Case Study: Franklin County Board of Education strengthens secure Wi-Fi and network management with WatchGuard

Filling in the Blanks – School Board Reinforces Network with Secure Wi-Fi

Franklin County Board of Education, a 7-location school district in rural Northwest Alabama, needed a secure, high-performing network to support Google classroom use, Chromebooks, and student/staff internet access for a community where many students lack connectivity at home. The district turned to WatchGuard for secure Wi‑Fi and network protection, using WatchGuard AP200 wireless access points along with an XTM 1525-RP firewall and related security services.

WatchGuard implemented centrally managed secure wireless across the district, backed by firewall protections such as intrusion prevention, application control, antivirus, web filtering, and reputation-based defense, plus Dimension for logging and reporting. The result was a dramatically improved wireless environment, easier centralized management for a one-person IT team, and a safer way to extend internet access onto school grounds. Franklin County Board of Education plans to expand further with WatchGuard AP300s, reflecting the solution’s reliability and ease of use.

Franklin County Board of Education

Tim Burks

Network Administrator