Case Study: Bloomington Public School District 87 achieves district-wide BYOD, 1:1 computing and personalized learning with HPE Aruba Networking

Illinois district leverages BYOD, individualizes education and participates in other leading-edge initiatives

Bloomington (Illinois) Public Schools District 87, which serves 5,600 PreK–12 students across 10 facilities, needed to deliver a 21st‑century education while stretching limited funds and meeting state and federal mandates. The district aimed for a device‑agnostic 1:1 strategy that leveraged BYOD, but its legacy Cisco wireless network offered poor coverage, high complexity and licensing problems, forcing a search for a new end‑to‑end solution.

Bloomington chose an Aruba Networks deployment—about 300 AP105 access points with 6000‑series controllers, Aruba ARM and AirWave management—to provide a secure, manageable and scalable WLAN. The new network simplified IT management, enabled district‑wide BYOD and individualized learning, supported participation in initiatives like IlliniCloud and SLC, and reliably met assessment and compliance requirements.

Bloomington Public School District 87

Jim Peterson

Technology Director