INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
entire school system while modernising outdated infrastructure to meet the needs of a diverse student population.
With 30,000 students speaking more than 15 languages, IPS faces challenges common to urban school districts but approaches them with a strategy that balances technological advancement with public sector constraints. The district’ s transformation centres on creating four educational zones with equivalent offerings, all of which is supported by cloud technology that enables new teaching methods.
“ Right now, the district is undertaking one of the largest initiatives that IPS has ever had,” says Chenzira Allen, Director of Digital Strategy Transformation at IPS.“ IPS superintendent, Dr Aleesia Johnson, has prioritised equality for our children, and the Rebuilding Strong initiative reflects this vision by redesigning the entire district into four zones, each providing equal educational opportunities.”
Infrastructure limitations drive cloud migration The necessity for change emerged from a practical assessment of the district’ s ageing data centre, which could no longer support modern educational technology requirements. IPS recognised that continuing with outdated infrastructure would increase operational costs while limiting their ability to implement new educational platforms.
“ New technology with outdated operations leads to increased expenses,” explains Chenzira.“ Our ageing data
“New technology, old operations equals expense”
CHENZIRA ALLEN, DIRECTOR OF DIGITAL STRATEGY TRANSFORMATION, INDIANAPOLIS PUBLIC SCHOOLS
centre no longer met modern demands. Today, storing data in the cloud offers a more adaptable environment that is constant yet dynamic, scalable and capable of tasks impossible with on-premises infrastructure.”
This realisation pushed the district to invest in cloud infrastructure despite budget constraints typical in the public education sector. The migration to Microsoft Azure has reached 95 % completion, with plans to achieve 96 % soon.
“ It was a costly decision,” Chenzira acknowledges,“ but it was necessary to give schools and teachers the agility to innovate and reimagine classroom instruction.”
The district’ s approach acknowledges the financial limitations of public education.“ In education, we don’ t have the same level of funding as the private sector. So, we must make the most of what we have and be responsible stewards of our resources,” says Chenzira.
IPS faces additional complexity due to its public sector status and scale.“ Our process is unique because we’ re building
218 May 2025