The Center for Educational Development and Research (CEDR), a department of the San Joaquin County Office of Education (SJCOE), was established by the County Superintendent, Dr. Fredrick A. Wentworth in the 2000-2001 fiscal year.  Its initial task was to operate ED-JOIN and develop and support efficient, scalable, and standardized data management application for many of the 30+ departments and programs at the SJCOE.  Like in most education programs, collecting and reporting program data was (and still is) becoming a more crucial part of the day-to-day operation.  And, like many agencies at the time, many of the SJCOE programs were collecting this data in a variety of means that could use more security, scalability, and efficiency (i.e. spreadsheet, desktop applications, stand-alone proprietary softwares, etc.).

Working closly with the various SJCOE departments and programs, CEDR was able to develop several secure, web-based applications that faciliated all the specific data management needs of the participating departments and programs, while providing more scalability, efficiency, and standardization.  Word of these systems soon reached other counties and districts with similar departments and programs, and we began offering our systems and services outside San Joaquin County.  Specializing in Internet development for public education, CEDR adopted the Application Service Provider (ASP) model, as its method to deliver complete, up-to-date/compliant, and centralized solutions at a fraction of the cost.

Over the years, CEDR has established itself as a reputable development group.  As such, it has been awarded several contracts for web application develop services from other agencies (non-district and non-COE) such as the California Department of Education (CDE), California County Superintendent's Educational Services Association (CCSESA), Association of California School Administrators (ACSA), California Community College Chancellor's Office (CCC), Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, San Joaquin HeadStart, and First 5 San Joaquin among others.

CEDR now develops, supports, and hosts a broad range of web applications that take full advantage of the latest advances in Internet Technology. Serving over, 20,000 schools, 1,000 school districts, 62 SELPA's and 57 county offices.  These applications assist local, regional and state education agencies from across the state. Operating as a non-profit department of the SJCOE, CEDR is able to pass cost savings on to its clients (public education), while being self-supporting.