School Resources |
K-20 Telecommunications Network
In 1996, the Washington State Legislature formally recognized the critical role of technology in education and authorized the building of a $55 million K-20 Educational Telecommunications Network. The result is a high-speed telecommunications backbone that enables the use of the Internet and live two-way videoconferencing in all of Washington's public educational sectors, and also connects the schools and sectors with one another. Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the K-20 Network was born from the collaborative efforts of representatives from K-12, community and technical colleges, baccalaureate institutions, the Department of Information Services, the Legislature and private sector technology providers.
With its second phase completed in December 1999 (except for the final connections for the state’s private higher education institutions), the network now connects 426 public education sites throughout the state including campuses of community and technical colleges, regional universities, research institutions, and the K-12 school districts and educational service districts. Tens of thousands of people can now conduct or have the potential to conduct research and communicate with one another without the traditional constraints of distance and cost. The K-20 Network helps educators stretch limited resources and helps students gain skills for jobs in a competitive marketplace. The Network has also created new synergy among the three educational sectors - K-12, community and technical colleges and four-year universities. They are able to share information and coordinate programs like never before, allowing the state's overall education system to be more creative, more flexible and more efficient.
When instituted, the Legislature also noted the seamless nature of educational opportunities for all of Washington’s citizens. Thus, intended in the bold initiative was the desire to also link the state’s regional and local libraries as well as private K-12 in a Phase III. WFIS continues to represent the interests of Private schools through formal membership on the K-20 Board to arrive at that end. At its July 2000 meeting, the K-20 Board approved a pilot project allowing private schools to link to the network through a user-funded hub. This gives the private school community the ability to test the benefits of such a network and define any special considerations for our sector.