscogee County School District (Columbus, GA) has adopted Destiny Textbook Manager for use at 56 sites.

“Centers for Information Literacy”

The Oakland Unified School District chose Destiny as part of a plan to transform its libraries into “Centers for Information Literacy.” The district felt that using a web-based system for library and textbook management is an important part of that process, according to Oswaldo Galarza, the district’s Information Technology Officer.

Before adopting Destiny, many schools in the district had no automated library management at all, and textbooks were mostly managed with various home-grown systems. “OUSD needed a library and textbook management system that was easy to use, easy to train on, easy to support, and easy to integrate with our Student Information System. OUSD pursued a completely web-based system that would manage both library and textbook materials through the same interface and did not require client software on each workstation,” Galarza said.
“Tracking textbook and library assets for ordering, inventory purposes and providing unified training or a unified textbook management process were part of the reasons that led OUSD to pursue Destiny for its library and textbook systems,” according to Galarza.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution™

Destiny Resource Management Solution is an integrated suite of browser-based applications that help centralize and streamline the management of key instructional resources and assets, allowing K-12 districts to reallocate staff and financial resources to student learning.

Destiny Library Manager™: Lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom.
Destiny Textbook Manager™: An award-winning, easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. It also increases accessibility and accountability.
Destiny Media Manager™: Designed to help districts make sure that students get the learning resources they need, Destiny Media Manager is one of the first browser-based solutions that allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all sorts of instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more.
Destiny Asset Manager™: The most recent addition to the Destiny suite provides browser-based tracking and management of all of a district’s fixed and portable assets. The system optimizes access, availability and use of assets, and improves asset accountability throughout the district. Destiny Asset Manager helps districts improve their control of vital assets such as laptops, PDAs, AV equipment, band instruments, grounds maintenance equipment and more.
Flexible Implementation: Any Destiny component can be implemented either as a stand-alone product, or in conjunction with other Destiny modules. Or districts may install all modules, for a comprehensive solution that provides total strategic control over resources.

About Follett Software Company

As the market leader in education for more than 20 years, Follett Software Company produces the Destiny Resource Management Solution™, the industry’s best-in-class Educational Resource Management system. Those who have adopted the Destiny Resource Management Solution—more than 8,000 schools and 600 districts—have already seen some dramatic benefits in centrally managing their library materials, textbooks, instructional media, and fixed and portable assets.

More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.
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Follett Introduces Enhancements To Destiny Resource Management Solution

Wed, 05 Jul 2006 00:00:00 GMT

A sweeping set of improvements to the best-selling Destiny Resource Management Solution are being introduced at NECC by Follett Software Company. The enhancements make this best-in-class Educational Resource Management suite even better adapted to the specific needs of K-12 districts.

Destiny v6.5 introduces a number of features that make it faster and easier to centralize the control of all sorts of district educational resources, improving student outcomes and enjoying significant budget savings.

“These enhancements are specifically designed to meet the future needs of school districts,” according to Follett Software Company President Tom Schenck. “More districts are moving to centralize administrative functions and streamline their operations. We’re improving Destiny to meet their needs, both today and tomorrow,” Schenck said.

Every aspect of the award-winning Destiny Resource Management Solution has been improved and expanded:

Destiny Library Manager™: The flagship product in the suite lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom. Destiny Library Manager now supports interlibrary loans even more efficiently, adding the ability to automatically route materials and view the status of requests. It allows users to quickly search for materials between multiple district sites, encouraging greater collaboration between sites. Schools using Destiny now have the option to add their own subject tags to support the way they teach searching skills. Districts can enhance Destiny Library Manager’s functionality with a number of valuable integrated services. One of these, WebPath Express™, lets students search for information from a database of more than 100,000 links to K-12 relevant, educator-approved web sites. WebPath Express may now be chosen as a separate search within Destiny Library Manager, allowing for more focused online searches.
Destiny Textbook Manager™: This award-winning, easy-to-use system gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory, increasing accessibility and accountability. Textbooks can now be circulated to any student in the district from any site in the district, providing greater flexibility and making it easy to track books issued to students that move within the district during the year. Users also now have access to a searchable on-line database of textbook records, making cataloging even faster and more accurate.
Destiny Media Manager™: Designed to help districts make sure that students get the learning resources they need, Destiny Media Manager is one of the first browser-based solutions that allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all kinds of district instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more. Users can now search district media and library collections at the same time in an integrated search, with a one hit list returned.
Destiny Asset Manager™: Follett recently expanded Destiny with Asset Manager, which provides browser-based tracking and management of all of a district’s fixed and portable assets. The system optimizes access, availability and use of assets, and improves asset accountability throughout the district. Destiny Asset Manager helps districts improve their control of vital assets such as laptops, PDAs, AV equipment, band instruments, maintenance equipment and more.
Destiny Resource Management Solution: Follett is also rolling out a number of enhancements to the general Destiny interface that unifies all the applications. For instance, the history of fines assessed to students is now easily viewed and summarized, and users can generate a fine cash-flow history report. Destiny also now supports integration with LDAP. These and other improvements make district-wide management of educational resources faster and less labor-intensive.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

About Follett Software Company

For more than two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions that streamline the business of education. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts manage instructional resources and other assets more effectively. Follett Software products allow schools to devote more time and money to instruction by creating new operational efficiencies that free up resources and reduce staff workload.

More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.
# # #

Asset Loss Costs Average School District A Quarter Million Dollars a Year

Wed, 21 Jun 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Asset loss and damage costs the average district nearly a quarter of a million dollars a year. Larger districts lose even more, some topping $1.4 million in loss and damage annually.

These are among the results of a recent study of district asset management, conducted in conjunction with Quality Education Data. The study provides a picture of how districts manage their assets and the growing challenges they face. The study was co-sponsored by Follett Software Company.

The survey findings illustrate the importance of the emerging category of Educational Resource Management (ERM) solutions – products that centralize the management of district resources.

The study surveyed 479 district business managers, administrators and technology chiefs in all 48 contiguous states. Respondents were asked about the problems they faced in managing assets, and about the systems they used to keep track of everything from laptops to band uniforms. They were also asked to estimate the cost of loss, damage and redundant purchases of these assets.

“Asset management is a critical district business function,” said Jeanne Hayes, President of The Hayes Connection, another of the study’s co-sponsors. “The picture that emerges is one of frustration and confusion. Districts say they are having to do more asset reporting than ever before, but they’re having more and more difficulty keeping up with the task.”

Other major findings of the study include:

Investments in educational technology (primarily computer and AV equipment) are among the assets most at risk, averaging more than $80,000 in loss annually per district.
Districts that used manual tracking for computers reported a 41% greater annual cost of loss/damage than those that used a commercial asset tracking program, and 32% greater loss than those that used a spreadsheet/database program.
Districts typically have no single technique for managing assets, but often use multiple systems depending on the asset; in fact, 66% of districts use two or more different kinds of tracking systems.
Most districts are still using manual systems (59%) or simple spreadsheets or databases (51%) to track at least some of their assets, although larger districts are increasingly adopting dedicated commercial asset tracking programs or developing their own.
Districts are struggling with a number of related problems, primarily involved with finding the time, money, personnel and tools to keep track of assets. “The departments in charge of those assets are not aware that we need to keep the lists up to date with deletions and additions,” complained one district administrator. “In my opinion the biggest drawback is the time management. We do not have enough time and enough people to manage the assets,” another respondent said.

Increased Pressure for Educational Resource Management

The data help explain the emergence of a new class of technology solutions, called Educational Resource Management (ERM), according to Follett Software Company president Tom Schenck. “District business managers clearly recognize the need to get a better handle on their assets,” Schenck said. “This is driving demand for ERM solutions, which provide a single, coherent, district-wide framework for distributing and tracking assets.”

“Centralizing the management of resources—library materials and media, textbooks, fixed and portable assets—has proven to be the key to helping districts free up time and money for instruction. A centralized Educational Resource Management solution reduces administrative costs and redirects those savings toward instruction,” Schenck said.

Follett has been an industry leader in the ERM market with its Destiny Resource Management Solution. The suite includes Destiny Library Manager, Textbook Manager and Media Manager. Most recently, the company has introduced Destiny Asset Manager, which uses scanner technology and a browser-based interface to quickly and efficiently keep track of all of a district’s fixed and portable assets, making sure districts get the most value for their budget investment.

Does the company’s growing leadership in the ERM market mean it’s walking away from school library management? “By no means,” Schenck said. “School libraries are our base, and we remain committed to them. We’re simply expanding the range of instructional assets that fall under the Destiny umbrella. That doesn’t just mean new solutions for districts – it means even better solutions for libraries.

About Follett Software Company

As the market leader in education for more than 20 years, Follett Software Company produces the Destiny Resource Management Solution™, today's premier best-in-class Educational Resource Management system. Those who have adopted the Destiny Resource Management Solution—more than 8,000 schools and 600 districts—have already seen some dramatic benefits in centrally managing their library materials, textbooks, instructional media, and fixed and portable assets.

More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.
# # #

Follett's Latest Destiny Offering Lets Districts Optimize Millions in Assets

Fri, 24 Feb 2006 00:00:00 GMT

School districts now have an affordable, easy-to-use way to optimize millions of dollars worth of fixed and portable assets, thanks to a new product being introduced by Follett Software Company at the American Association of School Administrators (AASA) conference.

Destiny® Asset Manager™ uses a browser-based interface and scanner technology to quickly and efficiently keep track of all of a district’s fixed and portable assets, making sure districts get the most value for their budget investment. The product was designed to meet the specific asset management needs of K-12 school districts.

“Follett Software Company is the clear leader in instructional asset management,” according to FSC President Tom Schenck. “Our library, textbook and media management solutions have been adopted by hundreds of districts nationwide. Now, with Destiny Asset Manager, districts can use this same proven technology to keep tabs on every kind of fixed and portable asset,” Schenck said.

Districts adopting Destiny Asset Manager are commending its efficiencies: “We have almost $4 million invested in technology assets throughout our district,” according to Debbie Rubin, technology director at Huntley Public Schools in Huntley, Illinois. “For the past 11 years we were tracking these assets with a system that didn’t work, but we couldn’t find a new system that fit our needs to replace it. Once we were introduced to the efficiencies of Destiny Asset Manager, the decision to make the conversion was simple.”

Managing All Information

Destiny Asset Manager keeps track of all relevant information—a detailed description, where it’s housed, who has it now, when it’s due back—even a picture of the asset. The information is instantly available to any authorized user in your district with access to a browser. Site-based staff and administrators can search for items located at their school, or anywhere else in the district. District staff can quickly locate, manage and circulate assets, and quickly prepare inventories and reports.

Use of Destiny Asset Manager allows districts to streamline operations and save budget dollars in several ways:

Reduces lost and stolen inventory: Destiny makes it easy to keep track of the location and movement of assets, so they never go missing again.
Maximize asset use: No more wasted budget dollars ordering duplicate assets that can be shared instead.
Fast and inexpensive to implement: Destiny is installed centrally at the district; users access it with any browser-equipped computer. That makes for quick, low-cost installation and maintenance.
Eliminates multiple applications: Destiny eliminates the need for multiple software and labeling systems to manage assets, reducing cost and incompatibility problems.
Quickly generate state and county reports: Destiny quickly gives district administrators the data they need to complete state, county, federal and other reports. This type of information is critical for compliance with GASB requirements.

Destiny Asset Manager is part of the Destiny Resource Management Solution, an integrated suite of browser-based applications that help centralize and streamline the management of key instructional resources and assets, allowing K-12 districts to reallocate staff and financial resources to student learning. Destiny Asset Manager joins the growing Destiny Resource Management Solution suite:

Destiny Library Manager™: Lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom.
Destiny Textbook Manager™: An award-winning, easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. It also increases accessibility and accountability.
Destiny Media Manager™: Designed to help districts make sure that students get the learning resources they need, Destiny Media Manager is one of the first browser-based solutions that allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all sorts of instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more.
Flexible Implementation: Any Destiny component can be implemented either as a stand-alone product, or in conjunction with other Destiny modules. Or districts may install all modules, for a comprehensive solution that provides total strategic control over all learning resources.
Award-Winning: Destiny Library Manager was recently awarded the 2004 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine, which called it an “easy, powerful, and meaningful use of technology.” Library Manager and Textbook Manager also won inclusion in Media & Methods magazine’s Awards Portfolio.

About Follett Software Company

For more than two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions that streamline the business of education. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts manage instructional resources and other assets more effectively. Follett Software products allow schools to devote more time and money to instruction by creating new operational efficiencies that free up resources and reduce staff workload.

More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

Follett Software Company will be exhibiting at AASA Booth #321. For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.
# # #

Follett Software Company Launches New, Improved Web Site

Thu, 23 Feb 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company today unveiled its newly redesigned web site, featuring updated graphics reinforcing the company’s recently-introduced “bridge” branding theme. The new theme aligns Follett Software Company more closely with the highly recognizable images established by other Follett Corporation divisions by using paper sculptures of actual bridges from around the world. It also visually represents the company’s “thinking forward” vision connecting the K-12 educational community with innovative products, programs and ideas. The new site also presents improved navigation and a more robust search engine.
The site has been redesigned to make it easier for current customers and prospects to find information about Follett Software Company and its products and services.

Here’s what visitors will find at www.fsc.follett.com:

Home page: Statement of the Follett Software Company vision, “Thinking Forward,” as well as quick links to popular pages, such as newsletters, webinar sign-up, events and new product information.
Products: Organized into sections highlighting Follett’s Destiny® browser-based solutions, market-leading Circulation Plus®/Catalog Plus® client-server products, subscription services, hardware and data services. The popular “Tag of the Month” section, which details information and tips to help catalogers create and maintain their MARC records, can now be accessed from any of the data services pages.
Client Support: Current customers can link to the latest software updates and downloads, searchable support, frequently asked questions, as well as Training and Implementation Services.
About Us: Includes links to career opportunities available at Follett Software, first-hand customer testimonials and comments about Follett Software products and services, and information about Follett Software’s history in education and our connection with Follett Corporation.
News and Events: Includes press release archive, upcoming webinars, trade shows and conferences, and links to articles highlighting Follett Software In The News.
Contact Us: Find who or what you’re looking for at Follett Software with helpful contact information for technical support, customer service, or accounting, plus driving directions to Follett Software’s corporate office in McHenry, Illinois, and contact information for your local sales representative.

Visitors are invited to return to the site often to find the most up-to-date information about products and services, and to learn about special offers and events.

The launch of the new web site coincides with the launch of the company’s newest solution, Destiny® Asset Manager™, which uses a browser-based interface and scanner technology to quickly and efficiently keep track of all of a district’s fixed and portable assets, making sure districts get the most value for their budget investment.

About Follett Software Company

For more than two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions that streamline the business of education. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts manage instructional resources and other assets more effectively. Follett Software products allow schools to devote more time and money to instruction by creating new operational efficiencies that free up resources and reduce staff workload.

More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

For more information, call 800-323-3397.
# # #

Follett's Destiny Tops eSchool News Readers' Choice Awards

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 00:00:00 GMT

Destiny® Library Manager™ was named Best Library Automation System in eSchool News latest Readers’ Choice Awards for School Management Solutions. The advanced, browser-based library management system got more than twice as many votes as its nearest competitor.

The results were published in the January 2006 issue of eSchool News. It reflects the votes of more than 600 readers of the publication, which covers technology issues in U.S. schools. “In the library automation category, the clear winner was Follett Software Co.’s Destiny solution, a K-12 library management tool that moves all library systems into a single server,” the publication reported.

“The web-based capabilities of a consolidated database make it easy for all schools to see what books are available in house or in other localities,” one Destiny user told the magazine. “In the three years since its release Destiny has become the leading district library management solution,” said Follett Software President Tom Schenck. “We’re honored by this award. I think it reflects not only Destiny’s widespread adoption, but the high level of satisfaction with our product and with our customer support.”

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

Destiny Library Manager is part of the Destiny Resource Management Solution, an integrated suite of browser-based applications that streamline the control of instructional assets, allowing K-12 districts to devote more time and resources to student learning:

Destiny Library Manager: Lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom.
Destiny Textbook Manager: An award-winning, easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. It also increases accessibility and accountability.
Destiny Media Manager: The newest member of the Destiny suite is designed to help districts make sure that students get the learning resources they need. It’s one of the first browser-based solutions that allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all sorts of instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more.
Flexible Implementation: Any Destiny component can be implemented either as a stand-alone product, or in conjunction with other Destiny modules. Or districts may install all three modules, for a comprehensive solution that provides total strategic control over all learning resources.
Award-Winning: Destiny Library Manager was recently awarded the 2004 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine, which called it an “easy, powerful, and meaningful use of technology.” Library Manager and Textbook Manager also won inclusion in Media & Methods magazine’s Awards Portfolio.

About Follett Software Company

For more than two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions that streamline the business of education. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts manage instructional resources and other assets more effectively. Follett Software products allow schools to devote more time and money to instruction by creating new operational efficiencies that free up resources and reduce staff workload.

More than 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

For more information, visit the company’s web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.
# # #

Follett Software Celebrates 20th Anniversary With Free Motivational Poster

Sat, 22 Oct 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software is celebrating 20 years of leadership in library and instructional asset management by offering 1,000 free motivational posters featuring Follett Software’s new company branding image.

The 19 x 25 inch poster features a remarkably detailed paper sculpture of the Golden Gate Bridge done for Follett by internationally famed paper artist Jeff Nishinaka. The poster includes the words “Education is the bridge between experience and wisdom.” Follett Software will send one poster free of charge to the first 1,000 people who request it at the company’s web site, www.fsc.follett.com.

According to Follett Software President Tom Schenck, the company is offering the poster to commemorate its founding in 1985. “In our own way, Follett Software Company has been a bridge for schools and districts as they have moved from card catalogs and checkout slips to integrated databases, laser scanners and the Internet,” Schenck said. “We want to continue to provide a bridge to even newer technologies that help districts cut costs while improving student achievement.

About Follett Software Company

For two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions that streamline the business of education. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts manage instructional resources and other assets more effectively. Follett Software products allow schools to devote more time and money to instruction by creating new operational efficiencies that free up resources and reduce staff workload.

Nearly 38,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

Most recently, Follett Software Company introduced the Destiny Resource Management Solution™, an integrated suite of browser-based applications that streamline the control of instructional assets, allowing K-12 districts to devote more time and resources to student learning. The Destiny Resource Management Solution suite includes:

Destiny Library Manager™: Lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Plus, it offers tools to help connect the library and the classroom.
Destiny Textbook Manager™: An award-winning, easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. It also increases accessibility and accountability.
Destiny Media Manager™: Allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all sorts of instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more.

For more information, visit company's web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.

Follett Introduces Destiny Media Manager

Mon, 27 Jun 2005 00:00:00 GMT

A new district solution that gives greater teacher access and tighter control of instructional materials is being introduced by Follett Software at the National Educational Computing Conference.

Destiny Media Manager is the latest addition to the award-winning Destiny Resource Management Solution™, which saves districts time and money by making it easy to track and manage their instructional assets. Destiny’s advanced browser-based technology makes it fast and affordable to implement.

Destiny Media Manager is designed to help districts make sure that students get the learning resources they need. It’s one of the first browser-based solutions that allows teachers to search for, reserve and track all sorts of instructional media, including software, videos, activity kits, manipulatives and more.

“With the growing emphasis on visual and hands-on learning, districts need to stock all sorts of instructional materials.” said Follett Software President Tom Schenck. “But to get the most out of this expensive investment, teachers need to be able to find the materials they need and get them quickly. Destiny Media Manager helps make that happen.”

“Destiny Media Manager makes it easy for teachers to find and schedule instructional media, 24/7,” said Bob Gehle, program administrator for media services at the School District of Manatee County, Fla., one of the districts that beta-tested the product. “Administrators can better manage the collection, from anywhere.

“Plus, integrating Media Manager with Library Manager and Textbook Manager streamlines our administration functions, saving us time and money,” Gehle added.

Using barcode technology, Destiny keeps track of all relevant information for every media item—a detailed description, who has it now, when it’s due back and who needs it next. Teachers can search for curriculum-related materials from anywhere and reserve the items. Administrators can look at usage statistics and inventory reports to make the most informed, efficient purchasing decisions.

Enhance instruction, student achievement and motivation: Encourages the incorporation of media into classroom instruction, so students learn more.
Share resources: Destiny’s centralized system lets districts share expensive instructional materials across the district, helping stretch the media budget.
Easy, fast and inexpensive to implement : Destiny’s web-based technology installs at the district and is available through browser-based computers. No dedicated terminals or site-based clients to buy and install.
Order more efficiently: Destiny’s usage reports let business managers plan purchases and budgets more accurately, eliminating over- and under-ordering and redundant orders.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution
Destiny Library Manager is part of Follett's Destiny Resource Management Solution. Destiny's easy-to-use, browser-based technology provides schools and districts better control of their book inventories. Destiny Library Manager lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. The Destiny Resource Management Solution also includes Follett's Destiny Textbook Manager, an easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. Used separately or as one integrated system, both applications save schools and districts time and money by eliminating redundant site-based installation and maintenance, and offer better control of district resources. Destiny Library Manager was recently awarded the 2004 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine, which called it an "easy, powerful, and meaningful use of technology."

About Follett Software Company
For nearly two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions to manage library, textbooks and other assets more effectively. The company also offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts and schools strengthen the connection between the classroom and the library by linking learning resources to state standards more effectively, supporting reading achievement by making reading program titles more accessible, and ensuring fast, easy access to quality information.

More than 37,000 customers in almost half the nation's school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

For more information, visit company's web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.

Follett's Destiny Outpaces Competition in National Report

Tue, 10 May 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Follett’s Destiny Library Manager has been cited in a recent Library Journal report for quickly dominating the market for centralized library solutions for school districts. The information appeared in an overview of the library automation market in the publication’s April 2005 issue.

According to the report, Destiny was installed in 25% more districts than its nearest competitor, even though that product has been on the market twice as long. In addition, Destiny gained more than twice as many new customers in 2004, the report showed.

“In its second year in marketing Destiny, the company has outpaced the sales and installed base of competitor Sagebrush’s Accent product – available for four years,” noted the author, industry expert Marshall Breeding of Vanderbilt University.

Even though most schools already have some kind of library automation system, “school districts began to demand centralized IT services and all the efficiencies that go with them,” Breeding observed. “In response, companies that focused on K-12 libraries scrambled to develop districtwide centralized IT systems.”
“Follett Software launched Destiny in 2003,” Breeding wrote. “This completely web-based system allows the server to be installed and maintained in the districts IT department, with schools having access through web browsers.”

Follett Software Company reported an unprecedented 141 new contracts for Destiny browser-based library software in 2004, underscoring impressive growth that included more than 30 conversions from districts using competitive automation solutions.

One of every four Destiny sales has come from a district formerly using a competitive library automation vendor, the company reported.

Those migrating to Destiny include some of the nation’s largest school districts—Miami-Dade, New York City (Bronx) and Clark County, among others—who have sought to extend library access while holding the line on budget costs by using Follett’s browser-based, centralized library system, Destiny Library Manager. Districts are able to consolidate all their library automation on a district server with Destiny, dramatically reducing technical support costs, saving staff time and improving ease of use.

Over 50 of the top 500 districts have turned to Destiny, and it is now used by nearly 200 districts across the country, representing 4,000 schools. This makes Destiny a leading web-based library solution for K-12 schools. Destiny is the only library management product to receive the 2004 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

Destiny Library Manager is part of Follett's Destiny Resource Management Solution. Destiny's easy-to-use, browser-based technology provides schools and districts better control of their book inventories. Destiny Library Manager lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. The Destiny Resource Management Solution also includes Follett's Destiny Textbook Manager, an easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. Used separately or as one integrated system, both applications save schools and districts time and money by eliminating redundant site-based installation and maintenance, and offer better control of district resources. Destiny Library Manager was recently awarded the 2004 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine, which called it an "easy, powerful, and meaningful use of technology."

About Follett Software Company

For nearly two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions to manage library, textbooks and other assets more effectively. The company also offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts and schools strengthen the connection between the classroom and the library by linking learning resources to state standards more effectively, supporting reading achievement by making reading program titles more accessible, and ensuring fast, easy access to quality information.

For more information, visit company's web site at www.fsc.follett.com or call 800-323-3397.

Nation's Largest Districts Convert to Follett's Web Technology To Extend Service and Reduce Cost

Wed, 23 Feb 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company acquired an unprecedented 141 contracts in new sales of its acclaimed Destiny browser-based library software in 2004, underscoring impressive growth that included more than 30 conversions from districts using competitive automation solutions.

One of every four Destiny sales has come from a district formerly using a competitive library automation vendor.

Those migrating to Destiny include some of the nation's largest school districts--Miami-Dade, New York City (Bronx) and Clark County, among others--who have sought to extend library access while holding the line on budget costs by using Follett's browser-based, centralized library system, Destiny Library Manager. Districts are able to consolidate all their library automation on a district server with Destiny, dramatically reducing technical support costs, saving staff time and improving ease of use.

Over 50 of the top 500 districts have turned to Destiny, and it is now used by nearly 200 districts across the country, representing 4,000 schools. This makes Destiny a leading web-based library solution for K-12 schools. Destiny is the only library management product to receive the 2004 Award of Excellence from Technology & Learning magazine.

Top districts recently adopting Destiny include:

Miami-Dade County, Florida (320 schools)
Clark County, Nevada (301 schools)
Pinellas County, Florida (132 schools)
Polk County, Florida (120 schools)
Bronx, New York City (116 schools)
Bronx collections are accessible by any school in New York City

Districts converting to Destiny from competitive library automation systems include:

Gwinnett County, Georgia (104 schools)
Davis, Utah (76 schools)
Wichita Falls, Texas (31 schools)
Desert Sands, California (29 schools)
Indian Prairie 109, Illinois (33 schools)

Improving Service, Cutting Costs

A major force driving large districts to adopt Destiny is the need to extend library access while reducing costs. Centralizing library management with Destiny has enabled some districts to significantly reduce their manpower commitment to library management.

One district experiencing dramatic savings is Greenville County (SC) Schools, a district serving more than 60,000 students. "Our goal was to centralize our library data on one server, and to make it easier to integrate with other applications," said Dr. Lonnie Luce, Executive Director of Education Technology Services for Greenville. "I have nearly a hundred sites that I had to send technicians out to for upgrades. Now I have it in one central place. I don't have to maintain servers. Reducing maintenance and time with technicians was one of the greatest efficiencies we realized," Luce said.

In addition to reducing staff time, the district was also able to reduce the number of servers used for library management by 97%. Destiny also allowed Greenville to share library resources across the district, eliminating waste and redundancy.

Meeting the Demands of State Standards

Leading districts are also turning to Destiny to help meet the growing demand to teach according to state curriculum standards. Clark County (NV) Public Schools, the nation's fifth-largest school district with more than 285,000 students, adopted the system to help its libraries better support state standards. "Access to the Nevada State Standards through Destiny has been a boon to our collaborative efforts," said Stan Fuke, Coordinator of Library Services for the district. "With the State Standards service, individual titles within our school's and district's collections are matched to a comprehensive database that provides instant access to print titles and educator-reviewed web sites aligned to our state's standards," Fuke said.

"Today our media specialists are able to help their teachers design better lesson plans for their students because Destiny is completely web-based, and teachers can access all libraries across the district including our specialized libraries for additional resources: curriculum, special education, and English language learners," Fuke added.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

About Follett Software Company

For more information, visit company's web site at www.fsc.follett.com. or call 800-323-3397.

Wireless, Anytime-Anywhere Access to Library, Textbook Collection Data

Thu, 27 Jan 2005 00:00:00 GMT

Librarians, teachers and other school staff can now get instant, anytime-anywhere access to their library and textbook data with a new wireless scanning device from Follett Software. The company is introducing and demonstrating the new hand-held device at the 2005 Florida Educational Technology Conference (FETC).

Built exclusively for users of Follett's Destiny™ Resource Management Solution applications, the Follett Falcon® combines the freedom of wireless access with high-performance barcode scanning and PDA technology. The Falcon gives librarians, teachers and textbook coordinators access to real-time library, patron and textbook information from anywhere within range of the school's wireless network.

The Power of Destiny™ in a Hand-Held Device

Teachers and textbook coordinators can use the Falcon with Destiny™ Textbook Manager™ to quickly circulate textbooks or update inventory wherever the books are kept.

Using the Falcon with Destiny Library Manager™, librarians and media specialists can circulate books or conduct full or partial inventory, saving time and increasing accuracy.

The Follett Falcon is a durable, lightweight hand-held computer that accesses Follett's Destiny software in real-time under Microsoft® Windows® CE.NET 4.2. It features a large color LCD display, an internal pop-up keyboard and external stylus to make it easy to enter data. Falcon's built-in scanner performs precise, accurate scans, even on worn labels.

In addition to using Destiny applications, the Falcon's versatility and portability make it the ultimate hand-held tool for any librarian, teacher or textbook administrator.

About Destiny Resource Management Solution

Since its introduction less than two years ago, Destiny has been adopted by more than 4,000 schools in 200 districts across the U.S. and Canada. Destiny's easy-to-use, browser-based technology provides schools and districts better control of their book inventories. Destiny Library Manager lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via any supported web browser. Follett's Destiny Textbook Manager is an easy-to-use system that gives districts and schools total control of their textbook inventory. Both applications save schools and districts time and money by eliminating redundant site-based installation and maintenance, and offer better control of district resources.

About Follett Software Company

For nearly two decades, Follett Software Company has provided K-12 education with powerful, innovative technology solutions to manage library, textbooks and other assets more effectively. The company also offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts and schools strengthen the connection between the classroom and the library by linking learning resources to state standards more effectively, supporting reading achievement by making reading program titles more accessible, and ensuring fast, easy access to quality information.

More than 37,000 customers in almost half the nation's school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

Information on the Follett Falcon and other Follett Software Company products will be available at the company's FETC booth, #423, or by calling 815-578-7755. The company's web site is at www.fsc.follett.com.

Browser-Based Textbook Manager Promises Big Savings for Schools and Districts

Sun, 20 Jun 2004 00:00:00 GMT

A browser-based textbook management system that allows schools and districts to save thousands of dollars in lost books and fine revenue is being introduced at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) by Follett Software Company. The new product, called Destiny™ Textbook Manager, is an easy-to-use system that saves districts and schools time and money by giving them total control of their textbook inventory - anytime, anywhere.

The announcement comes as many districts are finding out how devastating textbook losses can be to their budgets. In a recent Florida state audit, one 65,000-student district lost over $2 million worth of textbooks in a five-year period. During that time, on average nearly every student in the district lost one textbook.

Using Destiny Textbook Manager, school staff quickly check textbooks in and out of inventory using a barcode scanner. Because the program is entirely browser-based, books can be checked in or out at a scanner-equipped computer on the school's network. Destiny Textbook Manager records the holder of the book and its condition at check out, and updates condition information when the book is checked back in.

Destiny Textbook Manager can also be implemented on a centralized, district-wide basis. This creates a single textbook database for the district, allowing textbooks to be efficiently transferred between schools. District-wide implementation simplifies setup, because individual schools don't need to install any application locally to begin using Destiny Textbook Manager. It also allows districts to hold students accountable for fines and replacements when they change schools.

By providing total control of textbook inventory, Destiny can save schools and districts tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars:

Textbook Losses: By showing schools exactly who has returned textbooks - and who hasn't - Destiny Textbook Manager helps hold students and parents accountable, reducing the number of textbooks lost.

Textbook Damage: Destiny Textbook Manager also keeps track of the condition of each book, allowing schools to accurately identify which students are responsible for book damage. Schools collect replacement fees quickly, with fewer disputes.

Lost Fine Revenue: Destiny Textbook Manager can be customized with the school or district's fine and replacement fee policies, keeping track of exactly which students owe how much money. It can even automatically generate letters home, informing them of how much their student owes. Features like these help schools and districts collect a larger portion of the fine revenue that's due.

Textbook Overorders: By knowing at all times the location of every textbook in inventory, schools and districts are able to shift textbooks to classrooms and schools where they're needed. Destiny Textbook Manager helps schools and districts insure that they don't waste money by reordering textbooks they don't really need.

Lost Staff Time: Manual textbook accounting schemes often require a substantial amount of staff time. Destiny Textbook Manager can sharply cut the personnel expenses related to textbook management, because it uses a fast, simple point-and-scan data entry system.

Destiny Textbook Manager joins Follett's acclaimed Destiny™ Library Manager™ to form the Destiny Resource Management Solution. Products in the Destiny line use easy-to-use browser-based technology to allow schools and districts better control of their book inventories. Destiny Textbook Manager may be implemented alone on a school- or district-wide basis. It may also be implemented along with Destiny Library Manager, allowing schools or districts to integrate their library and textbook data for more efficient reporting, management and purchasing.

About Follett Software Company

For nearly two decades, Follett Software Company has led the way in district library technology. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts and schools link learning resources to state standards more effectively, manage library and other assets more efficiently, increase students' access to information more easily, and control the safety of Internet use more effectively.

More than 37,000 customers in almost half the nation's school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is part of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners.

Information on Destiny and other Follett Software Co. products will be available at the company's NECC booth, #1534 or by calling 815-578-7755. The company's web site is at www.fsc.follett.com.

22 Districts Cut Spending, Extend Services With New Library Software

Wed, 22 Oct 2003 00:00:00 GMT

From New York to Washington, from Texas to Wisconsin, school districts are finding new ways to improve their library technology services while cutting back on spending. Twenty-two districts nationwide have adopted Destiny™, a new library management system from Follett Software Company. Destiny lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from district servers via web browser.

Destiny makes it fast and easy for districts to centralize their library management services. Districts that have adopted Destiny are reporting a number of benefits from the program:

No additional budget burden while upgrading to state-of-the-art library technology.

98% reduction in tech staff time needed for servicing library management.

Students, parents and staff get anytime, anywhere access to library information.

More efficient integration with current district network infrastructure.

Cataloging advice and resources from Follett’s cataloging experts

"Perfect" Use of No Child Left Behind Funds

Tyler Independent School District, in Tyler, Texas, was able to offer its students significantly better library access - and it funded its technology upgrade, as well as extensive staff training, entirely from No Child Left Behind funds. "For our Title II D funds, I was looking for a program that would touch every child in our district," said John Orbaugh, director of technology services for Tyler ISD. "Destiny was the perfect use of the No Child Left Behind funds."

According to Orbaugh, students at Tyler's 26 schools can now do in-classroom searches of the district's entire library collection, and have materials from other campuses shipped to their school. "That's a significant expansion of the amount of material available to each student," he said.

"This was the easiest, most pleasant transition I've ever made," said Al Chickerneo, systems administrator for Deerfield Public Schools District 109, a six-school district near Chicago. Deerfield installed Destiny in September of this year, after replacing an older, text-based library automation system. "Under our old system, we actually had to create a stipended position just to handle library system maintenance. Destiny has cut our maintenance requirements and it's much easier for our staff to learn and use."

Designed from the ground up to meet the specific needs of K-12 libraries, Destiny runs from district servers over a WAN, the Internet, or both. Users access a wide range of important library management and searching functions completely from their browser, making Destiny fast to install and easy to use for students, teachers, librarians and tech administrators alike.

The product reduces district staff time spent installing and maintaining library management functions and offers significant savings in district IT spending.

Chickerneo said that Destiny will reduce what his district spends on maintaining its library automation services. "Even for the first three years, with all of our startup costs amortized, we'll be spending no more than we would have if we retained our old system," he said. "After that, our maintenance costs will drop significantly."

Other districts that have recently adopted Destiny include:

Lake Washington School District, Redmond, Wash. (46 schools)

Providence Public Schools, Providence, R.I. (41 schools)

Manatee County School District, Bradenton, Fla. (43 schools)

Collier County Public Schools, Naples, Fla. (37 schools)

Alamance-Burlington School System, Burlington, N.C. (32 schools)

Vigo County School Corporation, Terre Haute, Ind. (29 schools)

Rockingham County Schools, Eden, N.C. (24 schools)

Bethel Public Schools, Spanaway, Wash. (22 schools)

Bronx Community School District 8, Bronx, N.Y. (20 schools)

St. Martin Parish, Beaux Bridge, La. (17 schools)

Richmond Community Schools, Richmond, Ind. (13 schools)

Orange County Schools, Hillsborough, North Carolina (11 schools)

Noblesville Schools, Noblesville, Ind. (10 schools)

Granbury Independent School District, Granbury, Texas (10 schools)

Normandy School District, St. Louis, Mo. (10 schools)

Gainesville City School System, Gainesville, Ga. (7 schools)

Indian Prairie School District 204, Aurora, Ill. (5 schools)

School Town of Munster, Munster, Ind. (5 schools)

Lake Mills School District, Lake Mills, Wis. (3 schools)

Southington Public Schools, Southington, Conn. (5 schools)

About Follett Software Company

For nearly two decades, Follett Software Company has led the way in district library technology. The company offers a range of proven software and service solutions to help districts and schools manage library assets more efficiently, increase students’ access to information more easily and control the safety of Internet use more effectively.

More than 37,000 customers in almost half the nation’s school districts have chosen Follett Software. Follett Software Company is part of Follett Corporation, whose mission is to be the leading provider of educational solutions, services and products that empower schools, libraries, colleges, students and life-long learners. Follett Software’s newly updated web site is at www.fsc.follett.com.

K-12 Students Preview Books from the Online Catalog with Follett Software Company's New TitlePeek Service

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 00:00:00 GMT

A new service from Follett Software Company that enables K-12 students to preview book covers, summaries, published reviews and more while they search their library's electronic catalog is now available through a partnership between Follett Software Company and Syndetic Solutions, Inc., the leading provider of descriptive online catalog content.

TitlePeek™ Enhances Search Results

Follett Software Company, the leader in K-12 library management software, has teamed up with Syndetic Solutions to offer TitlePeek™, an online catalog enhancement service available to users of Follett Software's top-rated searching solutions, Catalog Plus® and WebCollection Plus®. While traditional searches of a library's electronic catalog, or online public access catalog (OPAC), often provide students with a list that sends them to the shelves, TitlePeek searches provide students with more extensive information about titles so they can make more informed decisions about the appropriateness of a book-before they take the trip to the shelves.

"When students use TitlePeek to find the best resources in less time, they can spend more time evaluating and interpreting that information, thus growing their critical skills," said Tom Schenck, Follett Software Company president.

View Photos, Summaries, Reviews & More

With TitlePeek, students simply perform their OPAC search, click on an item in the results list, and then click on the TitlePeek icon. The library's web browser launches and students are taken to more detailed information about the book. Syndetic Solutions will provide the extended content, including:

Cover photo

Title profile

Table of contents

Brief summary

Author notes

First chapter or excerpt

Published reviews

"We're extremely pleased to be working with Follett, and we're very excited about seeing this content reach the school libraries," said Allan Graham, Director of Business Development at Syndetic Systems. "We think it can make a significant impact on students' use of the library-especially with the great job Follett Software has done with the data presentation."

Maintenance-Free Service

TitlePeek creates no additional work for library staff. Follett Software has developed the infrastructure to make the additional content available via its Catalog Plus and WebCollection Plus OPACs. Syndetic Solutions, Inc. will continuously enhance the service by adding additional titles to its database.

Collection Development Tool

Library staff can also enhance their library by using TitlePeek as a collection development tool. Once a bibliographic record is added to the library's database-even if the library does not own a copy of the book-subscribers to TitlePeek can view the enriched content to determine if they should add it to the collection.

TitlePeek is available as an annual subscription to schools using Follett Software's Catalog Plus® or WebCollection Plus® v5.05 or higher. Internet access is also required.

About Syndetic Solutions

Syndetic Solutions, Inc. is the leading supplier of descriptive content designed exclusively for library catalogs. Syndetics offers over 3,500,000 catalog enrichment elements including enhanced fiction descriptors, tables of contents, reviews, summaries, annotations, cover images, excerpts and author notes. Separate enrichment options are available for public, academic, school, and special libraries, and include formats applicable to any local system.

About Follett Software Company

Follett Software offers the industry's leading library management software and tools to help manage the information explosion. One of the company's newest solutions, the Find-It-All Collection, creates a single results list from a multiple-resource information search and provides access to 160,000 K-12-approved web sites. Visit www.fsc.follett.com to learn more about creating a leading-edge library media center.

Follett Debuts Browser-Based District Library Management at NECC

Mon, 30 Jun 2003 00:00:00 GMT

A new library automation system that enables districts to expand their library technology offerings even in an era of tight budgets will be debuted at the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) by Follett Software Company. A completely new, browser-based solution, Destiny™, lets K-12 districts offer complete library management services to all schools from a single installation via web browser.

Destiny makes it fast and easy for districts to centralize their library management services. Early users of Destiny are reporting a number of benefits from the program:

98% reduction in tech staff time needed for servicing library management.

Freeing up of district staff formerly devoted full time to helping users in report generation.

Students, parents and staff get 24/7 access to library information.

Parents and volunteers learn the system in minutes.

Designed from the ground up to meet the specific needs of K-12 libraries, Destiny runs from district servers over a WAN, the Internet, or both. Users access a wide range of important library management and searching functions completely from their browser, making Destiny fast to install and easy to use for students, teachers, librarians and tech administrators alike.

The product reduces district staff time spent installing and maintaining library management functions and offers significant savings in district IT spending.

"So many districts today need to streamline their operations - including their technology services - in order to meet the demands of shrinking budgets," said Follett Software President Tom Schenck. "Destiny has proven to be less costly and less labor-intensive to run. It lets districts expand their library offerings on an anywhere, anytime basis while cutting the total cost of ownership. That's a critical need for schools right now."

Destiny integrates all the most powerful library automation functions - circulation, cataloging, searching, reporting and inventory management. It offers district-wide catalog functions, so students and staff can search the entire district media collection from anywhere in the world. Librarians have the power to input, catalog and track materials, share data and check student library records district-wide. The program also provides access to 6 million online MARC records.

Destiny features a direct, intuitive interface that includes many features designed specifically for schools. Each school can customize Destiny to fit its own needs. Elementary, middle and high schools can select age-appropriate access screens for students. Each school can also modify the functionality of screens, choosing options from largely text-based screens for older students and fluent readers to graphic-based screens for emerging readers, struggling readers and ESL students. Destiny also reflects each school's individual circulation policies, holdings and reading programs. Each school can also customize Destiny's look with graphics - the school mascot, seal, slogan, etc.

Information on Destiny and other Follett Software Co. products will be available at the company's NECC booth, #1926 or by calling Kathy Sharo at 815-578-7755.

K-12 Students Find Enriched Content, Better Searches and Easy Information Access with v5.05, Latest Release from Follett Software

Tue, 06 Aug 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Students can preview a library book's cover and content with TitlePeek™, and experience better search results and easier access to information with version 5.05 of Catalog Plus®, Alliance Plus™ Online and WebCollection Plus®, the latest release of Follett Software Company's award-winning library automation solutions for K-12 schools and districts.

Better Search Results
TitlePeek, a new online catalog enhancement service, enables users to browse the content of books on the library shelves without leaving the computer. It is available as an annual subscription service and requires installation of v5.05 of Catalog Plus or WebCollection Plus. The latest release of Alliance Plus Online-a tool that improves original cataloging through access to over 6 million MARC 21 records via the Internet-allows users to perform quicker, more efficient searches when they view up to 50 titles returned in a single search.

Improved Information Access
Schools can enable more users to access their collection over the Internet with v5.05 of WebCollection Plus, which includes support of multiple copies of WebCollection Plus installed on a single Novell® NetWare® server. "At Follett Software, our goals are to help students find the best information in the least amount of time, and make our solutions easy to support from a technical perspective," said Tom Schenck, Follett Software Company president. "With v5.05, we feel we've accomplished both goals."

Download the v5.05 Update, Access Self-Service Account Information
In late July, the update will be available as a free download from the Follett Software web site. The download can be accessed by customers using Catalog Plus, WebCollection Plus or Alliance Plus Online who have current support agreements. In addition to downloading the v5.05 update off the web site, current customers can look up key numbers, find support agreement expiration dates and perform other self-service tasks on the new FollettCare Support Pages. The searchable support pages let users find answers to frequently asked questions, browse technical support documents, learn about training schedules and more.

About Follett Software Company
Follett Software offers the industry's leading library management software and tools to help manage the information explosion. One of the company's newest solutions, the Find-It-All Collection, creates a single results list from a multiple-resource information search and provides access to 160,000 K-12-approved web sites. Visit www.fsc.follett.com to learn more about creating a leading-edge library media center.

Follett Software Company Announces Release of Version 5.0 Updates to Industry's Leading Library Automation Software

Wed, 20 Feb 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Follett Software Company, makers of the leading library automation software for K-12 schools, has released version 5.0 of the industry's top-selling library automation and information access solutions. Enhancements will provide easier access to patron information, more efficient collection management, improved cataloging of bibliographic records and expanded searching capabilities.

The new v5.0 release includes Follett Software's Circulation Plus®, Catalog Plus®, WebCollection Plus® and Alliance Plus™ Online for Windows® and Mac® OS. These award-winning applications automate library operational tasks, aid in cataloging and help students, staff and patrons find information quickly and easily. Version 5.0 includes a host of user-requested features to improve circulation and collection management, such as acquisitions, advance booking and patron empowerment. Highlights include:

Better, More Efficient Management of Patrons and the Collection

Track vendors, funding sources, orders, line items and print orders; view percentage of remaining budget dollars with new acquisitions functionality

Reserve items for a future date

Give patrons access to their circulation information, enabling them to place items on hold, and view and print their checkouts, holds, reserves and fines

Expand Circulation Desk to full screen size for easier viewing

Add or edit patrons directly from the Circulation Desk or Patron Maintenance

Copy status is now left blank when there are titles with no copies

Add customized fines for non-traditional library scenarios, such as lost or missing band uniforms or sports equipment

Create a report of patron barcodes by class

Make inventory easier by splitting collections between locations using a Follett PHD scanner

View Z39.50 holdings information, including copy status, via the 852 tag of the MARC record

Easier Cataloging, Expanded Searching

Search by subject, series or author against a multi-million item database of MARC records with Alliance Plus Online

Clean the database more easily by deleting groups of records at once

Set system to automatically delete MARC records when the last copy of an item is deleted

Connect to MARC Magician directly from Cataloging for easy record transfer and cleanup

Enable Novell® NetWare® v4.x & v5.x users to post their collection online with WebCollection Plus

"I believe our new v5.0 products will meet the market with great success," said Tom Schenck, Follett Software Company president. "We've added many features that fulfill customer requests as well as additional functionality that ensures we're delivering the very best product to the K-12 marketplace. Our constant goal is to make the library experience and the search for and use of information easier."

The Version 5.0 Products

Circulation Plus® automates many tasks that the library staff performs routinely-checkin/checkout, overdue notices, fine calculation, holds, renewals, inventory-and makes statistical information readily available through an assortment of reports

Catalog Plus® helps students and patrons find the best information with powerful searching options, and simplifies cataloging with extensive aides. Search with traditional text-based searching or with colorful, visual icons for younger students

WebCollection Plus® lets students and patrons search library collections in English, French or Spanish from any location, 24 hours a day, via the Internet/Intranet. Install on one server for access from multiple workstations

Alliance Plus™ Online eases cataloging by offering 24-hour access to more than 4 million high-quality MARC records from the Internet. Records are updated weekly

About Follett Software Company
Since 1985, Follett Software Company has been committed to helping libraries and schools inspire student achievement and simplify information management. Its powerful software and service solutions are designed to support the needs of students, librarians, teachers and technical staff, promoting success and unity among all involved in the education process. The company serves more than 40,000 clients in over 75 countries, making its Catalog Plus®/Circulation Plus® library automation system the most widely used system in the K-12 marketplace. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, and is headquartered in McHenry, IL.. In 2001, the company was ranked among the top five largest software companies in Chicago. For additional information, call (800) 323-3397 or go to www.fsc.follett.com.

Follett Software Company Gives Florida K-12 Students A Better Read On Incentive Reading Program Materials

Wed, 02 Jan 2002 00:00:00 GMT

Florida Governor Jeb Bush has made improving literacy one of the key initiatives of his administration. The state, which ranked 43rd in the U.S. in reading proficiency in the Measuring Up 2000 study from the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, is expending huge efforts to encourage K-12 students as well as adults to improve their reading ability.

Today those efforts received a boost with announcement by Follett Software Company that the company's Find-A-Book™ data enhancement service has been incorporated into the SUNLINK union catalog. SUNLINK is a shared database of materials in Florida's K-12 library media centers designed to promote resource sharing among the state's public schools.

Government and education leaders realize that one of the keys to improving literacy is matching readers with materials that reflect their reading ability and interests. Find-A-Book allows students to search for titles appropriate to their reading and interest levels, encouraging them to read which will ultimately improve student achievement. Approximately 34 percent of SUNLINK's 1.2 million records now contain information about reading and interest levels, including those for the popular Accelerated Reader® and Reading Counts!® programs, and Lexile Measures.

"School library media centers support the curriculum, and SUNLINK is there to support media centers," says Dr. Donna Baumbach, Director of the Florida SUNLINK Project. "All Florida schools are striving to improve students' reading abilities and many schools are using reading incentive programs and Lexiles to help. Adding Find-A-Book data to SUNLINK makes it easier for students to select books and topics they like at reading and interest levels appropriate for them. We believe that by using SUNLINK's "Reading Express Service" they'll take more interest in reading, read more books, and ultimately improve their reading and comprehension skills."

Once Find-A-Book data is added to the records, SUNLINK allows students and teachers to search not only by reading level, interest level and reading program features, but by title, author, subject, format, language, date, location and keyword. It provides information about the school(s) and district(s) holding the item and the call number. Students and teachers may then contact their media specialist to borrow the book from another member's library through SUNLINK's established interlibrary loan protocols.

"Literacy is one of the most important issues in education today," says Tom Schenck, President of Follett Software. "Whether you're talking about traditional books or data on the Internet, the ability to read is one of the cornerstones of acquiring knowledge and functioning in today's society. We are proud that Find-A-Book has been selected to further the State of Florida's goals in this area, and that we're making a difference in the lives of their students."

About Follett Software Company
Since 1985, Follett Software Company has provided school, public and special libraries with leading-edge library automation, Internet and curriculum resource software and services. Its Circulation Plus software, with more than 30,000 installations worldwide, is the number one selling library automation system in the K-12 marketplace. The company also has the largest base of installed Windows customers, with 15,000 users. Follett Software Company is a division of Follett Corporation, and is headquartered in McHenry, IL. In 1999, the company was ranked among the top ten largest software companies in Chicago. For additional information, call (800) 323-3397 or go to www.fsc.follett.com.

Follett Software Press Releases

Follett Software New Authorized Provider of IACET CEUs

Follett Software Continues Strong Investment in Aspen SIS

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Follett’s 2nd ‘New Leaf in Learning’ Conference Attracts Nearly 300

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Follett Software Company Unveils Destiny 10.1

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Follett Announces More Ways for Educators to Experience ‘New Leaf in Learning Conference’

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Washington State School District Continues Partnership with Follett by Selecting Aspen SIS

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Follett Software Company to Release Destiny 10.0

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Follett Software’s Aspen Student Information System earns ‘Top 100’ distinction in publication’s annual readers’ choice rankings

Early Registration Now Underway for Follett's New Leaf in Learning Conference

Early Registration Now Underway for Follett’s ‘New Leaf in Learning Conference’

Follett Software, Assessment Technology Incorporated Announce Teaming Agreement to Assist Educators in Elevating Student Achievement

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Georgia K-12 District Caps Year-Long Search for New SIS with Adoption of Follett Software’s Aspen

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Follett Software Partners with Southern Arkansas University to Support Arkansas School for the Blind.

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Follett Calls on Public to Vote for the Most Innovative School Library

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Follett Software Launches New Package to Manage Both Textbooks, Student Devices

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4 More Rhode Island K-12 School Districts Adopt Follett Software’s Aspen SIS Solution

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Illinois District Becomes First in State to Adopt Follett Software’s Aspen SIS

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Follett Software Offers Free Integration of One Search Into Destiny Library Manager 9.9

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Follett Software Company Releases TetraData® 8.5

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Follett Software’s First ‘A New Leaf in Learning’ Conference Attracts 250+ to Chicago Venue

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5 More Massachusetts K-12 School Districts Adopt Follett Software’s Aspen SIS Solution

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Follett Software Joins Educational Leaders for Florida Dept. of Education’s ‘Teacher Talk’ Episode

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Follett Software Releases New Version of Aspen Student Information System

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Rhode Island K-12 School Districts Continue Trend of Turning to Follett Software’s Aspen SIS Solution

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Follett Software Company Releases Cognite 3.5

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Follett Software User Conference Closing Keynote Address to be Delivered by iNACOL’s Susan Patrick

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School Libraries Catalog Achievements for Chance at $100,000

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Follett Software Company Releases New Version of Destiny®

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Follett Software, X2 Development Corporation products earn ‘Top 100’ distinction in publication’s annual readers’ choice rankings

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Follett Software User Conference Highlights Strategies, Tools, Techniques to Drive Success for K-12 Digital Learners

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Indiana K-12 School District Adopts Follett Software’s Cognite

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Follett Software Names Rick Dwyer - x2 Development Founder/President - to New Vice President Position

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Illinois K-12 School District Turns to Follett Software’s Destiny Products to Manage Library, Textbook Resources

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Follett Software Company Acquires X2 Development Corporation

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WeAreTeachers, Follett Software Company Partner for New Microgrant Opportunity

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K-12 Districts Seeking Textbook Management Solution Actively Turning to Follett Software’s Destiny® Product

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Follett Software Unveils New Digital Learning Environment

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ISTE Award Sponsored by Follett Software, Library Media Connection

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Importance of School Libraries, Librarians Told in Audio Journal Produced by California Association

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Follett Software Company President Earns Promotion

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Follett Software Company Introduces Cognite™

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Follett Software Company's Destiny Textbook Manager Enjoys Surge