The Miami-Dade County Public School district, the fourth largest in the US, built a web-based portal to provide its over 1 million students, parents, teachers, and administrators with centralized access to district resources and information. This improved access to tools and data, enhanced productivity and decision-making, and improved collaboration. The portal allows all users to customize their experience and access resources, communications, grades, and other tools relevant to their role in a single online location.

1. The People-Ready Business
Case Study
Miami-Dade County Public
Schools
School District Improves Education by Linking Teachers,
Students, Parents Online
The fourth-largest public school district in the United States needed a
consistent way to deliver information to more than 1 million students, parents,
teachers, and administrators. Miami-Dade County Public Schools built a
Web-based portal to give all these constituents a single point of access for
relevant information, services, and applications. The district has improved
learning potential for children, enhanced parents’ ability to participate in the
education of their children, and improved the effectiveness and productivity of
teachers and school administrators.
OVERVIEW
Solution
Country or Region
United States
The school district built an enterprise Web- “Teachers and administrators
based portal that provides students, parents, are more productive and
Industry teachers, and administrators with a single effective; parents are
Education point of access to district technology participating more actively;
resources. and students are more
Customer Profile
Florida’s Miami-Dade County Public Schools empowered to help manage,
Benefits
(M-DCPS) includes more than 400 schools,  Improved access to information
influence, and direct their own
encompassing roughly 345,000 students  Enhanced productivity and
educations.”
and 50,000 employees. decision-making Deborah Karcher,
 Improved collaboration Chief Information Officer for
Business Situation Information Technology Services,
M-DCPS needed to provide more than 1  Rapid time-to-benefit, at reduced cost Miami-Dade County Public Schools
million people (teachers, parents, staff, and
students) with improved access to multiple
information systems and applications used
to educate Miami-Dade children.
The People-Ready Business Case Study 1

2. The People-Ready Business
Situation but we needed to give people a better way
to take advantage of them.”
Miami-Dade County Public Schools (M-
DCPS) is the fourth-largest school district in Also, paper-based systems were a
the United States, with some 367 public hindrance to teacher effectiveness. “All our
schools and 40 charter schools. Serving an student data and lesson plans were on
area of more than 2,400 square miles, M- paper, and we had papers all over the place.
DCPS has 345,000 students, 50,000 I had to manually input data, which
employees, and an annual budget of more presented a huge administrative burden,”
than U.S.$6 billion. says Dr. Alice F. Quarles, Principal of
Greynolds Park Elementary School.
In late 2005, the M-DCPS published a
Comprehensive IT Blueprint that provided a Linda Eason, Fifth Grade Teacher at
framework and plan of action for using Greynolds Park Elementary School, says
technology to help provide the highest- that paper systems hindered teachers and
quality education for students. The five-year parents, too. “To communicate with parents,
plan included objectives to encourage I would phone home or send a note home
student use of technology to manage their with the child. Occasionally the child failed
own learning, provide parents with the to deliver the message, and it was two or
opportunity to participate in their children’s three days before we could resolve the
education, and give teachers the tools and issue.”
information needed to maximize their
effectiveness. The plan also aimed to “We realized that to communicate effectively
provide administrators and operations/ with parents and the community, we would “I’m able to be more
support staff with the tools and information need tools that permitted our stakeholders creative as a teacher,
needed to make informed decisions, to move decisively in support of their because I have more
communicate effectively, and optimally children—our students,” says Rudolph F. time to find resources
deploy resources. “Rudy” Crew, Ed.D., Superintendent of M- that can supplement my
DCPS. “These tools had to work together in instruction. I’m also better
To realize those objectives, the school such a way as to convert a parent’s need to able to share ideas with
district needed a more consistent way to know into the ability to act.” other teachers.”
deliver the information in its many systems
and applications to stakeholders. “In the
Linda Eason,
past, people had to look in many different Solution Fifth Grade Teacher,
places to get information,” says Deborah Greynolds Park Elementary School
A Web-based portal was the obvious
Karcher, Chief Information Officer for
solution. “A Web portal would allow us to
Information Technology Services at M-
push relevant information to all users
DCPS. “Teachers used one system to
through one communication channel, rather
access e-mail messages and calendars, and
than having users navigate a maze of stand-
another for teaching resources, and had to
alone resources to find what they need,”
ask someone in the school office for data
Karcher says. “We wanted to make all our
from our student information system that
applications and data sources available in a
runs on the mainframe. Similarly, school
single place, and tailor that information to
principals had to use five or six different
each user’s role.”
systems in a normal day’s work. We have
several very good systems and applications,
The People-Ready Business Case Study 2

3. The People-Ready Business
The district considered several options for All these users can customize the
implementing the portal but selected appearance of their portal pages to display
Microsoft® software, because of its cost information of interest. For example,
advantages and its ability to fit with the teachers can include links to video and text
district’s existing IT infrastructure and skill used in lessons, and students can add
set. The IT staff worked with teachers to content for research and homework
refine the vision, then built a functional pilot assignments.
in just eight weeks. The district continued to
expand the portal over the next several Using extensive collaboration features such
months. Today, the M-DCPS districtwide as online meeting spaces, team sites,
portal provides a range of functionality to a discussion groups, instant messaging, and
range of constituents: alerts (available in the 2007-2008 school
year), staff, educators, parents, and
 Students. From any Internet students will be able to work together more
connection, students can view their closely. To alleviate information overload,
class list, grades, stored documents, users will be able to take advantage of
school announcements and events, and extensive search capabilities to quickly and
a district calendar. The portal also links easily find the information that they need.
to the district’s instructional content, an Executive Biography
online student-advising system, and an Deborah Karcher is the Chief
online resource that reinforces reading
Benefits Information Officer at the Office of
Information Technology for Miami-
and math skills. With its new Web portal, Miami-Dade Dade County Public Schools. Karcher
 Parents. Parents can view their child’s County Public Schools is helping all has also worked at Amadeus and
class list and grades, assignments, stakeholders in the district influence student Motorola in customer support,
school bus information, state graduation achievement, by giving users the tools and training, quality assurance, and
requirements, immunization guidelines, information needed to collaborate more program management. She earned a
and links to many other resources. effectively, work more productively, and Bachelor of Business Administration
 Teachers. Teachers can view their make more informed decisions. “Teachers and a Master of Public Administration
personal information; e-mail messages from Florida International University.
and administrators are more productive and
and calendar; stored files; class lists; a effective; parents are participating more
roster of students in each class; actively; and students are more empowered
detailed data from the Student to help manage, influence, and direct their
Information System; and a graphical own educations,” Karcher says. “These
“student scorecard” that shows each capabilities have a strong, positive impact
child’s current performance and on student achievement.”
whether that performance is improving,
holding steady, or decreasing over time.
Instructional content and lesson plans Improved Access to Information
Students can now monitor their own grades
are on the portal, tailored to grade
and access a wealth of educational
levels.
resources ranging from instructional content
 Principals. Principals can see personal
to the district library system. “Students can
information and documents, calendars,
access instructional content to enrich their
weekly district briefings, reports from
class experiences,” Quarles says. “It’s a way
key district systems, and links to other
of engaging the class in more critical and
relevant resources.
creative thinking. We’re empowering
students to teach each other.” Parents are
The People-Ready Business Case Study 3

4. The People-Ready Business
presented with similar information, so they so that the portal saves me each day is a
can get more involved in the education of huge benefit.”
their children.
“Principals now can easily access
Teachers can use a single point of access to operational reports, monitor key
commonly used applications, and to performance indicators, and view
information that was previously unavailable. attendance and suspension data—all things
“I’m able to be more creative as a teacher, that they’re held accountable for,” adds
because I have more time to find resources Karcher. “In addition, they have access to
that can supplement my instruction,” Eason weekly briefings, which are how the district
says. “I’m also better able to share ideas communicates with administrators on issues
with other teachers.” of importance.”
School administrators can easily access the
Improved Collaboration
forms, tools, and reports that they need to
The district is improving student
keep everything running smoothly, to Executive Biography
achievement by using the portal to facilitate
optimize their use of resources, and quickly
collaboration among parents, students, and
identify any issues that need their attention. Dr. Alice Quarles is a 23-year veteran
teachers, including both the provisioning of of the Miami-Dade County Public
“A couple of clicks, and I can get all the
student assignments and the dissemination Schools, having served as teacher,
information I need on a child,” Quarles says.
of performance data. “We’re encouraging district administrator, and school site
“I’m empowered with the information I need administrator. Dr. Quarles is currently
parent involvement by making parents more
to make decisions about classrooms at all the principal of Greynolds Park
aware of the resources that are available to
levels. I can also make decisions faster. The Elementary School. Her primary goals
them,” Karcher says. “Parent use of the
portal empowers teachers to make are to ensure ready access to the data
portal is greatest in the early morning, when
decisions for their children. They don’t have and tools teachers need to maximize
they would otherwise be unable to connect
to come to me to get information. They can each child’s potential and to make
with teachers directly.” sure each child has the skills needed
access it themselves.”
to successfully compete in the future.
“I’m able to remain very active in the school
Enhanced Productivity and and in my daughter’s life. All the information
Decision Making I need is right there at my fingertips. Before,
Consolidated access to information is I had to hang out in the hallways to catch
improving productivity for the district’s teachers,” says district parent Colette
teachers, helping them to more easily Satchell.
access and make use of student data. “I
have everything that I need in one place, Teachers and students can use digital
eliminating the need to switch between workspaces to share files, parents can view
different systems as I work,” says Lauren their children’s homework assignments, and
Graper, First Grade Teacher at Miami district staff can share documents and
Heights Elementary School. “I can read and prepare for meetings. People will soon be
answer e-mail from parents, prepare a able to use the portal’s built-in workflow
lesson, enter grades, or get ready for a capabilities to work together more effectively
parent meeting without ever having to leave by automating the routing and approval of
the portal. I have only a few hours in the forms and documents.
early morning and late afternoon when
students aren’t in class, so the half-hour or
The People-Ready Business Case Study 4

5. The People-Ready Business
“Collaboration is key to success in Customer Details:
education,” Quarles says. “We need to Miami-Dade County Public Schools
share ideas. Our teachers use the portal to Web site: www.dadeschools.net
look at the variety of resources that they
may never have thought of using—best The People-Ready Business.
practices from all around the country.”
A people-ready business is one
where people can apply their
Rapid Time-to-Benefit at Reduced unique skills, insights, and
Cost experience to create new products
“Everyone is very pleased with how fast and services, work responsively
things came together, and a lot of that is due with customers and partners, and
to the extensive prebuilt functionality drive operational excellence in
provided by Microsoft software,” Karcher every aspect of the business.
says. The district’s decision to use Microsoft
People-ready businesses support
people with knowledge, practices,
software also is providing significant cost
and tools so that they can add the
benefits. “Not only are we delivering a
extra value that helps differentiate
solution that will serve more than a million successful organizations in a
potential users at a far lower cost than what competitive, fast-moving global
many other districts have done, but we’re economy.
also doing it with minimal risk,” she
continues. “Considering how many users the
www.microsoft.com/peopleready
portal will serve and the many ways in which
it’s helping improve the education of Miami-
Dade children, we believe that we’re getting Software & Services
an excellent return on our investment.”
Windows Server® 2003 R2
Enterprise Edition
Microsoft BizTalk® Server 2006
Microsoft Identity Integration Server
2003
Microsoft Office SharePoint®
Server 2007
Microsoft SQL Server™ 2005
This case study is for informational purposes only. MICROSOFT MAKES NO WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, IN THIS SUMMARY.
Document published June 2007
The People-Ready Business Case Study 5