Follett to Support K-12 State Standards Transition In Mississippi

Aspen IMS will help Central Access Corp. customers connect district leaders, teachers, students, parents

MCHENRY, IL, Mar 7, 2014 – Central Access Corp. today announced a partnership with Follett to provide Mississippi schools and educators access to Follett's Aspen Instructional Management System (IMS).  Aspen IMS offers powerful curriculum and classroom tools that help teachers and students to focus on engagement and achievement that meet state education standards.

For the 2014-2015 school year, Central Access customers will have the opportunity to purchase Aspen IMS tools and access them directly through the Central Access SAM7 management software, which is used in schools and school districts serving more than 70 percent of K-12 students in Mississippi.  SAM7 allows educators to manage enrollment, attendance, grading, scheduling, discipline, special education, state reporting, and calendars. 

"With the transition to the Common Core State Standards, our customers have been looking for more support to meet the challenge," said Jay Milam, President, Central Access Corp. "We needed the curriculum piece, and that led us to Follett. Our goal is to help Mississippi schools progress and improve, and educators here in the state will find Aspen IMS to be a welcome addition."

Follett's Aspen IMS allows educators to search, store and share resources needed to build and manage a meaningful, standards-based curriculum. Aspen IMS gives curriculum directors and teams the ability to:

• Manage curriculum maps and establish streamlined content;
• Collaborate on, edit, adjust and approve curriculum maps for classroom use; and
• Align curriculum maps to standards, attach resources and share model lesson plans.

Aspen IMS also provides robust communications connectivity, linking district leaders with teachers, teachers with students, students with each other, and with their parents.  For example, Aspen IMS provides parents with enhanced visibility into their child's daily classroom activities, current grades and progress, as well as increased communication with teachers.

"This is a partnership through which educators in Mississippi can truly benefit from the combination of Central Access' expertise in the student information system world and Follett's proven technology platform," said George Gatsis, Follett's vice president of strategy and strategic partnerships.

Certain SAM7 districts in the state will begin to pilot Aspen IMS, beginning with Natchez-Adams School District this month.

For more information on Central Access Corp., visit Centralaccess.net. For more information on Follett's K-12 business, visit FollettLearning.com.

Established in 1954, Ridgeland, Miss.-based Central Access Corp. focuses on school fund accounting, school personnel, and student management.  The company's Student Administration Management (SAM) educational software solution allows school districts to manage most every aspect of their daily routine, including enrollment, attendance, grading, scheduling, discipline, special education, state reporting and calendars.

About Follett's PreK-12 Business | Follettlearning.com

Follett is the largest provider of educational materials and technology solutions to PreK-12 libraries, classrooms, learning centers and school districts in the United States, and a major supplier to educational institutions worldwide. Follett distributes books, reference materials, digital resources, ebooks and audiovisual materials, as well as pre-owned textbooks. Follett also is one of the leading providers of integrated educational technology for the management of physical and digital assets, the tracking, storing and analyzing of academic data, and digital learning environment tools for the classroom focusing on student achievement.

About Follett Corporation | Follett.com 

Since 1873, Follett has served as the trusted partner in education for students and educators at all levels of learning. Today Follett delivers physical and digital learning materials, retail services, school content and management systems to more than 80,000 early childhood, primary and secondary schools, and on more than 1,000 college campuses. Headquartered in River Grove, Illinois, Follett is a $2.7 billion privately held company.