What Alvarez Consulting actually does for schools

Not a menu of every possible IT service. These are the specific things K-12 districts hire us to fix, build, or improve — with real expertise, not just tools.

Infrastructure & Reliability

The goal is simple: your network should work during the school day, every day. Not most days. Every day.

Discuss Your Infrastructure

Most school districts have infrastructure that was designed for a fraction of today's device count and bandwidth needs. WiFi dead zones during standardized testing. Servers that run hot because the closet was never properly cooled. Backup systems that haven't been tested in three years. These aren't edge cases — they're the norm, and they have real impacts on instruction.

WiFi Assessment & Deployment

Heat mapping, AP placement, and configuration for full-building coverage — tested under real load.

Server & Virtualization

Right-sized server infrastructure with documented backup, recovery, and failover procedures.

Network Segmentation

VLAN design that separates student, staff, and guest traffic — and actually gets implemented.

Disaster Recovery

Tested backup and recovery procedures. Not a plan that lives in a binder nobody can find.

Aeries SIS Expertise

Deep Aeries knowledge — not from documentation, but from years of actually working in the system inside a district.

Discuss Your SIS Needs
Common integration targets
CALPADS SBCSS SmartFind HR Anywhere Munis Frontline Absence Mgmt PowerSchool

Aeries is powerful, but it requires someone who knows where the edge cases are. Field naming conventions that trip up imports. School codes that need to include inactive student records. Year-typed fields that look like numbers but aren't. We know these things because we've debugged them, not because we read about them.

SIS-to-HR & Payroll Sync Automated employee data pipelines between Aeries and your HR or payroll system — replacing the manual CSV export someone runs every Monday.
CALPADS Submission Support Preparation and validation for state reporting cycles. We've done this before; we know where the errors hide.
Custom SQL Reports Reports that Aeries doesn't ship — enrollment projections, attendance trend analysis, board-ready dashboards.
Staff Training Hands-on training for office staff, registrars, and counselors, built around your workflows — not a generic manual.

AI & Emerging Technology

AI is already in your schools. The question is whether it's there with guardrails, or without them.

Plan Your AI Approach

Teachers are using ChatGPT for lesson planning. Students are using it for assignments. Administrators are using AI-generated summaries in board packets. None of this was approved, and most of it hasn't been evaluated for student data exposure. This is the reality in most districts right now. We help you build policies and practices that acknowledge that reality instead of pretending it isn't happening.

"The goal isn't to block AI. The goal is to use it in ways that support your teachers and protect your students."
AI Use Policy

A plain-language AI use policy for students and staff — one that actually gets followed because it's reasonable.

Staff AI Workflows

Practical AI tools for lesson planning, communication drafting, data summarization, and routine task reduction.

Student Data Review

An audit of which AI tools are currently in use and whether student data is exposed in ways that violate FERPA.

Professional Development

Training sessions that help teachers understand AI without feeling threatened or condescended to.

Communication & Community Technology

Technology that helps schools communicate with families, coordinate between staff, and reach the whole community — including families who don't speak English.

  • Mass notification systems (Thrillshare, ParentSquare, etc.)
  • Staff intranet and collaboration platforms
  • Parent portal setup and training
  • Translation and accessibility tools
  • Emergency communication protocols

Smart Budget Planning

Technology decisions you can defend at a board meeting — with data, context, and a plan that fits your actual budget and timeline.

  • Three-year technology roadmap
  • Total cost of ownership analysis
  • Vendor contract review and negotiation
  • E-Rate application guidance
  • Grant-ready technology planning
  • Board presentation support

Ready to talk about your district?

Every district is different. Let's start with a conversation about what your specific situation looks like.