Case Study: Swan River School achieves reliable school‑wide cloud Wi‑Fi and 1:1 Chromebook readiness with RUCKUS Networks

Cloud Wi-Fi and Ruckus APs Enable Rural School to Move Ahead with Digital Learning

Swan River School, a self‑governing K–8 school in rural Bigfork, Montana with about 170 students and no IT staff, set out to expand digital learning after a teacher champion secured Chromebooks and training. Progress stalled because aging Ubiquiti access points produced spotty coverage and frequent drops—some classrooms had no signal—making Chromebooks effectively unusable and halting the school's move toward 1:1 devices.

The school hired ENA to recommend and deploy a new network and chose Ruckus Cloud Wi‑Fi with 13 indoor and 2 outdoor Ruckus APs, installed in three days. The upgrade delivered rock‑solid coverage (up to 47 Chromebooks on a single AP), intuitive cloud management via a smartphone app for the teacher‑administrator, and immediate gains: 75 Chromebooks now run reliably, the school is well past half‑way to 1:1, and staff can manage and expand digital learning without on‑site IT.

Swan River School

Shelley Emslie

Fifth Grade Teacher, WLAN Administrator