The school used a Microsoft Windows NT server running software based on Windows DNA and a preliminary SIF specification that helped integrate three different applications together. The goal was to establish a system that could exchange student information in real-time so that students instantly had a single identity in the various departments, instead of separate, isolated ones. The SIF implementation team came to Ramsey Elementary School and worked with its staff under the direction of Patrick Plant, technology coordinator at Anoka Hennepin to put the new software in place. It is now working as smoothly as anyone could expect, said Plant, noting he has had to make a few technical adjustments here and there. But for the most part we are off and running.
High performance is valued deeply in the school district.
Plant described the best of breed concept that has led the district to maintain a cross-platform computer system that brings the best software and hardware to each network function. With the SIF school districts are not limited in their choice of software, Plant said. We have a lot of students transferring from school to school in our district because our community is growing so rapidly. There are probably 250 new homes built here every year. Getting a new student s information added to our database with one step instead of many, helps us better meet the student s educational needs.