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East Windsor outlines three-year technology plan with network upgrades and districtwide alert rollout
Summary
Technology coordinator Ray Nashi presented a three‑year technology plan at the East Windsor Regional School District meeting that prioritizes a wide‑area network upgrade to lit dark fiber, emergency‑alert deployment, device refresh cycles and expanded staff professional development.
Ray Nashi, the district's technology coordinator, presented a three‑year technology plan to the East Windsor Regional School District Board of Education, outlining hardware, software, infrastructure and security goals as well as steps to integrate technology into instruction and strengthen parent and community engagement.
Nashi said the plan would remain in force until roughly mid‑2029 and identified four goal areas: (1) hardware/software/infrastructure/security, (2) technology integration for curriculum and assessment, (3) professional development through teacher cohorts, and (4) digital communication and family engagement. "The vision for technology integration focuses on transforming the educational experience to prepare students for an evolving society," Nashi told the board.
The district currently runs a 1:1 device program: iPads in K–2 and Chromebooks in grades 3–12, with Apple Classroom for younger grades and Google Classroom for grades 3–12. Nashi described refresh cycles tied to grade levels (leases and multi‑year swaps), specialized Mac/PC labs, STEM labs in elementary schools, and teacher tablets to support wireless classroom presentation. He told the board that a recent needs assessment showed 71% of certificated staff reported a high comfort level with classroom technology; staff identified professional development priorities as 52% digital resources, 44% differentiating instruction and 38% tech‑integrated teaching strategies.
A major year‑one project is replacing the district's wide area network with lit dark fiber to increase speed and create redundancy between schools. Nashi said permitting — including crossings required to route fiber across a turnpike — is nearly complete and the district hopes to start construction by the end of June. He described IP‑powered devices as part of the emergency system, including clocks with scrolling messages, strobes and audio, and said IP phone deployment is a year‑one item that supports the alert rollout.
Nashi framed emergency alert completion and districtwide rollout as a year‑three goal and emphasized ongoing professional development: "We want to make sure that we're addressing technology in the classroom, but we also want to make sure that our staff has been trained in how to properly use the technology and how to deliver the best instruction with it," he said.
Board members asked for clarification on instructional terms and governance structures tied to the plan (for example, differentiating instruction and the School Improvement Panel). Nashi and Superintendent Mark Daniels explained that differentiating instruction refers to tailoring lessons to students' readiness and interests and that SCIP (the school improvement panel) is a building‑level teacher‑majority team that helps guide building PD and evaluation rollout.
The presentation was informational; the board did not take an adoption vote at the meeting. Nashi said the district will provide the full plan document to the board after the presentation and pursue implementation through the multi‑year timeline discussed.
