Innovation

Pittsburgh-based OnHand Schools is assisting districts at a pivotal point in time with powerful education software tools to improve student performance.

Faced with concerns over future spending cuts in state education, districts are turning to OnHand to help them interpret and adjust to the new "value added model" of education, which goes beyond raw test scores to determine which districts and schools are truly helping their students to learn and grow. In addition to helping improve scores on PSSA tests, OnHand helps teachers and administrators with instructional management systems that assist with student data, curriculum-based standards, lesson planning and differentiated instruction.

OnHand recently doubled its office space in the Cardello Building and has doubled in size from 12 to 20 employees, including both full and part-timers. The company is planning for major growth in the coming year, hiring educational consultants, IT and salespeople.

OnHand has more than 100 client districts in the state and is moving into New Jersey and Florida. The company was founded in 2004 by Toby Basalla, a former Pittsburgh Public Schools administrator, Gil Iacono and Tom DeMarco. OnHand has received funding and support from Idea Foundry.

"Our guess is that many districts will have to make hard choices (with possible state budget cuts)," says Basalla. "Districts need the data and (an ability to assess the) academic impact of these cuts, which will create more demand for our software."

One of the biggest opportunities in education is the area of benchmark assessment, Basalla adds. With high stakes testing, a requirement of No Child Left Behind legislation, we need to offer districts a series of tests to let them know exactly where they stand.

"We've developed this technology to answer that need."

Writer: Deb Smit
Source: Toby Basalla, OnHand Schools

Image of staff courtesy of OnHand Schools