DUBLIN UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
“ We’ ve just gone through some recent phishing issues and they take time to follow up on,” David says.“ It’ s like whacka-mole. We stop one cyberattack and then another pops up and then another. It never seems to stop and so safety and security is my biggest concern right now.”
Powering classrooms, safeguarding students The technology strategy at Dublin Unified has been to set up a robust network that meets the needs of all the students in its classrooms.
“ We have fibre that goes out from our district office to each of our school sites,” David says.“ 20 years ago, you had one computer lab per school if they were lucky. Now students have instant wireless access on demand for up to 36 students per classroom.”
Having 36 students simultaneously connecting in every classroom demands a high-capacity, high-speed fibre network.
“ We have put tools in place to manage the network demands,” David explains.“ For example, we have limited some things in terms of streaming – that’ s a big thing for students, to be able to stream online content in HD but that takes a huge amount of bandwidth from the education we’ re trying to provide.
“ I’ m not a well-liked person in terms of that because students like to stream, such as on TikTok, and so limiting that is not popular with students. But when you see the direct effect of higher network speed within the classroom with less login time, it’ s worth it.”
To maintain these standards and ensure compliance with federal mandates like
“Our computer programming courses are using AI throughout the curriculum”
David Wildy Chief Technology Officer Dublin Unified School District
the Children’ s Internet Protection Act and the Children’ s Online Privacy Protection Rule, the district relies heavily on its partnership with Lightspeed Systems. Using Lightspeed’ s Relay platform, administrators can filter web content both at scale and on a granular level, blocking inappropriate material, online games and bandwidth-heavy streaming sites, as well as managing access to AI tools.
“ We had filtering, but we didn’ t have something as robust as what Lightspeed provides,” David notes, highlighting the system’ s flexibility to create targeted exceptions.
For example, while most podcast software is age-restricted, IT can synchronise class schedules to unlock those specific platforms solely for students enrolled in storytelling or podcasting courses. Beyond content filtering, the district also uses Lightspeed Alert, an automated monitoring tool that scans student emails and Google Docs for early indicators of bullying, self-harm or violence, allowing administrators to intervene before safety issues escalate.
6 dublinusd. org