Frontline Education Releases Year-to-Date Administration Software Innovation Summary

Malvern, Pa. (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Frontline Education, a leading provider of administration software purpose-built for educators in K-12, today released a comprehensive year-to-date innovation summary that underscores the company’s commitment to anticipating and meeting the evolving needs of school districts across the country. Investments made across its broad portfolio of connected solutions for human capital management, student and special programs, business operations and analytics support educators in streamlining administrative processes and optimizing district operations so school leaders can prioritize their time on delivering high-quality education.

“The technology needs of K-12 school leaders are at the core of our software and services strategy, which inspires us to always embrace an innovation-first mindset,” said Kevin Haugh, Chief Product Officer of Frontline. “As school leaders endure the busy back-to-school season, our aim through these new or enhanced capabilities is to assist districts in fulfilling their goal of achieving operational excellence. This summary highlights Frontline’s leadership in and dedication to providing cutting-edge tools and resources that empower educational institutions to succeed in an ever-changing landscape.”

Year-to-Date Product Highlights
Human Capital Management
Frontline’s Human Capital Management (HCM) solution plays a pivotal role in assisting school districts in the process of attracting, engaging, nurturing, and retaining personnel, all while enhancing the overall employee experience. The significance of HCM has grown into a strategic imperative for school districts, especially in the face of ongoing challenges related to shortages of both teaching and non-instructional staff. Several of Frontline’s HCM products were enhanced during the first half of the year. …Read More

Coming out of the AI closet: A scholar’s embrace of ChatGPT-4

Key points:

For the past 12 years, I’ve navigated the rigorous waters of academia – from my MBA journey to obtaining a Ph.D. in business, and now diving into a Doctorate in education. It has been an odyssey of intellectual growth and endurance. However, an unexpected ally emerged in the last six months: ChatGPT-4. In this brief period, this AI tool has intensified my research prowess, sharpened my analytical acumen, and enhanced my productivity.

Today, with conviction and defiance against naysayers, I am stepping out from the shadows, declaring loud and proud: I harness the power of AI in my academic work, and no, it is not cheating. The era of AI-enhanced academia is dawning, and I stand at its vanguard, ready to redefine what is possible.…Read More

FCC proposes $200M for K-12 cybersecurity

Key points:

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel is asking her fellow Commissioners to support a proposal that would take further steps to enhance cybersecurity protections to protect school networks.

In a speech before the School Superintendents Association and the Association of School Business officers, Rosenworcel said she would be sharing with her colleagues a plan to create a pilot program to invest in cybersecurity services for eligible K-12 schools and libraries.…Read More

SchoolStatus Achieves Significant Business Momentum in 1H 2023, Fueled by Growing Demand for its K-12 Data and Communications Solutions

RIDGELAND, Miss.–  SchoolStatus, a leader in K-12 data and communications, achieved new business milestones that demonstrate strong company momentum in the first half of 2023 and growing excitement about its solutions from educators and administrators across the country. To support the increasing demand for its solutions, the company has expanded its sales team by 42% this year and appointed Sarah Kiley as Senior Vice President of Sales to lead the team. SchoolStatus also added Michael Wolset as Vice President of People.

In the past six months, SchoolStatus grew its base of district partners, expanding to new states and districts. In June 2023, G2, the world’s largest independent software and services review platform, selected SchoolStatus for 24 awards including Best Support, Most Likely to Recommend, and Easiest to Use.

Rebecca Moye, Data Coordinator for Rome City Schools, in Rome, Georgia, shared that, “SchoolStatus is a pillar of our strategic plan at Rome City Schools to engage with stakeholders…Last year we had 98% engagement in the last 90 days.”…Read More

Houston Business Journal Honors Intervene K-12 CEO as One of “Most Admired” CEOs in Houston

HOUSTON — Intervene K-12, a Houston-based online tutoring platform, is proud to announce that CEO and founder Aaron McCloud was recently named one of Houston’s “Most Admired” CEOs by the Houston Business Journal (HBJ). An independent panel from multiple industries selected the 49 honorees for the Houston Business Journal recognition based on their strategic leadership, career achievements, contributions to the greater Houston community and more. 

“The City of Houston has been an ideal home base for Intervene K-12 and I am honored to be recognized by the Houston Business Journal for the work we do to support more than 30,000 young scholars in our community and throughout the country,” said Aaron McCloud, founder and CEO of Intervene K-12. “While it feels great to be recognized as a leader, it is important to note that the work my team and I do is not self-serving. Everything we do is focused on serving scholars, as we work to equip them with the tools they need to flourish in the classroom, the community and the workforce.”

Intervene K-12 pairs data-driven instruction with high-dose online, small-group tutoring to help K-12 schools improve student outcomes through a fully integrated intervention program that drives measurable student growth. This outcome is achieved through deep analysis of student skill deficits, differentiated lessons and live online, small-group instruction, either during the school day or after school. Intervene K-12 provides tutoring in a variety of subjects, including math, reading, and English language support.…Read More

Wayside Publishing to Enhance New and Future Products After Acquisition

FREEPORT, Maine – Wayside Publishing®, the fastest-growing, U.S.-based K–12 world languages publisher, announces the acquisition of Lit®, a leading creator of comprehensible input animated video stories. 

Wayside Publishing has been in business since 1988 and creates proficiency-based print and digital world language programs and Comprehension-based Readers™. With a focus on innovation, Wayside continues to expand their range of creative and time-saving technologies for educators—ones that also provide students with engaging and supportive learning-enhancement tools. 

“We will immediately begin using the Lit library of videos to enhance new and future products, and the in-house video production will allow us to create content faster and at a lower cost,” said Wayside President Greg Greuel. “The combination of Lit content with our products will enhance our offerings and add to what our customers have been asking from us.” …Read More

Certiport Names 2023 Adobe Certified Professional US National Champions

Orlando, Florida – Certiport, a Pearson VUE business and the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners, announced the winners of their 2023 Adobe Certified Professional US National Championship.

The Certiport Adobe Certified Professional US National Champions are as follows:

  1. Andrew Jarnac, North Carolina
  2. Kayla Crossen-Zawila, Oklahoma
  3. Lena Sedlmayer, Georgia

Across the US, more than 31,000 students ages 13 to 22 qualified for Certiport’s Adobe Certified Professional US National Championship by earning an Adobe Certified Professional certification in Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator, or InDesign. Certified students entered original design creations and 40 were selected to compete at the Hilton Orlando Lake Buena Vista – Disney Springs® area hotel from June 26-28, 2023.…Read More

Certiport Names 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist US National Champions

Orlando, Florida – Certiport, a Pearson VUE business and the leading provider of performance-based IT certification exams that accelerate academic and career opportunities for learners, today announced the winners of the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist US National Championship. The champions topped 185 finalists at the live competitive event in Orlando, Florida, and the first-place winners will head to the Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Orlando, Florida, USA in August. This year marks 21 years since the competition began in 2002.

From across the US, more than 217,000 students ages 13 to 22 entered one of six competition tracks by submitting a qualified, passing score on the following certification exams: Microsoft Office Specialist Word, Microsoft Office Specialist Excel®, and Microsoft Office Specialist PowerPoint®. First-place winners receive an $3,000 USD cash prize, second place $2,000 USD, and third place $1,000 USD.

Finalists were given a printed copy of a document, spreadsheet, or presentation to recreate along with printed instructions and digital assets. They were then scored according to the accuracy of the recreation compared to the original. The champions in each program, along with a chaperone, have won a trip to participate in the 2023 Microsoft Office Specialist World Championship in Orlando, Florida, USA July 31 – August 2, 2023, where they will compete against over a hundred other finalists from countries across the globe.…Read More

Michigan EdTech Pitch Contest awards $22,000 to five education innovators

LANSING, Mich. — Edtech innovators from Spelling Safari have been chosen as the winners of the second annual Michigan EdTech Innovation Pitch Contest, sharing $22,000 in business startup grants and legal and creative startup assistance with four other finalists. The concepts developed from the final pitches will be used to improve Michigan classrooms through innovation, technology and firsthand educator experience. 

“All of our groups did a great job and this wasn’t easy. Five minutes isn’t a long time to present and this was a difficult choice for our judges,” explained Matthew Okoneski, a contest judge from Red Cedar Ventures. “Startups are hard and I want to commend our participants for their decision to focus in this space to solve some of our communities’ biggest problems.” 

The first-place prize went to Jonathan Marceau, a teacher at Monfort Elementary in the Utica Community School district, who will receive $10,000 in business startup grant funding, plus branding and logo design support, and legal consultation for Spelling Safari. Spelling Safari is a spelling curriculum reinvention and software solution providing elementary students with fun and adaptive learning. …Read More