Saint Paul Public Schools Expands Relationship with Blackboard

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Saint Paul Public Schools (SPPS) selected Blackboard to expand its district-wide communications capabilities following a competitive review, the company announced today. Blackboard will provide SPPS with its K-12 parent and community digital engagement tools that combine parent notifications, school websites, and a mobile app that is custom-designed to serve its community.

One of Minnesota's largest school districts with 39,000 students and families across more than 60 schools, SPPS sought to implement one unified communications platform that is easy to use, provides mobile accessibility, has a low barrier to adoption and integrates with existing communications systems already in place. A long-standing customer of Blackboard, district officials cited the company's strong commitment to and investment in K-12 education, and its ongoing product innovation to benefit K-12 districts and schools in its selection of the company's communications solutions.

"We strongly believe family engagement is crucial to the success of our students," said Jackie Turner, chief of engagement for Saint Paul Public Schools. "We've worked with Blackboard for nearly 10 years and they are industry leaders. We want to meet our families where they are, and we look forward to even more colaboration with Blackboard as we expand our digital communication."

"Saint Paul Public Schools recognizes the importance of building a culture of communications that creates a strong learning environment for students and their families," said Mark Strassman, senior vice president of product management for Blackboard. "We are very excited to expand this partnership to help increase community engagement and participation. The very first steps of students' academic journeys in K-12 build their experiences and skills for higher education and job success. Together with SPPS, we are helping create a foundation for a lifetime of student achievement, and I'm very proud of that."

Through relationships like this, Blackboard's solutions and services are being used by one in three U.S. school districts, including 70 of the largest 100 districts, and more than 20 million K-12 students.

For more information about Blackboard, please visit www.blackboard.com or follow @Blackboard on Twitter.

About Blackboard Inc.
Blackboard is the world's leading education technology company. We challenge conventional thinking and advance new models of learning in order to reimagine education and make it more accessible, engaging and relevant to the modern day learner and the institutions that serve them. In partnership with our customers and partners in higher education and K-12 as well as corporations and government agencies around the world, our mission is to help every learner achieve their full potential by inspiring a passion for lifelong learning. For more information about Blackboard, follow us on Twitter @Blackboard.

Any statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects for Blackboard represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release. Actual results may differ materially as a result of various important factors. The Company anticipates that subsequent events and developments will cause the Company's views to change. However, while the Company may elect to update these statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so.

CONTACT
Lauren Dyke, Blackboard Inc.
(202) 463-4860 ext. 2860 or [email protected]

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SOURCE Blackboard Inc.

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