High-speed Internet access will be available at all schools.

Northside ISD will become the largest district in Texas to go completely wireless, giving students, teachers, and staff access to the Internet anywhere and any time at all campuses.

The District’s Board of Trustees gave the go-ahead to fund the wireless network at a board meeting Tuesday night. The installation should be complete by the end of 2008.

“Northside has been recognized nationally as one of the top districts in the nation for how well we use technology, and this is a continuation of our efforts,” Superintendent John Folks said. “I’m thrilled with what we’re proposing here.”

The wireless network will augment classroom instruction and increase communication between school staff.

“We hear from principals and teachers all the time about needing more access because they want to do web-based instruction and research,” said Kelly Smith, assistant superintendent for Technology Services.

In addition, the District plans to begin piloting a voice-activated wireless communication system called Vocera, so that school staff can quickly relay information to each other. The system will be tested next month at Holmes and Business Careers high schools, which already have a wireless network.

"The wireless Vocera devices will make our schools safer because administrators, staff, and police officers will be able to communicate at the touch of a button no matter where they are on campus,” Folks said.

To build the wireless network, about 7,000-plus access points will be installed throughout the schools. It will provide “blanket” coverage and make Northside the largest district in Texas and one of the largest in the nation with a wireless network, Smith said.

Installing the network will cost about $6.7 million, which will come from funds approved by voters in Bond 2004. In the long run, the wireless network will be more cost-efficient than installing cables and hardware every time a campus gets additional computers, Smith said.