Case Study: How Partnering With Inspiroz Helped Capital Preparatory Schools.
Launch Their New Site On Time
Too busy to read the entire case study? Check out our 30-Second Summary below.
Like all charter schools, Capital Preparatory Schools in Connecticut and New York have a familiar challenge – give their students the best education possible while working with a lean budget.
“As a start-up charter school, there are limited dollars and you have to make choices about what you’re bringing in-house and what you’re outsourcing,” said Joan Massey, the network’s president.
As a new organization in start-up mode themselves, they needed the full range of educational technology – from computers for teachers and projectors to copiers, document cameras, wireless infrastructure and virtual servers.
Instead of bringing in several people to handle all their technology needs, they looked for an outsourced IT partner to help. After going through the bidding process, they contracted with Inspiroz to work with them at their Connecticut site.
With IT staff on-site several days a week and the ability to remote in and fix computers, Capital Prep knew this would cover their existing needs.
As Massey and the school staff worked on setting up the new school, the Inspiroz team, led by Lars Beck and Milan Patel, helped them address all their technology needs – from what type of computer to get for the students and the best and right-sized network to support all those devices to ensuring they had all the equipment and infrastructure for their required assessments.
They also helped Massey and the staff select the best equipment for the teachers. As they worked to become more digital in their teaching and rely less on paper textbooks, they advised Capital Prep to choose Surface Pros, because the tablet-computer hybrid met their unique needs and technical requirements.
Defining The School’s Technology Vision
The Inspiroz team worked with Capital Prep’s staff to understand the school’s vision, both its original goals and how it’s changed as the school has grown.
As the school network looks for more online curriculum options that work with Google Classroom and the Google educational suite, they’re helping them choose the systems that integrate best and allow them to operate most efficiently.
Long-Term Planning For Maximum ROI
As part of this planning, Inspiroz has also been able to help Capital Prep better plan for their technology investments. They helped created a roadmap for when equipment needs to be replaced and helps ensure that the technology is in place to support all of the school’s new educational programs.
They also work with the school’s staff on their E-Rate spending, helping them navigate the complex system and making sure they’re making the most of that money each year.
Measuring Success
As Capital Prep looks at their relationship with Inspiroz, they count several areas as signs of a successful partnership.
With their new ability to add online content to their math curriculum, they’ve seen their math scores go up dramatically, Massey said.
They’ve also reported no issues in their testing environment for the past two years. While it was not uncommon to have the system bounce students out and force them to log back in to continue their assessment, now they know their testing environment will be reliable and able to handle the increased demands.
The Inspiroz team also acts as technology advisers, helping the staff select the best equipment and find the best prices for everything from staff computers to projectors and servers.
Capital Prep recently expanded its partnership with Inspiroz, adding its New York school. Now the Inspiroz team is on site three days a week – two days in Connecticut and one day in New York.
When issues come up on the other days, the Inspiroz team is able to remote in and fix them. Massey said they’ve seen the number of tickets at the help desk decline as well.
Creating A Lasting Partnership
After working together for several years, Massey said they’ve built a strong partnership with Inspiroz. Their technology expertise has helped support their educational goals and allowed them to concentrate on the students instead of focusing on technology issues.
“I feel like they’re a member of our team and are embedded in our system and our schools. All our staff knows them. I have been happy with the services we’ve gotten from Inspiroz,” she said.
“Lars and I both worked in D.C. heading up charter schools. He really adds value because he understands charter schools from that lens and it helps when they’re coming in to work on the technology.
“He really understands our reporting structure, our fiscal challenges and what we have to do. In Connecticut, we’re underfunded compared to students in the city that we serve. They’ve really helped us with all of that. We only have so many dollars to spend and we want to spend it on things that benefit the students directly and they’ve really supported us on that.”
Want to see how we can work with your school to improve your educational technology? Call Lars directly at (610) 387-6014 or email [email protected].
30-Second Summary:
- Capital Prep worked with Inspiroz as a start-up charter school, then continued partnering with them to support their daily operations.
- They helped the school select all its educational technology, from staff and student computers to setting up classrooms and the wireless infrastructure for the school.
- They also created a technology plan to support the school’s overall educational goals.
- Inspiroz helped them navigate the E-Rate program, advising them on ways to get the most value for their investment.
- Capital Prep has seen their math scores improve, thanks to the addition of online content.
- They’ve also seen their overall technology spend decrease while staff satisfaction has remained strong.
