A software company with expertise in the K-12 education arena could be tapped to build a platform for Alabama state officials to track student- and school-specific data in the hopes of tackling achievement gaps.
The State Department of Education is seeking authority from the members of a legislative panel to use funds to build out a data management system that largely would benefit employees within the agency.
Terms of the proposal call for a $7.79 million contract to PowerSchool Group LLC, a Folsom, Calif.-based software company that specializes in gathering data through cloud-based solutions.
Connor Johnston, a representative within the department, went before the bipartisan members of the Alabama Contract Review Committee on Thursday and discussed the proposal.
“This is for PowerSchool to come in and, from the ground up, build us a customized data dashboard,” Johnston said. “This is so that our staff … can go in, in real-time, and see where students are struggling and where schools are struggling.”
If plans proceed as proposed, Johnston said the PowerSchool system would give department officials more rapid access to data and provide solutions to address issues as they arise.
“Rather than waiting on a report at the end of the year, they can go in, if it was implemented today, click a button, see what students are struggling where and provide that implementation or that intervention to that school or that student – however, they need to,” Johnston said.
The SDE’s request comes on the heels of a report last month that revealed a total of 79 schools across Alabama met the criteria of “failing” under the state’s guidelines. In 2019 – the last time state officials generated such a report – 74 schools wound up on the list.
Learning loss and declining student achievement has been a widespread issue within schools across the U.S. – a ripple effect from the temporary cessation of in-person learning when COVID-19 mitigation measures were heaviest.
Johnston said the goal behind the would-be PowerSchool contract is to follow through with Alabama’s education-related legislation, including the Accountability Act, which was passed into law in 2013, and calls for corrective measures for failing schools.
“It’s more for us at the department being able to go in,” Johnston said of the system PowerSchool would build. “(Agency staffers) can go in and take care of a crisis before it becomes one.”
At the meeting, members of the Contract Review Committee delayed signing off on the PowerSchool contract because additional information was requested. Questions arose about what, if any, opportunities parents will have in accessing data from the new system.
“If it’s available to state employees, why shouldn’t it be available to the parents? They would have an immediate interest, I would think, in how their child or how their school is performing,” said state Sen. Greg Albritton, R-Atmore. “That’s my only concern – if it’s available and an in-house thing, shouldn’t it be available to parents also?”
Johnston said he did not have a ready answer to the question but indicated he would look into it on a deeper level.
PowerSchool is already a familiar concept to parents and students in school districts across Alabama. The company’s software is used to convey specific information to parents.
Republished with the permission of The Center Square.
