Agenda Item
b. SchooLinks: College and Career Readiness Platform (Not to Exceed $477,000)
Summary: Presented by: Kishia Towns, Ph.D., Chief, Wrap Around Services, Division of Wrap Around Services
Request: It is requested that the DeKalb County Board of Education ("the Board") approve a 12-month contract with SchooLinks for an amount not to exceed $477,000 as part of the TIPS contract number 250802.
Why: This request is for a contract with SchooLinks, a comprehensive college and career readiness and social-emotional learning solution for twenty-four (24) high schools, twenty (20) middle schools, and eighty-six (86) elementary schools.
Details: On January 9, 2019, the DeKalb County School District Board of Education approved the purchase of the district’s first College and Career Readiness (CCLR) platform. This platform supports school counselors, Post secondary Transition Specialists, and Senior Advisory Liaisons in working directly with students to develop and implement individualized post-secondary plans while also supporting Social Emotional Learning (SEL) lessons.
The district is transitioning its College and Career Readiness platform to SchooLinks, which will serve as the centralized system for college, career, and life readiness planning for all students. SchooLinks is an online platform that can be accessed anytime, from any location, by both staff and students, ensuring continuity of services and consistent access to planning tools and resources.
The platform provides students with a variety of tools designed to support post secondary planning and exploration. These include self-discovery and career assessments, career exploration resources, communication tools, college-matching features, scholarship search capabilities, goal-setting tools, work-based learning tracking, and opportunities for virtual engagement with college representatives.
Beginning in kindergarten and continuing through high school, students will utilize the platform to complete career exploration activities and develop individualized academic and career plans. Junior and senior students will utilize the CCLR platform to apply to colleges and universities, submit requests for official transcripts, and access scholarship opportunities. The platform will also serve as the district’s centralized system for collecting and reporting scholarship data for graduating seniors.
Additionally, required activities are aligned with the Georgia Department of Education-such as the ‘'Top State for Talent Act House Bill 192" (formerly B.R.I.D.G.E Law) mandates, Child Protection Units, and Bullying Prevention lessons are completed within the platform, and the corresponding data reports are submitted annually to the Georgia Department of Education.
Georgia Work-Based Learning Data Reporting Alignment - Sole Source with SchooLinks is the only CCLR platform GADOE approved Work-Based Learning management solution that generates data that is fully aligned with the official state definitions and requirements.
SchooLinks automatically formats and pushes all required data directly into the reporting portal in compliance with the GADOE submission standards, hence increasing reporting efficiency by eliminating manual reporting.
Financial impact: The total budget of $477,000 for the K-12 SchooLinks platforms will be allocated from Purchased Professional and Technical Services: 100.2100.530010.63711.7040.9990.8010.090.0000.
Contact: Kishia Towns, Ph.D., Chief of Wrap Around Services, Division of Wrap Around Services, 678.676.1811
Mr. Christopher Key, Executive Director of Student Advancement, Division of Wrap Around Services, 678.485.9544
Dr. Shannon Crosslin, Senior Coordinator & School Counseling, Division of Wrap Around Services, 404.808.8942
Effective: 07/01/2026
Status: Approved by the Office of Legal Affairs
Chronology
Item: College and Career Readiness Platform in DeKalb County School District
On January 9, 2019, the DeKalb County School District Board of Education approved the district’s first College
and Career Readiness (CCLR) platform, Naviance, to support student postsecondary planning and career
exploration. The platform provides tools for career assessments, college matching, scholarship searches, goal
setting, and work-based learning tracking while allowing students—particularly juniors and seniors—to apply
to colleges, request official transcripts, and access scholarship opportunities. DCSD is transitioning to
SchooLinks as its centralized college, career, and life readiness platform to expand these services and improve
alignment with Georgia Department of Education requirements. SchooLinks will also streamline state reporting
by providing the only GADOE-approved integrated Work-Based Learning management system that
automatically submits required data through the official reporting portal.
Financial Impact:
Year Cost
March 2019-March 2020: Implementation Year, RFP 19-513 $244,180.40
March 2020-March 2021: Contract Renewal under RFP 19-513 $245,720.74
March 2021-March 2022: Contract Renewal under RFP 19-513 $361,370.15
March 2022-March 2023: Contract Renewal under RFP 19-513 $364,138.66
March 2023-March 2024: Amendment to RFP 19-513 to include Naviance Elementary $391,830.15
March 2024-June 2025: Submitted and renewed as a single source exception $592,594.29
July 1, 2022- June 30, 2026- TIPS Contract $351,386.62