Information Services
Pages
Connected Beyond the Classroom
There is no other school district more connected than Harlandale ISD. Every student is issued a device. Every student is connected via Wi-Fi in the school, outside the school, on the bus, at home with mobile hotspots, or via a system of wireless towers created just for our students.
The national ed-tech organization, CoSN (Consortium of School Networks) defines digital equity in terms of providing all students with the tools for effective eLearning not only within the walls of schools but also beyond to eliminate the "homework gap".
In February 2020, our current (then new) Superintendent, Gerardo Soto assigned Information Services the task of extending access to District learning resources beyond the campus walls. One month later the pandemic struck and what was a planned goal became an immediate need.
Our department planned and executed the ordering and distribution of laptops and iPads to put a new device in the hands of every student (12,000+). Literally just a few weeks after the declaration of the pandemic, Information Services planned, acquired, and arranged for the installation of wireless routers in 60 of the District's buses to initially park out in the District's 14-square miles to provide access to then remote students . Today those same buses provide students with connectivity before and after school.
Along with the buses, in those early days of the pandemic, Information Services also quickly bolstered the campus WiFi signal to include those areas on the periphery of each campus so students could access resources from the parking lots. That access expansion is still available for student today.
As the pandemic progressed, Information Services established a collaboration between the City of San Antonio's Office of Innovation/Digital Inclusion on constructing 14 special service LTE towers throughout the District and started distributing home routers in 2022. To fill in any coverage gaps, Information Services took advantage of the post pandemic funding to acquire (at no charge) mobile hotspots.
It is fair to say that today, Harlandale ISD is the most CONNECTED School District in the San Antonio area!
Parents contact your student's Counselor or Social Worker to check on eligibility for FREE HOME LTE !!!