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Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC) is a public non-profit cooperative that provides K-12 public and private schools with technology solutions, data management tools, services, training and support, purchasing and procurement services. WSIPC services schools throughout the northwest in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana, and Alaska, providing benefits to 9 Educational Service Districts and more than 300 school districts, who represent over 1 million students.[1]

WSIPC serves school districts with complete information management systems for fiscal, human resources as well as a full Student Information System (SIS) for student and fiscal data. The main software package deployed by WSIPC is the Skyward School Management System.

History

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In 1967,[2] ten Washington school districts formed a cooperative to share software development and hardware costs, and provide centralized technological support. The result of this collaboration was WSIPC, a public agency that continues to provide information services at a low cost to school districts in the northwest. WSIPC helped launch the nation’s first statewide high-speed network for schools. This was made possible with WSIPC joined the K-20 Education Network in 2000, which linked colleges, universities, K-12 school districts and libraries statewide, resulting in more bandwidth and connectivity with schools.[3] According to the K-20 Biennial Report of December 2006, joining the network “enabled WSIPC and the ESDs to serve local districts more effectively” because without it, each school district would have been left to find a locally-delivered solution.[4]

Initially, WSIPC had developed their own Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) application in-house, called WISE, which not only provided a complete SIS, but also information management for both finance and student data. Starting in 2001 WSIPC collaborated with Skyward and, as a result, completely restructured the computing infrastructure at WSIPC, replacing the legacy application offerings with one integrated ERP application provided to WSIPC customers.[5] WSIPC called its ERP application WESPaC (WSIPC Enhanced Skyward Point and Click) which included Skyward's software suite of student, human resources and financial management modules.[6] WESPaC also included Citrix's MetaFrame which provided users with remote access. In 2003 WSIPC provided a case study for Citrix stating the revenue saved over 5 years, which amounted to almost $54 million dollars. It stated that implementing Citrix has helped WSIPC “cut costs, rapidly deploy and centrally manage the Skyward application, roll out updates immediately, and provide for a more stable operating environment.”[7] By the end of 2004, the entire WSIPC user base began using Citrix. This software company currently enables WSIPC to centrally deploy and manage their applications, also allowing their finance software (or PaC) to be accessed via a variety of client devices. This, in turn, offers a management infrastructure that requires little management on the school district’s part.[7]

Skyward eventually converted its thick client student application into a web interface[8] and part of its finance software to have a web front end. The other part of their finance software is still thick client.[9] Therefore, WESPaC has evolved into two applications, one being a web-based student application and the other being a finance application that is partly web-based and partly thick client. Both of these applications are currently provided by Skyward.

In 2014, WSIPC developed and launched a web application called My School Data that provides access to student data and assessment information in a dashboard format.

Products

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My School Data

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In 2014, WSIPC launched a web application called My School Data that compiles Skyward data into a simple dashboard format. This provides access to student data and assessment information. Districts can control which schools and data that users of the application can have access to. There are multiple modules, one of them being Early Warning System, which identifies students that are at risk of dropping out of high school.[10] There is also a module for viewing CEDARS (Comprehensive Education Data And Research System) educational data files that are required to be submitted to OSPI.[11] The ability to view those files before submission is intended to help with troubleshooting and data validation.

High School and Beyond

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In Washington State, it is a graduation requirement for high school students to complete a High School and Beyond Plan. The plan consists of written documents designed to help students think about their future and choose coursework accordingly. Another module of My School Data, called High School and Beyond, is an electronic version of that plan.[12] It is based on graduation requirements of the district and post-secondary goals that the student has decided on.[10]

Skyward Student Management Suite

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This student management system gives school and district staff a variety of tools to manage classroom information including food service, gradebook and discipline from one place. Within this suite is a Family Engagement module, providing parents and guardians with their child's data, such as grades and attendance. Other modules are Classroom Tools, Office and Administration and Student Services.[13]

Skyward School Business Suite

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The Skyward School Business Suite gives WSIPC members functionality for human resources, payroll and accounting, and staff and asset management. Putting all the information in one place is intended to prevent constant cross-referencing of data.[14] There are five modules within the suite, Human Resources, Fiscal Management, Payroll and Timeclock, Employee Portal and Asset Management.[15]

Partners

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Over the years WSIPC has partnered with dozens of companies to provide their members with a variety of vendors and services for the school districts, such as Dell and Microsoft WSIPC connects members to approved technology partners via their Purchasing Program.[16] The following are a few current partners that are particularly noteworthy due to their integration with Skyward and the unique benefits they bring to school districts.

K-12 and Anonymous Alerts

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One noteworthy partnership began in 2012 with K-12 Alerts, an award-winning provider of emergency and routine communications solutions established in 2002 to find an efficient way to communicate with large groups of people during a crisis. The partnership fully integrated the data transfer process between the WESPaC software suite data system and K-12 Alerts data base, which ensures that emergency phone, email, and texting numbers are up-to-date. Thus, school officials are able to send instant notifications to parents, students and staff when emergency situations arise, including inclement weather, school closing, campus incidents, etc.[17] In February 2013, the two companies brought forth Anonymous Alerts Reporting Service, a communications tool, allowing individuals to anonymously report internet-enabled messages regarding bullying, family difficulties, drug and alcohol abuse, depression and other sensitive matters directly to school administrators.[18]

SchoolMessenger

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Founded in 1999, SchoolMessanger provides communication for education by means of a notification service in all 50 states. This service is integrated with Skyward, with a Family Access interface which allows parents to control how they are contacted through a single login.[19]

Canvas

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The company Canvas is an educational technology company that provides a Learning Management System (LMS) to its customers. Canvas integrates with Skyward's SIS as well. This partnership means that WSIPC members have access to implementation, training, course migration and 24/7 support when they purchase Canvas.[20]

WASWUG

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WASWUG (Washington State WESPaC User Group) is the biannual gathering of WSIPC members to learn more about the Skyward product suite, share insights and network. Throughout the three day conference there are over 175 breakout sessions offered within the Student, HR and Fiscal Modules. These sessions are taught by the WSIPC Staff and Power End Users. The WASWUG Conference first began in 2005 with hosting duties being rotated among various Washington State Education Service District locations. The total attendance of the first conference was over 800. In 2009, WSIPC was given sole responsibility to arrange and organize WASWUG. The attendance has increased to over 1400 attendees by 2014.[21]

WASWUG Fall is an additional yearly conference that was added in 2015. It is currently located in Spokane, WA in order to better reach districts in eastern Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Alaska and Montana.[22] The original conference was rebranded as WASWUG Spring and is currently located in Bellevue, WA. It typically has a theme every year, for instance, WASWUG Fall 2015 was spy themed. The next WASWUG Spring in March 2016 will be have a musical theme.[23]

References

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  1. ^ "Accountability Audit Report Washington School Information Processing Cooperative (WSIPC)" (PDF). Washington State Auditor’s Office. 29 December 2014. p. 6. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  2. ^ "About WSIPC". WASWUG Fall. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  3. ^ "Washington Schools Information Processing Cooperative—High Quality IT Solutions at the Best Possible Price". K-20 Education Network. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  4. ^ "What is the K-20 Education Network?" (PDF). K-20 Education Network. December 2006. p. 14. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  5. ^ "Our History". Skyward. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  6. ^ "A Snapshot of Cost Efficiencies in School Districts and Educational Service Districts" (pdf). Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. November 2009. p. 17. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  7. ^ a b "School Technology Cooperative reaps a $54 Million Benefit with Citrix Solution" (PDF). Case Study Forum. p. 1,3. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  8. ^ "Student Management Suite". WSIPC. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Financial Management Suite". WSIPC. Retrieved 2 February 2016.
  10. ^ a b "Data Technologies". WSIPC. Retrieved 23 February 2016.
  11. ^ "CEDARS Data Manual V 8.3 and Appendices V 8.5 School Year 2015–16". State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  12. ^ "Graduation Requirements". State of Washington Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Student Suite". WSIPC. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  14. ^ Dian Schaffhauser. "Two Texas Districts Choose Skyward for SIS Work". The Journal. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  15. ^ "Business Suite". WSIPC. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  16. ^ "Get to Know Our Partners". WSIPC. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  17. ^ "WSIPC and K-12 Alerts Launch First of Its Kind Partnership at the Annual WASWUG Conference in Bellevue, WA". The Business Journals. 12 March 2012. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  18. ^ "K-12 Alerts and WSIPC Partner to Offer Anonymous Alerts". WSIPC. 8 February 2016. Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  19. ^ "WSIPC Reaffirms Commitment to State's Leading Notification Service, SchoolMessanger". PR Newswire. May 4, 2012. Retrieved 24 February 2016.
  20. ^ Canvas title=Have you heard about the WSIPC and Canvas partnership? http://landing.canvaslms.com/washington-wsipc-canvas title=Have you heard about the WSIPC and Canvas partnership?. Retrieved 24 February 2016. {{cite web}}: Check |url= value (help); Missing or empty |title= (help); Missing pipe in: |url= (help)
  21. ^ "About WASWUG Spring". Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  22. ^ "About WASWUG Fall". Retrieved 5 January 2016.
  23. ^ "WASWUG Spring". Retrieved 5 January 2016.
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