Operations & Support Services: Information Technology
The Lawrence Public Schools Information Systems & Technology (IS&T) Department provides technological leadership in the management and distribution of information by providing excellent and cost-effective products and services to support the mission of Lawrence Public Schools.
IS&T is committed to serving the District office, school faculty, staff and students by providing reliable and efficient computing services in the secure environment by achieving the following goals:
- Ensuring the smooth operation of the Dstrict’s computer network at the fastest bandwidth available
- Providing prompt technical support to all of District’s computers to minimize downtime
- Assisting schools and other departments in researching and procuring the best technology available for curriculum and instructional purposes
- Making recommendations to the Superintendent’s Office for school technology-related issues
IS&T currently maintains and supports a wide area network (WAN) with fiber connection from the District office to all schools. The District office accesses the Internet via a T3 connection provided by Merrimack Education Center while all of the schools access the Internet via Comcast-provided broadband cable modems. All of the network connections from the District’s main distribution frame (MDF) as well as the schools’ desktop computers are Ethernet 100Mbps.
Most of our classrooms have at least four computers (three for students and one for the teacher) connected to the school network and have monitored access to the Internet. Every school lab has 30 computers and at least one printer. Some of the system-wide applications running at the schools include:
- AS400
- Carnegie Learning Mathematics
- Fast Forword by Scientific Learning
- Fastt Math
- Learning Village
- Plato Learning via Web
- PowerSchool
- Scholastic READ180 Reading Intervention
- System 44
- Waterford by Pearson Digital Learning
A new phone system implemented by IS&T allows all faculty and professional staff to access to their own voice mailboxes, which ensures better communication between schools and parents and among school staff. The entire network infrastructure has also been upgraded to the latest technology available to accommodate the increasing demand of the school network usage. The video conference system is being implemented at most schools.
Acceptable Usage Policy
Lawrence Public School’s Acceptable Usage Policy (PDF) for network and computer resources
Wireless Access Policy
Lawrence Public School’s Wireless Access Policy (PDF) for connecting to the wireless
Contact Information
All computer-related issues and requests should be directed to the Computer Help Desk at 978-975-5952 or helpdesk@lawrence.k12.ma.us. The Computer Help Desk is located on the second floor at the school district office.
Ray Garcia, math teacher at the Math Science and Technology High School, has sparked the interest of students by creating a "CSI" forensic science class using math and science.