Broad View of Your Network

From a birds-eye view, a school network starts with a single point where internet traffic comes in or goes out of the school.  The traffic then passes through filters to connect with local servers (computers offering services to other computers on the local network) and all devices.  The connection users see if wireless but there are hardwire connections from the internet to the on-site router, switches, and WAPs (WiFi access points).  Schools may have dozens switches and WAPs with copper or fiber wiring connecting all of them.

Let's start with the router.  Yes, the black box the ISP (Spectrum for most in Brevard) sets up is a router.  It is the same router you have in your house.  Is it efficient enough to handle 300 devices at once?  Surprisingly, yes!  But I don't know of any school that uses it.  You do not have full access to it which may result in a conflict.  Most schools use a UTM (Unified Threat Management) box that serves as a router, firewall, content filter, DNS, DHCP, and offers add-ons for things like antivirus, remote VPN connections, and device management.  They cost $1 - 2,000 up front, have an annual fee for services (possibly more than the upfront cost), and are a single point of failure.  But they offer a lot and often come with an overnight replacement policy if they go bad.  A business class router / firewall that is not a UTM will cost less up front and have a small annual service fee but you may need to buy other devices or services from other companies to meet insurance or functionality requirements.

VLANs can terminate at the router so this is a good time to bring those up.  These work for free from the router, but you need modern switches and WAPs to utilize them.  All these devices can be managed from a central controller.  As your network keeps growing you want to section off network chatter between devices for functionality and security.  For enterprises, this has been standard practice for years.  Schools are finally catching up.  A UTM with lots of ports (8+) will best utilize VLANS, secondary networks, and 5 IP spectrum contracts.

A lot of the expenses have come down over the years.  For schools, erate can help with some of the cost if planned 1 year ahead of time.  A multi year operational tech budget saves money with preplanning and possibly grant assistance.