IT upgrades, Chromebook rollout and phishing training credited with lower risk, district says
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Summary
The district reported a year of major IT work: Chromebook distribution, firmware and Windows upgrades, 200+ wireless access points installed and an anti‑phishing program that reduced click‑rate from about 7.1% to ~3.2% over the year.
Amanda McCarthy, assistant director of teaching and learning for technology, told the board the technology department completed a major year of device rollouts, infrastructure upgrades and cybersecurity work.
Key items reported: - Chromebook deployment and repair tracking: the district distributed a large batch of Chromebooks and identified a recurring Lenovo Chromebook repair trend that staff escalated to Lenovo for resolution. Student workers in the IT office supported unpacking, inventory tagging and setup of hundreds of devices. - Windows upgrades and device lifecycle: the team updated devices that were still on Windows 10 to be ready for Windows 11 compatibility; more than 100 mini‑computers (classroom devices for Epson boards) were replaced. - Wireless infrastructure: more than 200 new wireless access points and a new wireless controller were installed to improve coverage and speed. - Ticketing and help desk consolidation: IT consolidated multiple help‑desk request streams (IT, facilities, interschool delivery) into a single paid help‑desk tool and processed roughly 2,500 IT tickets over the year. - Cybersecurity and phishing training: the district ran monthly simulated phishing campaigns using KnowBe4 (Swedish Fish campaign metaphor) and reported a drop in the districtwide phish‑prone percentage from about 7.1% in May 2024 to about 3.2–3.3% in April 2025. The district applied for a federal cybersecurity grant but did not receive the award; the grant process prompted a security audit and a written plan for improvements.
Amanda credited student workers with helping the office and said the department plans to keep pursuing cybersecurity and device lifecycle work. Board members asked about the most common ticket categories (rostering and access provisioning) and praised the department for student work opportunities and security gains.
