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  • 1.  IT Department Size

    Posted 01-31-2023 10:55 AM
    Hi,

    Our new Head of School has asked that I try to find comparable schools to see if our IT support department is appropriately sized.  We have about 100 students in K-4 on one campus and 250 students in grades 5-12 on another, about 15mins drive away.  Our staff is mainly based on the 5-12 campus but we do have to drive over to the other regularly. We have 5 building on the campus with the younger students and 7 buildings on the campus with the older students.  Students in K-4 have older Apple laptops that used to be the teachers.  5-12 have to bring their own Apple laptops.  We have about 120 employees with Apple laptops and about 20 iMacs.

    I have 5 people including myself. I do security, budgets, network maintenance, server maintenance, and anything highly technical.  I have one person who is busy supporting our departmental staff in using the SIS, LMS, and other databases, as well as printers, and copiers, and who helps me with the network and is my number 2.  We have an IT helpdesk manager who is also the equipment manager for the school (she looks after media equipment as well as IT) and is a qualified Apple engineer.  We have a helpdesk worker who is an Apple engineer and also runs around helping everyone with everything and is really our front line of defense.  Lastly, we have an A/V manager, who is also the phone system manager, and who also runs around helping people.  We do a lot of performances, which he works with the theatre and music people with, he's currently babysitting our seniors with a week of presentations that they are doing, and he supports our faculty with their SmartBoards, and will act as another helpdesk support person when he's not doing those things.

    Does anyone have a similar-sized school?  With two campuses? 

    Thanks in advance.



    #General

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    Regards,

    Sean Carmichael
    Ross School
    East Hampton NY
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  • 2.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-02-2023 09:40 AM
    Edited by Martha Clagg 02-02-2023 09:48 AM
    Larger school but on one campus. We are K4-8 and run around 560 students. I have one assistant and we do it all...manage the phones, door access, the network (switches and access points), printers/copiers, security cameras, Google workspace, tech equipment, software, about 600 iPads, 80 laptops/desktops, digital signage, event A/V (slides and streaming), 27 SMART panels, and run a help desk supporting teachers and staff. We also support students with iPads and parents with our SIS on an as needed basis. To see you currently have 5 people is way more compared to us.

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    Martha Clagg
    Skycrest Christian School
    Clearwater FL
    https://www.skycrestchristianschool.org/
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  • 3.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-03-2023 09:17 AM
    I don't know how you manage to keep on top of everything with just the two of you.  Wow.

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    Regards,

    Sean Carmichael
    Ross School
    East Hampton NY
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  • 4.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-03-2023 04:02 AM

    Sean:
    If Ross is a member of NAIS, getting the DASL data will be really helpful in that discussion: https://www.nais.org/analyze/data-and-analysis-for-school-leadership-(dasl)/about-dasl/
    Lots of data that you can slice and dice.

    ATLIS also produces a good summary of the DALS tech data: https://theatlis.org/page/reports?&hhsearchterms=%22dasl%22

    Other independent schools groups that you belong to may also publish similar data. INDEX is a good example (but I don't see Ross on that list): https://indexgroups.org/website/

    I don't know if https://www.nysais.org/ offers any similar data, but they do have a clause on their Accreditation process along the lines of:
    "Consistent with the school's pedagogical practices, digital technology is used to support the program and its use is evaluated on a regular basis."
    If you are doing evaluations and not getting the results that you/Ross want, that might bolster your argument. (If not evaluating regularly, the Accreditation is a good reason to start.)



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    Bill Freitas, CISSP, CETL
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  • 5.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-06-2023 02:35 PM
    Only single campus here ,but similar size. (Just under 400 students, Pk-8).

    We probably support around 100 staff.  We've got iPads, Macbooks, Windows PCs, Windows Laptops, Chromebooks, and a few Mac desktops.

    Our department is also in charge of the A/V, digital signage, PA system, and a host of other "IT adjacent" items.

    Interactive panels m,class room and meeting room Audio systems, video conferencing setups, and on and on.

    Plus, I assume similar to most other independent schools - we're not just dealing with the "education" side of things. 
    We're also responsible for our Accounting Department, HR, Facilities, Food Services, etc etc.  So all of those systems ,services, and needs are present in a our single building, covered by our single team.

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    Justin Weise
    Indian Community School
    Franklin WI
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  • 6.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-07-2023 07:33 AM
    Hello Sean,

    We are a bit larger than you, but we are all on one PreK-12th grade school.  We have a 100 acre campus with 8 buildings.  We have 1073 students and about 160 staff.  We are also a 1:1 program will all Pre-K through 8th grade students having a personal iPad and 9 through 12th grade students have an Apple MacBook Air.

    My Technology team consists of me and my one assistant , and we are responsible for all the technology on campus.  This includes, computers, iPads, phone systems, central database systems, network maintenance and administration, teacher technology training and support, computer repair etc.  The only thing we don't worry about is security systems like cameras and door access.  That is handled by our maintenance department with help from us as needed.

    However, I think that it is important to mention that the size of the school and the number of people in the department is not the whole story.  I think it is just as important to talk about exactly what is being supported.  For example, while I promise I am not trying to start a debate about Macs versus Windows computers, I think that anyone that has to support both platforms will tell you that supporting Windows computers takes more time and manpower.  I have systems in place to may my job easier, like a good mobile device management system that works very well to manage my student and teacher computers, as well as remote access software that lets me remote in to any computer on campus to manage or troubleshoot from anywhere.  I also know without a doubt that I could not manage all of these devices with the team that I have it they were all Windows computers.


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    James Manikas
    Webb School of Knoxville
    Knoxville TN
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  • 7.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-07-2023 11:53 AM
    I agree with the Mac vs Windows. Also, iPads seem to be easier to manage than Mac laptops, though we have very few of those.

    We do manage cameras, door control, digital signage, etc. That's honestly not a big time cost though. 

    We use Mosyle to manage the Macs.  Until this year we used JAMF but switched to save money.  Mosyle has been fine, though because we have a BYOD in the High School, it's been hard getting and keeping the students using it.  They tend to delete Mosyle and then complain that they can't install our apps.

    I don't know how you guys manage with just the two of you.  We couldn't do that without a big culture shift.  Supporting our faculty is a full-time job in itself - they don't come to training and then expect one-on-one help when they can't do something.

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    Regards,

    Sean Carmichael
    Ross School
    East Hampton NY
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  • 8.  RE: IT Department Size

    Posted 02-07-2023 04:10 PM
    Edited by Justin Weise 02-07-2023 04:10 PM
    As someone who's primarily worked with Windows devices my whole career, I have a completely opposite view of things.  I'll take the WIndows over Macs all day.

    But I think what is really being said here is the importance of standardization and access to proper resources - having the right tools and knowledge to manage your devices effectively.   This often means spending money many schools are reluctant to do.

    Having Macs or Windows PCs can both be streamlined pretty well - the bigger issue (in my opinion) is trying to juggle them both.  The more OSes you add to the mix, the more complicated things are going to get,  The more data silos you create.  The more overhead, inconsistency, and variables you add.

    Chromebooks have been easier than both PC and Mac (or Android + iOS) IMO.  

    They all require a solid foundation.  The initial investment in setting up the proper infrastructure and support systems will determine how things go.  And many schools end up not having the luxury of getting that all settled as  new devices often just "creep" in or get introduced without further consideration as to the ongoing resource costs.




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    Justin Weise
    Indian Community School
    Franklin WI
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