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EXTR Extreme Networks Boosts Connectivity and E-Learning for Forward-Thinking South Carolina School District
Tuesday October 23, 7:30 am ET
Beaufort County School District strives for excellence with innovative applications, interactivity and training resources

SANTA CLARA, Calif., Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Beaufort County School District is continuing to improve the educational experience of its students by implementing a new network foundation that will further enable the district's e-learning initiatives, touching areas of teacher training for technology applications, and information delivered by streaming video. The Beaufort County School District recently selected Extreme Networks, Inc. (Nasdaq: EXTR - News) and technology integrator Converged Networks, LLC for a refreshed network infrastructure that is designed to be both fast and reliable.

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The Beaufort County School District, serving the greater Beaufort, Bluffton and Hilton Head, S.C. area, consists of almost 20,000 students, 28 schools and multiple district office sites. The district is looking to support its growing student population with advanced e-learning applications that help save teachers' time, keep students more focused on learning, and make for a richer educational experience.

New network infrastructure from Extreme Networks® promotes the use of leading edge education tools such as streaming IP video technology that lends to a dynamic learning environment. The resilient network assists with the support of distance learning and the use of Smart Boards, an interactive teaching and presentation tool that connects to the Internet. It also supports participation in the statewide Virtual High School project, and helps underpin the technical training of the Beaufort County School District's staff.

"We are supporting growth of the student population and consistently embracing innovative technologies that improve the education experience," said John C. Williams, Assistant Superintendent for Information Services for the Beaufort County School District. "Our network is like an electronic fuel injection system in a car. Our students and staff don't need to know how it works -- we just need to know that it's there and that it works reliably. We get this experience from the network designed and provided by Extreme Networks and Converged Networks."

The use of "Smart Boards" in the classrooms boosts the learning experience by providing interactive features such as streaming videos, web pages, and other dynamic content that combine to present the classroom curriculum in compelling and effective ways. The network makes this integration of video and html content simple, stable and predictable.

By connecting with South Carolina's Virtual High School Project, the Beaufort County School District will promote shared learning experiences for highly diverse subject matter, offerings that were previously not possible because of distance limitations and demand from students in remote areas. Virtual schools utilize streaming video technology to closely mirror classroom curricula, allowing students to communicate with instructors online.

For instance, there may be a few students who want to learn to speak Japanese, or are interested in a special physics or engineering curriculum. It isn't economically feasible for the school district to hire such specialized teachers for only a handful of students -- but when there are handfuls at several schools, one teacher can utilize the new network infrastructure and teach all the students through a virtual class.

Beaufort County Schools bought and installed 2,800 new computers in the schools last summer as part of a four-year life-cycle replacement plan endorsed and funded by the Board of Education. By schedule, more new computers are scheduled to arrive next spring to improve the ratio of computers to students, and to provide better access to technology to students and staff.

"Our school board has really stepped up to the plate when it comes to technology," Williams said. "They didn't hesitate when we said we needed to upgrade to a fiber WAN, and after we made a strong business case for the life- cycle replacement plan for classroom computers, they supported that as well. In today's classroom, and in today's world, technology is one key to success."

Additionally, Beaufort County School District is supporting two new Technical Training Centers to provide teachers with convenient ways to learn the latest computer applications and teaching tools. The new Technical Training centers are supported by the new high-bandwidth Ethernet connectivity.

Technology consultation and technology integration is provided by Converged Networks -- a South Carolina-based technology integrator with deep experience designing, building, and maintaining full converged solutions for K-12 school districts and commercial businesses. The relationship between Converged Networks and Extreme Networks offers customers in a differentiated network -- one that can deliver substantial value to its customers.

The underlying network foundation for the Beaufort County School District is best when it goes unnoticed, with reliability, resiliency and high bandwidth to offer high performance delivery of Internet, data and streaming video. Extreme Networks products can provide this experience with its versatile Summit® X450 fixed switching solution, which is complemented by the modular ExtremeXOS(TM) operating system. Summit switches on the local area network (LAN) support connectivity between recently added fiber optic wide area network (WAN) connections at Beaufort County School District, reducing performance and speed limitations between separate sites.

"Our work with the Beaufort County School District signifies how educational applications can really take life for students with the right network solution, integration expertise and a commitment to innovation," said Scott Lucas, senior director of solutions marketing for Extreme Networks. "By combining a strong network design with products that enable a responsive and consistent network, we can deliver tremendous value to the students of Beaufort County."

"The Beaufort County School District now has a solid network foundation with the flexibility to deploy leading-edge tools and applications on their own terms," said Robert Thorn, Converged Networks. "It's our job at Converged Networks to design networks for maximum efficiency, resiliency and up-time, and to create value for South Carolina tax payers to continue to support the use of technology in K-12 learning environments for our children."

Extreme Networks, Inc.

Extreme Networks designs, builds, and installs Ethernet infrastructure solutions that solve the toughest business communications challenges. The company's commitment to open networking sets it apart from the alternatives by delivering meaningful insight and unprecedented control to applications and services. Extreme Networks believes openness is the best foundation for growth, freedom, flexibility, and choice. Extreme Networks focuses on enterprises and service providers who demand high performance, converged networks that support voice, video and data, over a wired and wireless infrastructure. For more information, visit: http://www.extremenetworks.com

Except for the historical information contained herein, the matters set forth in this press release, including without limitation statements as to features and performance of the products are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the "safe harbor" provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date. Because such statements deal with future events, they are subject to risks and uncertainties, including network design and actual results of use of the product in different environments. We undertake no obligation to update the forward-looking information in this release. Other important factors which could cause actual results to differ materially are contained in the Company's 10-Qs and 10-Ks which are on file with the Securities and Exchange Commission. http://www.sec.gov

Extreme Networks, ExtremeXOS, and Summit are either trademarks or registered trademarks of Extreme Networks, Inc. in the United States and/or other countries.


Source: Extreme Networks, Inc.