A lot of excitement and anticipation led up to the opening of North East ISD’s Institute of CyberSecurity and Innovation (iCSI). It culminated in a celebration and ribbon cutting event held at the school on August 24, 2021.
A crowd of special guests, District staff and students gathered to officially kick off the school year for iCSI. The specialized magnet program strives to increase the number of students who are professionally certified and qualified for careers in the fields of networking and cybersecurity.
Among city and state leaders in attendance were Rebecca Bell-Metereau, State Board of Education Member, District 5; Trish DeBerry, Bexar County Commissioner, Precinct 3; and Clayton Perry, San Antonio City Council Member, District 10.
District leadership on hand for the celebration included Superintendent of Schools Dr. Sean Maika, Executive Staff members, Board of Trustees and school staff. Tremendous support was also provided by a variety of business partners from the community.
A significant feature of the magnet program will be its partnership with local cybersecurity experts who can provide students with mentorships and learning opportunities. Organizations represented at the event included the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Amazon, University of Texas at San Antonio and CyberTexas Foundation.
“This facility is going to change the game nationally,” said Dan Cruz of CyberTexas Foundation. “Because to our knowledge, there’s no other facility of this nature anywhere in major competing cities for Cyberpatriot competitions.”
After the ribbon cutting, guests attended a reception and were given a tour of the state-of-the-art facility led by students. Watch a video about the event below and view pictures.
