District ready for 115,000 students
If you’re looking for what’s new in Cy-Fair ISD this school year, it ranges from the shine on classroom and gym floors to a faster internet service and from a new elementary school to GPS-equipped buses.
“Those are just a few things we’ve been twiddling our thumbs with this summer,” says Roy Sprague Jr., associate superintendent for facilities, construction and support services.
In a recent report to the school board, Superintendent Mark Henry said the district is preparing for 115,000 students at 87 campuses when school starts on Aug. 24.
“People who don’t live in the Gulf Coast region don’t realize we are the third largest school district in the state,” Henry said. “They think of the larger cities like Houston, Dallas, Austin. We have 25,000 more students than Austin and two times the enrollment of the University of Texas or Texas A&M.”
His summer has included hiring some 1,200–1,500 people to fill available job openings.
New and returning students at some of the district’s older campuses will notice card-reader entry devices that have been installed this summer. Surveillance cameras also have been added at key entries as part of the security upgrades included in a bond issue approved by voters in 2014. The upgrades already are built into the district’s newest school s, including Woodard Elementary that is opening this year.
In addition, Sprague said routine maintenance occurs all sum--
mer long, including deep cleaning at all the schools, service on air conditioning systems and school district vehicles and purchasing for school supplies and the food service department, which dishes up more than 70,000 meals daily.
And behind the scenes, Cy-Fair’s technology department has been at work creating the fastest data and internet communications network possible.
“We have installed, over the summer, all new network electronics which are going to provide the highest amount of speed and thru-put available with today’s technology,” said Frankie Jackson, CFISD’s chief technology officer. “I’m unaware of any other network that has the same capabilities in the state.”
The upgrades now are focused on the network’s infrastructure, and by the end of the school year will shift to instructional technology.
“We decided to work on the infrastructure first before purchasing any other additional instructional devices,” Jackson said. “It’s like a house – we want a sound foundation before we start adding the furniture. When we do start bringing in all new devices and new interactive display boards, they will run effectively and at very, very high speeds.”
The school district is using dual internet providers and has a back-up data center outside the district, what Jackson described as a Tier 4, military-grade data center off-site to ensure mission-critical data is available at all times.
Work this summer has provided high-speed upgrades at all CFISD’s high schools, including improved air conditioning and power supplies in closets fitted with network electronics. Middle schools come next.
The network will be capable of handling an estimated 490,000 devices
“It’s very, very exciting. The new data centers, dual internet and bring-yourown technology platform will be a springboard for instructional technology, and in a secure network. It is extremely exciting and very powerful,” Jackson said.
Technology also is being used to improve efficiency in the transportation department, which serves about 78,000 students.
“GPS-enabled buses will make it possible for us to pinpoint bus locations in real-time, all the time,” said Matt Morgan, assistant superintendent of support services, in recent press release. “Campus leaders can use this to efficiently manage pick-up and drop-off procedures at each school.”
The data also monitor bus idle time, routing information, miles per gallon, and miles per hour of each bus. tudents will use ID cards to record when they board and depart the buses.
Sprague said CFISD is always looking for ways to be more efficient and costeffective.
“Every dollar saved is a dollar that goes back into the classroom, and we want to maximize those,” he said.