Growing with Technology Awards

Mariemont City School District

Public Sector
First Runner-Up

URL: www.mariemontschools.org
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Employees: 200
Executive Sponsor: Dr. Gerald F. Harris, Superintendent/Technology Director
Cisco Products: Call Manager; Unity; Emergency Responder; VPN 3000 concentrator; Content Engine 565; IDS; Catalyst 6506, 3508, 3550, 3500, 2900 XL, 1548 micro switches; Aironet 1200 350; 7960 and 7910 IP phones

Cincinnati's Mariemont City School District uses its IP-based network to expand the reach of its students, teachers, and administrators, making each group more productive and efficient than it could have been before. It deployed a wireless campus across six buildings, which provides connectivity from classroom to classroom, school to school, and school to home. Wireless access lets teachers provide a more student-centered educational experience, because they can access educational materials easily. To enhance student safety, networked IP-based security cameras monitor activity around each school facility, archive footage in case of incident, and let secretaries see who wants to enter a locked building before allowing entry. IP phones in each classroom also decrease communication time in case of emergency.

Internet access has also allowed the district to expand the number and types of courses that are available to its high school students, even though it has fewer than 500 students and 40 full-time faculty members. The high school works with a number of virtual academies to offer almost 300 additional courses to our student body. As a result, students have been able to study oceanography, medieval theater, and Chinese languages thanks to the technology infrastructure in place.