For years, since the Schools Interoperability Framework (SIF) first was announced in 1999, school leaders have heard the promises: SIF will make school software programs interoperable, regardless of their manufacturer; it will eliminate the need for multiple data entry; and it will streamline and transform school administrative functions.

Until now, however, many school leaders have been leery of taking SIF's supporters at their word. Instead, several administrators have been waiting for tangible results from other districts that have implemented SIF solutions before investing in the up-front costs of the technology themselves.

Well, SIF-certified products now have been on the market for several years. A growing number of school systems have had sufficient experience in implementing SIF, and so far, the results appear promising: According to an independent study of three school systems willing to share their SIF experiences--Liberty Public School District in Liberty, Mo.; Naperville Community Unit School District 203 in Naperville, Ill.; and Western Heights Public Schools in Oklahoma City, Okla.--SIF has led to measurable cost savings as a result of the easier integration of software applications, more effective use of staff time, and increases in government funding that come from better tracking and reporting of student data.

SIF has the potential to simplify data exchanges among all types of applications: student information systems (SIS) software, transportation and food-service software, library automation systems, and even learning management systems. The easy exchange of information among these various systems brings several additional benefits:

• Administrators can make more informed decisions about individual school or district-wide expenditures;
• Improvements in operational processes can lead to increased efficiency and enhanced student services;
• Increases in state and federal funding can be achieved from more accurate student counts; and
• Teachers can more effectively differentiate instruction and improve student achievement.

All of these benefits enable districts to direct more of their efforts toward their most important mission: educating children.

For its study, Educational Systemics interviewed key educators at each of the three districts, which all had different needs and varying experiences with SIF.

Liberty wanted to use SIF to eliminate duplicate data entry and redundant processes in two of its software applications. Two groups in particular have benefited from this deployment: the IT staff and librarians. Liberty's IT staff have reduced their data entry and troubleshooting chores, and the librarians have improved their services because they are able to access information in real time.

Naperville's SIF implementation also started out as an IT solution for eliminating multiple data entry; however, the project has grown into a broader solution, one that has facilitated data-driven decision making as SIF has become the district's central messaging hub. As Naperville continues its SIF implementation, which just began last year, it expects to develop more sophisticated data analysis that will improve student performance.