Case Study: Waterloo Region District School Board achieves 99.9% wireless coverage and improved student outcomes with Fortinet

Using Technology to Inspire Curiosity Creativity and Life-Long Learners

The Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB), serving about 60,000 students across 116 schools in Ontario, faced the challenge of using technology not as a quick-fix for test scores but as a reliable enabler of inquiry, creativity, and real-world skills. CIO Mark Carbone prioritized changing perceptions of edtech and ensuring a high-availability, scalable network that could support thousands of devices and BYOD without disrupting classroom time.

WRDSB issued devices (22,000 Chromebooks and 12,000 iPads) and built a robust wireless backbone—more than 4,800 Fortinet access points, MC4200 controllers and FortiWLM—to deliver 99.9% coverage and support 50,000+ concurrent devices. The approach produced measurable gains (pilot classes saw 2–5% higher assessment scores), doubled network throughput every 15 months, offered twice the throughput of the wired network, and enabled scalable, secure collaboration that prepares students for learning beyond the classroom.

Waterloo Region District School Board

Mark Carbone

CIO