Case Study: Benton Community Schools achieves reliable, high-capacity Wi‑Fi for 1:1 laptop initiative with Cisco Meraki

Upgrading to advanced Wi-Fi prepares school district for 1:1 device project

Benton Community Schools in Van Horne, Iowa needed to upgrade wireless to support a forthcoming 1:1 laptop initiative for 1,600 students and 170 staff. The district’s consumer‑grade access points lacked capacity, reliability, and centralized management, and Technology Director Tyler Maschino—being the only IT staff—needed an easy‑to‑manage solution. Benton turned to Cisco Meraki’s MR – Wireless LAN for the upgrade.

Cisco Meraki deployed 24 Meraki access points across the high school, middle school, and four elementary schools, delivering automated configuration, centralized visibility via the Meraki dashboard, and built‑in traffic shaping. The result: increased network capacity and reliability, quick placement (under five minutes per AP), real‑time visibility into device bandwidth use, and the ability to block or throttle heavy users—leading to far fewer wireless complaints and reduced support overhead for the district.

Benton Community Schools

Tyler Maschino

Technology Director