Home    >    Press    >    2003 Press Releases

Small Calif. School District Beats Others to the High-Tech Punch -- First District in the State to License Pearson Education Technologies' "Concert"

Web-based Application Will Help Teachers Plan Instruction and Manage Student Mastery of State Standards

Mesa, AZ - January 21, 2003 - One of the smallest school districts in California is the first in the state to purchase a license to the most cutting-edge programs in education today. The Le Grand Union Elementary School District in Le Grand, Calif. is the state's first school district to license Concert™ Instruction and Assessment, a component of the Concert online education community. Concert is the first all-inclusive family of integrated Web-based applications for K-12 education.

Developed by Pearson Education Technologies, Concert is a set of programs that seamlessly link together all the functions of a school district, enabling school district leaders to manage their entire educational enterprise effectively and efficiently. Concert Instruction & Assessment combines standards-aligned instruction, lesson planning, assessment, and educational content to help all participants in the education community - students, parents, teachers, and administrators - achieve success.

In the January issue of eSchool News, a monthly newspaper covering the use of technology and the Internet in K-12 education, Concert is cited as an answer to the emergence of a business management approach, called enterprise resource planning (ERP), being embraced by K-12 districts. According to the article, ERP closely integrates all facets of a business so managers can instantly measure results and see how changes in one area affect all other areas. The article states that "Concert is one of the most comprehensive versions of this concept," and that given the tough accountability standards of the Bush Administration's No Child Left Behind Act, Concert is "a concept that is sure to resonate with educators."

According to Le Grand Superintendent Scott Lucas and Vice Principal Rosina Hurtado, Concert's standards-aligned instructional resources and planning and assessment components will make teachers' jobs easier, while giving them the tools they need to manage and impact student achievement on state standards and objectives.

"Concert will provide teachers with easier access to a variety of tools and resources," said Lucas. "Teachers will be able to access their lesson plans, planning calendars, and student performance data via the Web at school or at home, whenever it is most convenient. This will create unlimited opportunities for teachers to develop and enrich their lesson planning and instruction, and better meet students' needs."

"In our district, we want to make sure we instruct and assess students on every learning objective required and tested by the state," added Hurtado. "Concert will provide us with assessment data that tells us whether our students are mastering each objective in a timely manner, so we can intervene and help students who are struggling in specific areas. Our goal is to help all our students perform better in the classroom and on state requirements in each grade level."

The Le Grand Union Elementary School District will begin to roll out Concert Instruction & Assessment in 2003. Training and installation will begin in January. Pearson Education Technologies will provide implementation management, installation, training, and support services.

About Le Grand Union Elementary School District

The rural Le Grand Union Elementary School District serves 435 students in kindergarten through eighth grade. The district's student population is 80 percent Hispanic, 19 percent Caucasian, and 1 percent other ethnicities. More than 80 percent of students receive free and reduced-price lunches, and more than 50 percent are English language learners.

About Pearson Education Technologies 

With more than 40 years of experience in developing, delivering, and supporting curriculum, assessment, and enterprise data management products, Pearson Education Technologies is the leader in offering comprehensive solutions for preK-12 education. Reaching more than 10 million students annually, our products include the SASIxp™ student information system, SuccessMaker® Enterprise and NovaNET® comprehensive courseware systems, and Concert™ Instruction & Assessment, the online education community. Pearson Education Technologies is part of Pearson Education (NYSE: PSO), the world's leading integrated education company.

For more information about Pearson Education Technologies, call 1.877.EdTech1.