During the Westerville City School District’s real-time technology analysis on February 26, district officials learned a great deal to prepare for upcoming online assessments. By restricting guest Internet access, as well as reducing districtwide access to certain Internet-based services such as streaming music and video sites, the district realized an approximate 45 percent reduction to the bandwidth being used. Technology officials also evaluated the backup internet firewall and determined it to be fully operational within established parameters.
As a result of this analysis, in order to ensure appropriate connectivity to online testing sites, district officials will enact comparable network access restrictions during the state testing window this spring. Districtwide restrictions will occur between 6:30 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. from April 5 through April 21. District officials encourage all staff and students to plan accordingly for this anticipated service reduction each day. Access to previous service levels will be restored each day promptly at 11:30 a.m.
Staff members will be able to access essential online services, such as PowerSchool, at all times during these planned service reductions. Should district officials determine that additional educational sites can be used without negatively impacting access to online assessments, staff members will be notified immediately.