New Haven, CT : Does your school or district have a problem IT area that’s keeping your school from creating the best interactive learning experience? If so, plan to enter the 2021 K-12 Server Room Makeover Contest sponsored by APC by Schneider Electric’s IT Solutions for Education for a chance to win $25,000 in improvements. The 2021 contest features a prize increase from $10,000 to $25,000, and is open until Sept. 30, 2021. More details are at k12makeover.apc.com.
New Haven (CT) Public Schools was recently named the winner of APC’s K-12 IT Makeover Contest, with a $10,000 award in 2020.
“New Haven’s submission showed that they were in desperate need of some help,” says Jay Bogosian, Public Sector Channel Director, APC by Schneider Electric. “We’ve had some small schools win the contest before, but we have never had a school department as large as New Haven win the contest before. With so many buildings, students, and resource challenges, coupled with the unique challenges of education in 2020, New Haven looked like they needed the most help.”
New Haven Schools used their $10,000 contest award to purchase eight APC Smart-UPSs (Uninterruptable Power Supplies) with Network Cards. APC Digital Services also is providing EcoStruxure IT software with Monitoring & Dispatch Services as an “extra” above and beyond the award.
“The New Haven Public School Information Technology department is so grateful to be the recipients of the APC’s K-12 Makeover Contest,” says Gilda Herrera, IT Director, New Haven Public Schools. “We decided to apply for the contest in hopes to win a makeover for our messy server room, but we never imagined the win would allow us to replace our two 2003 UPSs.”
“The APC Smart-UPS technology will assist the district central office in case of a voltage drop or power failure in the main server room,” Herrera continues. “Also, the APC Monitoring & Dispatch Services will allow for a better response time during UPS power loss or failure within the school district. Our network is the unsung hero which maintains this information highway and interconnection between students, parents, teachers, and administration, and it must be protected.”
“While trying to figure out how to do teach-from-home versus teach-in-the-classroom, school districts shouldn’t need to worry about technology issues like whether the UPS is going to work or not,” explains Larry Hann, Channel Digital Services Director, APC by Schneider Electric. “Our ultimate objective is to take that off the plate for them, through our EcoStruxure software with Monitoring & Dispatch Services, so that they can focus on what really matters – providing the content and experiences that help our kids learn along their education journey as they become our next future leaders.”
