Case Study: Western Reserve Academy achieves seamless remote learning and keeps its boarding school community connected with RingCentral

Using Technology to Keep a Boarding School Community Connected

Western Reserve Academy, a coed boarding and day school in Hudson, Ohio serving grades 9–12, needed a way to preserve its tight-knit community while modernizing communications and rapidly moving to distance learning in March 2020. The school faced challenges including keeping faculty and 500+ students connected across time zones and regions (including students in China), maintaining records and privacy protections, and reaching students on the devices they already use.

By adopting RingCentral’s all‑in‑one communications platform—voice, SMS, web meetings, recordings and Canvas integration—faculty could text students, host and record remote lessons, and provide HIPAA‑compliant counseling, all from a single system. The switch enabled a fast, low‑stress transition to remote learning, kept every student connected regardless of location, and preserved community engagement and documentation for faculty and staff.

Western Reserve Academy

Matthew Gerber

Director of Information and Education Technology