The Software & Information Industry Association (SIIA) is recognizing Cary-based SAS Institute for one of their education initiatives.

The SIIA gave SAS their 2008 CODiE Award for "Best K-12 Instructional Solution," for their SAS Curriculum Pathways, which is an online resource for students and teachers, according to a press release.

Curriculum Pathways is a key part of the company's 1:1 Learning Initiative, which puts laptops in the hands of hundreds of children at no charge.

"We are honored by the award not only for its industry prestige, but because it results from rigorous evaluation by education experts and peers," said Bruce Friend, Director of SAS Curriculum Pathways. "It validates that SAS Curriculum Pathways is an ideal resource for traditional and nontraditional learning environments."

SAS Curriculum Pathways was also a finalist in the "Best Mathematics Instructional Solution" and "Best Reading/English Instructional Solution" categories.

SIIA created the CODiE awards in 1986 to rate software releases by journalists and peer-reviewers.