TOPEKA, KAN. September 1, 2021 — The Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) and Illuminate Education have signed a four-year agreement that increases access to Illuminate’s FastBridge universal screening, skills analysis, and progress monitoring tools for academics and social-emotional behavior (SEB) for districts across Kansas. The collaboration means KSDE will use ESSER funding to fulfill half the cost of FastBridge subscriptions for any Kansas district that adopts the solution. Kansas districts already using FastBridge will receive a credit. The initiative is designed to further the state’s work on its multi-tiered system of support (MTSS) program.
“FastBridge screening and progress monitoring systems have been great for not only our academic purposes, but also our social-emotional data,” said Brittany Schields, Curriculum & Instruction Coordinator at Garden City Public Schools. “Our counselors create support groups using the social-emotional screening information while our buildings utilize academics to create interventions and classroom supports. Data collection is easy, but the different ways to analyze the data using the reports are even better. It has been a useful and necessary tool that Garden City Public Schools has relied on for years.”
As part of the agreement, Illuminate will provide a mix of virtual and onsite professional development for KSDE leaders and district staff on FastBridge, ensuring strong implementations across the state.
“We’re looking forward to partnering with educators in Kansas,” said Christine Willig, CEO of Illuminate. “This fall, it’s more important than ever that educators have accurate insights into each one of their student’s academic and SEB needs to make instructional decisions with confidence. Illuminate helps them do just that.”
FastBridge, from Illuminate, combines Computer-Adaptive Tests (CAT) and Curriculum-Based Measures (CBM) for universal screening and progress monitoring—and built-in reporting provides academic intervention recommendations for classes, small groups, and individual students. The cloud-based subscription service (SaaS) consists of support for PreK–12 reading, math, and behavior.
“Our teachers, interventionist, and instructional coaches love the information we receive from FastBridge screeners and progress monitoring tools. The resources and trainings available have been integral in planning, assessing, and using in the classroom. Easy to use, easy to assess, and perfect for our district,” said Emily Shrimplin, Instructional Coach at Garden City Public Schools.
This is the second statewide agreement for Illuminate, with another statewide contract with Iowa. Currently, FastBridge is implemented in 350 districts throughout Iowa and is used to screen and monitor around 250,000 students.
To learn more about Illuminate or FastBridge, visit https://www.illuminateed.com.
About Illuminate Education
Illuminate Education equips educators to take a data-driven approach to serving the whole child. Our solution combines comprehensive assessment, MTSS management and collaboration, and real-time dashboard tools, and puts them in the hands of educators. As a result, educators can monitor learning and growth, identify academic and social-emotional behavioral needs, and align targeted supports in order to accelerate learning for each student. To learn more, visit https://www.illuminateed.com.
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