Today’s K-12 schools must do it all: teach kids the basics while preparing them for a 21st century digital workforce. It’s a tall order for any organization, let alone budget-strapped schools. The challenges are many:

• Technology that changes as fast as kids grow.• Kids who are often digitally more “mature” than their teachers.• Too few funds to truly create active, smart learning environments.

To that last point, we wondered: What could schools do with an extra $10,000 for their IT environments?

That’s precisely why APC™ by Schneider Electric created its K-12 Makeover Contest!

Any K-12 school or district can enter the contest for a unique opportunity to potentially win $10,000 to improve or update technology that’s keeping them from delivering on their mission.

Here’s our most recent winner’s story:

Knowledge is power.

CASE STUDY: APC K-12 MAKEOVER CONTEST – 2017 WINNER 2

A Winner: Forest Hills School District

After APC by Schneider Electric launched the contest,

APC partner Forward Edge submitted an entry on behalf

of an outdated server room at Turpin High School in the

Forest Hills School District (FHSD) in Cincinnati, Ohio. They

immediately thought of FHSD, who is undergoing massive

renovations on buildings so that new technology will be

incorporated into the remodeled infrastructure — and the

district was only too happy to show off the “scary-looking”

space for the contest.

Like many districts, Forest Hills had already downsized its

IT department to better focus on educating students, its

core competency. But they still needed to ensure they were

at the cutting edge of technology and learning. Forward

Edge knew that the potential prize winnings could help

ease the district’s budget woes.

After considering all of the entrants, APC by Schneider

Electric selected the Turpin High School server room for its

first $10,000 makeover.

“From the solutions we select to the

manufacturers with whom we partner

and the people we hire, they all have

to have a significant investment in

education,” explains John Waltz, owner

of Forward Edge. “Getting it right in

each of those areas has led us to the

point we are at now and will help us

grow moving forward.”

“We are so grateful to Forward Edge,

the district’s technology consultant,

for nominating us for this award—they

truly are a partner in education,” says

Steve Meece, Director of Technology

for the Forest Hills School District

(FHSD). “The money will assist our

District in upgrading our equipment to

improve reliability.

CASE STUDY: APC K-12 MAKEOVER CONTEST – 2017 WINNER 3

Do you have a problem IT area that’s keeping your school or district from efficiently delivering on

its promise of creating an interactive learning environment?

apc.com/education

Photo (L to R): Chris Musick, District Sales Manager, APC by Schneider Electric; Dave Spencer, Principal, THS; Steve Meece, Director of IT, FHSD; Scot Prebles, Superintendent, FHSD; Dustin Bingham, Lead Engineer, Forward Edge; Forest T. Heis, MD, President of the Board, FHSD; Chip Logan, COO, Forward Edge.

After much discussion with Forward Edge, the district

decided to use their winnings to invest in protection for

the high school’s servers. They purchased two Smart-

UPS™ systems and replacement batteries to extend the

life of the district’s remaining UPS systems.

Trusted by millions of IT professionals throughout the

world, Smart-UPS protects the high school’s critical data

from costly interruptions by efficiently supplying reliable,

network-grade power to its servers. The battery backup

monitors and safeguards the school’s equipment from

harmful power conditions, spikes, and surges.

To ensure the greatest efficiency, the school’s new Smart-

UPS systems include an automatic green mode while the

smart battery management maximizes performance.

Managing the new UPS systems is simple. The IT team

easily configures settings and monitors usage using the

LCD interface and PowerChute software. The preinstalled

network management card allows the district to manage

and control the UPS remotely, boosting productivity.

Cloud-enabled Smart-UPS also comes with APC

SmartConnect™ remote management interface so the

district can always see the status of its UPS systems.

No matter where they are, they’ll receive automatic

notifications, firmware updates, and advanced support

for added peace of mind.

Even though the district could have chosen to use its

winnings on any IT equipment, they wanted to use it on

two UPS systems and UPS maintenance and save their

budget for other higher priority projects that directly

impact learning.

Powering Smart Schools

Cloud-enabled Smart-UPS with APC SmartConnect