Tate Gould to be Keynote Speaker at the SIF Association's 2011 Annual Meeting

The 2011 SIF Association Annual Meeting will be held at the Washington Marriott, Washington DC from Wednesday, January 19 to Friday, January 21, 2011.  This 3-day event promises to deliver a packed programme with group discussions, presentations and working meetings throughout the event.

The SIF Association is delighted to announce the 2011 Keynote Speaker Tate Gould.  Mr Gould is a Research Scientist at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical branch of the U.S. Department of Education. He presently is a Program Officer for the Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) grant program which provides grants to states to help develop, design, and implement statewide education data systems intended to enhance the management, analysis, and use of education data in order to improve student learning. He serves on the National Forum for Education Statistics and has professional experience in local, state, and national education policy.

In addition, first-time attendees - or those wishing to brush up on their existing SIF knowledge - have the opportunity to attend two ‘crash courses’ on SIF Implementation.  Topics will include the SIF Association, SIF Theory, project planning, SIF Data Model, SIF Infrastructure and many more...

There will also be the opportunity for Peer-to-Peer group discussions with LEA and SEA participants.  We endeavor to provide an open dialogue forum between local/state education agency staffers and their peers, so that they may sharebest-practices, strategies or other implementation stories for the benefit of the Community.

For the technical among you there are several working meeting sessions including Web Services, SIS Profile, Data Synchronization and architecting multi-zone solutions.
Partners and International group discussions will also be held.  As we start 2011 and the SIF Association gains strength internationally, we look forward to open dialogue around international subject matters and how the Association can develop to address the needs of the international communities.

This is just a taste of the huge range of topics and sessions that will be held.  To see the full schedule, please click here