SAS® technology successes in education on display at CoSN 2010

Four customers spotlight 1:1 learning, online curriculum, improving student performance through analytics

WASHINGTON, DC - Four SAS customers will highlight the many ways SAS technology improves K-12 education at next week’s Consortium for School Networking annual conference. Education leaders will discuss SAS® Curriculum Pathways® online resource deployments in 1:1 learning environments and uses of SAS K-12 administrative solutions to predict and improve student performance.

* Dr. Larry Price, Superintendent of Wilson County (NC) Schools, discusses using SAS OnDemand for K-12 to analyze data on student and teacher absences, discipline issues, budgets and test scores. By instituting training that targets classroom disruptions, the district reduced discipline incidents by about one-third.
* Clayton Collins, Director of Instruction for Beech Grove (IN) City Schools, addresses maximizing student achievement in a small district. Beech Grove uses SAS data warehousing and analytics to track student performance on standardized tests, identify trouble areas for students and predict future performance. Through early intervention, Beech Grove has increased state test scores in language arts/English by nearly 15 percent and math by nearly 20 percent. Beech Grove worked with SAS partner, B2S Analytics, to develop the solution.
* Craig Witherspoon, former Superintendent of Edgecombe County (NC) Schools, spotlights Edgecombe’s successful 1:1 learning initiative. The school system adopted SAS Curriculum Pathways in four high schools for multiple core subjects. Teachers report greater student engagement, while statewide standardized tests confirm higher learning levels.
* Sharon Irby, Project Manager of the 1:1 Laptop Initiative at Centennial Campus Magnet Middle School in Raleigh, NC, and George Ward, Lead Teacher at Centennial, present the school’s successful 1:1 laptop initiative. Emphasizing collaboration, planning and sustainability challenges in implementing 1:1, they show how laptops and resources, including SAS Curriculum Pathways, have improved engagement and learning.

SAS OnDemand for K-12 helps administrators take a data-driven approach to improving performance – without new staff, costly hardware or lengthy implementations. The hosted solution accommodates districts with limited resources for administrative technology, quickly providing superintendents the information they need.

SAS Curriculum Pathways, available at no cost and used by thousands of educators in all 50 states, provides standards-based content for grades 8-12 in the core academic disciplines – English, mathematics, social studies, science and Spanish. The product offers more than 1,200 academic resources, including lessons, engaging activities and interactive teaching tools, plus links to more than 4,000 academically appropriate Web sites.

Designed for wide-ranging classroom environments, technology capabilities and learning styles,SAS Curriculum Pathways is used in one-computer classrooms, virtual schools, small groups and 1:1 computing initiatives. SAS Curriculum Pathways Director, Bruce Friend, will demo the resources at CoSN Monday from 3:45-4:30 p.m.

About SAS
SAS is the leader in business analytics software and services, and the largest independent vendor in the business intelligence market. Through innovative solutions delivered within an integrated framework, SAS helps customers at more than 45,000 sites improve performance and deliver value by making better decisions faster. Since 1976 SAS has been giving customers around the world The Power to Know® .