FLORENCE, SC, October 19, 2007—ACS Technologies®, owner of Parish Data System™ (PDS)—the most sought-after Catholic church software in the nation, announces the purchase of the online school service Chalksite™, enabling school staff, parents and students to communicate interactively outside the classroom through cutting-edge Web technology. This acquisition is yet another milestone in PDS’s 30-year history of providing the very best in school management solutions to faith-based educational institutions.

The new service provides a secure online environment for teachers, students, and parents to maintain after-school communication in the form of class-level Web sites, online teacher gradebooks, class discussions and homework assignments. The application is self-serving and incredibly easy to use, allowing teachers to design, edit and launch their own Internet classrooms in a matter of minutes.

Cal Moreau, school market product manager for ACS Technologies, sees various benefits as a result of this expansion, saying, “Chalksite has many features that set it apart in value for schools everywhere, like its unique discussion groups and the ability for teachers to deliver messages to parents about students’ progress. In today’s online communication age, this is an ideal addition to the ACS Technologies family.”

Chalksite will complement the highly successful PDS School Office™ program with plans for integration between the two applications for seamless data sharing. Moreau added, “Teacher gradebooks are some of the more common enhancement requests we hear from our clients, so we look forward to incorporating this feature into our current PDS product line.”

Stephen Rainey, principal partner of former Chalksite parent company Clear Function and developer of Chalksite, said, “We searched for the best company that could advance Chalksite into the future. This program has many more features than typical gradebook programs, the biggest of which is communication. Our users absolutely love this capability, and we are anxious to see ACS Technologies take it to the next level.”

Brian Davis, a West Virginia high school history teacher, is one of Chalksite’s users. He said, “My favorite part of Chalksite is that it is user-friendly and simple. I’d estimate that over 75 percent of our students used it regularly. I love it, the staff loves it, and the parents love it. It is the ultimate communication tool.”

Moreau concluded, “The main point of this decision is, of course, to help schools teach our children better. With Chalksite combining now with PDS School Office, teachers, students and parents across the U.S. will have access to even more tools to focus on better education, and that we’re very proud of."

To find out more about Chalksite, visit www.parishdata.com/chalksite.

About Parish Data System

Since 1978, Parish Data System (www.parishdata.com) has been the leading Catholic church management software solutions by meeting the needs of more than 8,500 parishes, schools and dioceses worldwide. In 2004, PDS joined forces with another church management software leader, ACS Technologies (www.acstechnologies.com), combining strengths and staff to offer the industry's best support and training along with the broadest line of church management software solutions. PDS software is used by more parishes in the United States than any other software, making it the top choice for Catholic management software and services. PDS continues to lead the market with new technology solutions that enable accurate data management, increase communications, and empower growth within Catholic organizations, both at the parish and diocese levels.

About Chalksite

Started in 2006, Chalksite (www.chalksite.com) is an innovative Web-based communication tool designed to connect teachers and students outside the classroom. With its online discussion groups, gradebooks, assignments, and personal Web pages, Chalksite offers the unique opportunity for teachers, students, and parents to keep in touch at any time, regardless of their location. Formerly a service of Clear Function LLC, Chalksite brings 5,000 new users to ACS Technologies, the leader in church management solutions for 30 years.