Coweta County School System (CCSS), located 30 miles southwest of Atlanta, Georgia, serves approximately 23,000 K-12 students on more than 30 campuses. In July 2014 the district was ready to embark on a three-year technology plan, designed to ensure the success of each student, with classrooms that would include interactive whiteboards and/or slates, student response systems, and web based learning that would significantly enhance both the teaching and learning processes. To help them realize this transition to a 21st century education infrastructure, CCSS turned to the experienced IT professionals at UDT for assistance and trusted advice.
At an IT industry conference in Savannah in 2014, CCSS Information Technology Director, Jason Olvey, shared his district’s challenge with a UDT representative: each school in the district was served by an aging network of Meru access points in the hallways. “UDT brought in good vendors, introduced some good products, and had experts on staff that helped us figure out what we needed,” Olvey said. “We were looking for best practice and open to suggestions.” Based on UDT’s advice, IT staff determined that they needed a total refresh for the existing wireless infrastructure, and placed access points in every classroom to accommodate an eventual transition to 1:1 digital devices.
Technology expertise, bottom-line efficiency
Convinced that UDT offered the right solution, CCSS selected UDT to replace its existing Meru access points with 800 Aerohive AP’s this past June. After receiving their E-Rate approval letter in November of 2015, the district ordered another 1,400 Aerohive AP’s and 400 HP switches.
“UDT helped us maximize our money and put together a world-class network,” added Olvey, “going from 100 Mbps to 10 Gbps between schools, access points in every classroom, and replacing every switch and router. They came up with a really good config.”
The wireless network refresh was step one; next will come the transition to a digital curriculum and the rollout of what UDT calls digital convergence. Key to this effort will be computing devices placed in the hands of each student. After considering a range of form factors and manufacturers, UDT and the district settled on Dell Chromebooks that would be loaded on carts for each classroom. (CCSS chose a separate Chromebook solution for instructors and administrators.)
UDT acquired 2,500 Dell Chromebook 11 devices, and sent them to its configuration center for imaging, etching and asset tagging. The Chromebooks were then loaded onto nearly 100 carts for delivery to CCSS.
UDT Earns High Marks for Responsiveness
“I’m very pleased with UDT,” said Olvey. “They do a great job and are always available; whenever I need something, they get right back to me.” Olvey especially appreciates the role that UDT staff can play as subject matter experts in any given aspect of IT for education. “As many hats as my staff has to wear, it’s hard to be an expert in any one thing,” he said. “It’s nice to invite somebody in, get their perspective. They’ve really helped us out and even avoid some mistakes.”
Mike Martin, UDT account representative, said,
“Coweta County Schools understands that UDT is much more than a hardware reseller. Our professionalism, the involvement of our entire team, including our lead engineer, all speak to the kind of relationships we offer.”
Enjoy a 360° relationship with UDT
CCSS is but one of many organizations that have discovered the advantages of a trusted advisor relationship with UDT. Contact us today and let us demonstrate how we can help you reduce the risk, cost and complexity of deploying and managing IT solutions.
