In their drive for 1:1 education (one device per student), Duval County Public Schools (DCPS), the 20th largest school district in the United States, upgraded their wireless capabilities throughout the district within two years, bringing 10G bandwidth to their 196 schools.
With the required wireless bandwidth in place, DCPS implemented a 1:1 roll-out to their Fletcher Middle School in a pilot program. The district realized they had some gaps that needed to be addressed to effectively manage the 68,000 district owned laptops that would be utilized across the district for this initiative. Their three primary concerns included:
-
Capacity to handle the power requirements for all devices
-
Secure storage of devices while not in use while preserving ease of access for students and teachers
-
Ability to quickly and easily manage or upgrade devices when required
“We started with storage carts, which addressed the charging and security needs,” said Jim Culbert, Duval’s executive director of information technology. “But as we moved closer to 1:1 in our schools, we needed more advanced capabilities.”
The district needed an advanced solution for remote management, security and storage to address the IT team’s concerns while simplifying the process for students and teachers, so their time can be spent in the classroom on instruction.