The NetDay web site served as the organizing tool for California's wiring initiative. Volunteers registered online for the school of their choice by clicking on a map or conducting a search to find a local school. The site included ordering information for discounted wiring kits and other special offers from companies. Each local organizer was responsible for planning, soliciting donations, and training volunteers. Businesses donated cabling materials, network equipment, and computer hardware and software as well as tools, ladders, food, t-shirts, and other items for the events. Parents and students raised funds to purchase what could not be donated, as well as their time and talents. Educators and school employees planned events, prepared the school, organized resources, and pitched in on NetDay.

A Regional Effort with Big Results

Smart Valley
Karen R. Greenwood
Project Director, Smart Valleyv President, Nimble Press
www.svi.org/netday

Schools in the Silicon Valley region of California were organized through the efforts of Smart Valley, a collaborative non-profit organization formed to create an electronic community by developing an advanced information infrastructure and the collective ability to use it. The nonprofit's team of 13 people brought together 14,500 volunteers and 125 companies to wire 350 schools over three NetDays.

Smart Valley emphasized technology planning and training for school districts to implement a sustainable network infrastructure. Participating districts signed a Memorandum of Understanding agreeing to pull wire to at least 75% of classrooms in exchange for volunteer and equipment support. Smart Valley created a series of planning workshops for district project managers with community volunteers to develop and review district technology plans. With just three months to prepare for the first event, 100 schools had the technology plans and training to make the first NetDay an unparalleled success.

One week before NetDay, we held a practice NetDay at a local school where team leaders participated to experience it first hand. They learned how to facilitate and improve their own NetDays. District leaders told me later that the most valuable thing for them was assistance with planning and training.
-- Karen R. Greenwood

Smart Valley gave companies an organized, credible way to support local schools of their choice in a project with real, verifiable results. Their contributions of time, resources, donations, and equipment discounts came to an estimated $27 million in cost savings for local schools. As a result of their experiences with NetDay, many companies formalized their relationships with schools, initiated education discounts, and made education a priority in their philanthropy programs. Several individuals found the experience so satisfying that they left their jobs to consult with schools.

One of the ways Smart Valley persuaded schools of the value of networking was by using the Internet to organize the events. Without networks, email, web sites, and databases, the scale and scope of the Silicon Valley NetDay would have been impossible. The Internet enabled a small staff to organize thousands of volunteers to support over 100 sites per event. Smart Valley developed web pages linked to school and volunteer databases to generate the latest information on demand. Email lists for volunteers, company leaders, and district project managers received regular email updates about discounts, activities, and needs.

With the first NetDay we had a very difficult time reaching schools. They didn't have email, few had fax machines, and they only answered their phone during school hours. By the last NetDay, the schools all had email contacts and entered their event information and checked for volunteers directly on our web site.
-- Karen R. Greenwood

NetDay in Gold Rush Country

Nevada County Schools
Terry McAteer
Superintendent, Nevada County Schools
www.nevco.k12.ca.us

Far from the high-tech cities and suburbs of the Valley, in the Sierra Mountains, the Nevada County School District focused their wiring efforts on two middle schools (built in the 1860's, they are two of the oldest schools in the state). They learned about NetDay through the national media coverage and had parents calling to find out what they could do at their school.

As in many rural communities, the schools are the community centers where parents hold potlucks, community meetings, and now have access to computer labs. By pooling resources and calling on volunteers from local companies - National Semiconductor, TDK, 3Com, and Grass Valley Group - the school district networked Chicago Park, a K-8 school with 128 students, and Clear Creek School, a K-8 with 107 students.

Volunteers spent one day wiring both schools: classrooms, libraries, and administration offices. Approximately 8-10 people worked at each site for 8 hours. Today, these two schools are as technologically advanced as any in the state with small labs of 6-12 computers, and classroom computers. Through partnerships with companies, both schools received new sets of used computers eliminating their technology deficit and positioning them as leaders.

Networking the students from little rural schools creates a huge esteem change. These students have great pride in their 4H programs, in their community, and now they are part of the 21st Century. Their test scores rank in the top of the state; they know they can compete with students in other areas.
-- Terry McAteer