Olathe Public Schools, the second largest and fastest-growing district in Kansas, deployed Aerohive’s enterprise-grade Wi-Fi solution to support their 1:1 learning initiative across more than 50 schools.
The district is home to 35 elementary schools, nine middle schools, and four high schools. In addition to these schools, the district has 21 support facilities throughout the area to support more than 29,000 students and over 4,000 staff.
Olathe Public Schools first deployed a Wi-Fi network in 2004, installing 3Com access points in school libraries before wireless was in high demand. After several years with 3Com, the IT team implemented a Trapeze network to accommodate changes and growing demand at the school.
A few years ago, the district began having issues with reliability, which coincided with a 1:1 implementation across many schools, forcing Olathe to look at new enterprise-grade wireless solutions to accommodate density and seamless network management, as well as to upgrade to 802.11ac technology across all schools.
Olathe’s IT team selected solutions from Aerohive, Aruba, Meraki, and Ruckus at some of the oldest elementary schools in the district.
Following the evaluations and pilot tests, Aerohive came out on top. Working with Aerohive reseller Aercor Wireless, Olathe moved forward to deploy Aerohive across all schools and throughout the entire district.
Olathe’s IT team has transitioned students to new devices, such as Windows devices, MacBooks, iPads and Mac minis. Teachers and administrators are equipped with Wi-Fi to integrate technology into the classroom. Every part of the curriculum and classroom is leveraging the Aerohive solution for efficiency and blended learning.
Students use educational tools, such as Google Classroom and Edmodo, as well as a host of other applications. Teachers and administrators can take attendance wirelessly, and even print tardy slips from wireless printing devices.
