New Hampshire School District Partners with GlobalScholar to Reach Instructional and Student Achievement Goals

GREELEY, Colo. (Aug. 10, 2010) – Working to meet significant district-wide instructional and student achievement goals, Sanborn Regional School District (SAU #17) in New Hampshire is partnering with GlobalScholar, implementing the company's end-to-end solution, the Pinnacle Suite.

Supporting nearly 2,000 students in Kingston, Newton and Fremont, N.H., administrators in SAU #17 were looking for technology that would allow them to better assess students and use that data to inform instructional decisions. The district was using a variety of programs and tools, forcing administrators and educators to access data through multiple channels.

"Our school board has set a goal for SAU #17 to become a top 10 percent performing school district – a goal based not just on achievement, but a number of indicators we have identified to measure success, including test scores, enrichment activities and the types of classes we offer at each school," said Brian Stack, principal of Sanborn Regional High School. "We realized, in order to meet these goals, we needed to do a better job of standards-based grading. This led us to look at the Pinnacle Suite."

This June, SAU #17 began implementing three elements of the Pinnacle Suite – the student information system (Pinnacle SIS), the standards-based gradebook (Pinnacle Grade), and a curriculum and assessment management system (Pinnacle Instruction) – by training a select group of faculty and staff who will support peers later in the summer. The district also will incorporate professional development through Pinnacle PD throughout the 2010-2011 school year.

"We chose to work with GlobalScholar because the company and the product are flexible enough to meet the needs of our district now, while also being adaptable enough to meet the future needs of our district as well," Stack continued.

The Pinnacle Suite allows SAU #17 to move toward a standards-based grading system and helps to streamline processes traditionally conducted without technology. Previously, the district used pencil and paper methods to provide course recommendations and schedules for high school students, which required a significant amount of time, resources and data entry. Pinnacle Grade permits teachers to recommend classes for students and allows students to register online for classes already approved by faculty. Most important, Pinnacle Grade helps SAU #17 faculty assess students based on how well they have met certain standards or criteria, allowing educators to communicate to students, parents and each other exactly which skills the students are proficient in, and where remediation is needed.

"We're well on our way to achieving our goals, and we know the Pinnacle Suite will help us reach them in a more efficient way," Stack concluded.

GlobalScholar's Pinnacle Suite is an end-to-end online solution that provides districts a low total cost-of-ownership by combining real-time data with powerful technology. Eliminating the need to maintain a data management framework built from various products, the Pinnacle Suite offers a standards-based gradebook; student information system; performance-based scheduler; integrated curriculum and assessments; data analytics; tutoring; supplemental education services; and professional development programming, all in one platform. For more information about the Pinnacle Suite, visit www.pinnaclesuite.com.

About GlobalScholar
GlobalScholar, delivers the technical innovations that meet the needs of today's evolving data-driven educational system. The company's end-to-end solution, the Pinnacle Suite, increases teacher effectiveness, improves communication and empowers educators to transform practices that improve student learning for the digital age. Ensuring a high return on investment, the Pinnacle Suite provides: a gradebook; student information system; performance-based scheduler; integrated curriculum and assessments; data analytics; tutoring; supplemental education services; and professional development programming. GlobalScholar is a member of the Knowledge Universe family of companies. For more information, visit www.globalscholar.com or phone 800-473-4572.

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