CISCO CERTIFIED SUPPORT TECHNICIANS
CISCO Certified Support Technicians (CCST) certifications help validate you skills and qualifications for entry-level IT job roles. You can use them to prove your readiness to pursue associate-level certifications, such as CISCO Certified Network Associate (CCNA) and CISCO Certified CyberOps Associate.
CISCO NETWORKING ACADEMY
ACADEMY SUPPORT
The role of the ASC Alliance is to promote sustainability and success of its aligned Cisco Member Academies. Our goal is to create a resilient Cisco Academy Community who shares information and ideas, enhances our member’s skills set and improves the education of Cisco Academy students.
INSTRUCTOR TRAINING
Our Instructor Training Center provides ongoing instructor professional development (IPD). Each academy may choose any Instructor Training Center to meet their needs. Click Instructor Training to find out why META Solutions Instructor Training Center will meet your needs.
RESOURCES
CISCO ACADEMY RESOURCES
Leadership
Elaine Horn
META Solutions – Marion, OH
Elaine Horn has supported Cisco Networking Academies since 1998. As the META Solutions’ Program Manager, she addresses instructor issues and needs, teaches CCNA classes, and organizes and presents at state conferences and virtual workshops. In addition, she writes classroom activities, directs state and local competitions, and builds relationships with teachers, state directors, Cisco engineers and partners. Elaine’s goal is to provide teachers with practical skills and knowledge that can readily be applied in their classrooms. She holds a CCNA certification and completed the CCNA Instructor Trainer Qualification process. Before joining the Cisco Networking Academy program, she taught math and computer science courses at Tri-Rivers Career Center in Ohio.
E-mail: ehorn@metasolutions.net
Phone: (888) 828-4798 ext. 12254
Iris Kutch
META Solutions – Marion, OH
Iris Kutch has been a Cisco Academy Support manager since 2016. She originally managed the Towson University ASC servicing the DC, Maryland, and Virginia area. She also managed the Cisco ASC/ITC Support Center at Red River Technologies from 2021 – 2024. Her primary goal is to support instructors and students in the Cisco academies to ensure they have a positive and rewarding experience. She serves on various partnership advisory boards and works with several state educational entities to promote the Cisco academy portfolio. Iris became accredited to teach all the courses aligned with certifications when she taught the curriculum at one of the local high schools in Baltimore County.
E-mail: iriskutch@metasolutions.net
Phone: (740) 389-4798 ext. 12793
Paul Fedele
Calhoun Area Career Center – Battle Creek, MI
Paul Fedele has been a Cisco Academy instructor since 1999 and has trained many other instructors during that time. Primarily, he teaches high school juniors and seniors at the Calhoun Area Career Center (CACC) in Battle Creek, MI. Paul holds current IT certifications from CompTIA (A+, Linux, Network+, Server+), Cisco (CCAI), and SUSE (SCA). He is also certified to teach Math, Computer Science, and IT content in multiple states.
Paul has recently taught the NEW Ethical Hacker course to a special audience: IT Support and Administrative staff from Ohio secondary schools.
Paul supports his students in realizing their full potential through differentiation and collaboration. Many of his students are employed directly from high school in career jobs.
With Paul’s guidance CACC students have:
- designed, built, and maintained both servers and networks for local schools and non-profits continuously since 2000.
- designed, built, networked, and maintained flight simulators for the CACC aviation class.
- designed and built a greenhouse control computer for the CACC agriculture class.
- designed and built a 14 camera high definition surveillance system for the CACC law enforcement class scenario house.
- created a web page which students can use to report bullying activity and have open-sourced the code.
Paul presents at state and Cisco Academy conferences about his success in the classroom.
Since 2009, Paul has also assisted in the development of Cisco Academy curriculum (CCNA5, Health Information Networking, IT Essentials 7, IoT Connecting Things) and NDG (Linux Essentials, LPIC-1) curriculum and has served as a member of the Packet Tracer Advisory Board.
E-mail: pfedele@gmail.com
Academy Support
META has been operating as a Cisco Academy Support Center (ASC) since 1999. ASCs are recommended for all Cisco Academies since they operate as Tier 1 support.
The following courses require Academy Support:
- IT Essentials
- Networking Essentials
- Introduction to Networks
- Switching, Routing, and Wireless Essentials
- Enterprise Networking, Security, and Automation
- Cybersecurity Associate
- DevNet Associate
- Network Security
Academy support is recommended for all Cisco Academy courses.
Our Mission: Improve the quality and quantity of Cisco Networking Academies.
Our Vision: META Solutions’ Cisco Academy staff will collaborate to share best practices, methodologies, curricula, course modules and materials, provide faculty training and offer support to schools who want to implement and develop a Cisco Networking Academy.
META promotes sustainability and success of its aligned Cisco Member Academies. Our goal is to create a resilient Cisco Academy Community who shares information and ideas, enhances our member’s skills sets and improves the education of Cisco Academy students.
Each Cisco Academy is required to select an ASC who will:
- Assist in monitoring of programs
- Expand the quality of programs
- Increase student success
Cisco will communicate with ASC partners to ensure critical operational messages are received and understood by academies. Cisco will also provide ongoing educational opportunities for ASC partners to make certain the ASCs have the information they need to be successful. ASC partners are the “eyes and ears” in their geographic region.
Duties of META’s ASC
- Deliver initial and ongoing support to academies
- Virtually and/or live
- Via phone, email, and social media
- Synchronous or asynchronous
- Help with navigation of https://www.netacad.com
- Locate training or other services
- Assist in ordering and upgrading equipment
- Provide administrator orientation
- Direct academies to resources and support
- Localize and disseminate critical communications from Cisco
- Familiarize academies with new tools
- Back academies with change initiatives
- Build awareness and offer training on available and updated resources and tools
- Afford professional development opportunities
- Offer advanced training opportunities
- Recognize outstanding academies and students
- Contribute proactively to the online community discussion boards to help connect members to available resources and the latest program information
- Encourage academies to share best practices and engage in student success, curriculum, and operational discussions
- Extend optional site visit (fee may be charged)
Support Fee Structure
Cisco Academy Support Package – $1,000
Includes all Cisco Academy coursework on https://www.netacad.com
For more information regarding META’s Academy Support, please contact Elaine Horn or Iris Kutch at (740) 389-4798 or by email at netacademy@metasolutions.net.
META Solutions Instructor Training
META Solutions Instructor Training Center (ITC) provides initial training and follows up with 12 months of technical support. Our center also provides ongoing Instructor Professional Development (IPD).
Why Choose META Solutions Instructor Training Center
- META Solutions has provided instructor training since 1999 and has a long history with the Cisco Networking Academy program.
- META Solutions is partnering with other Academy Support Centers to offer instructor classes.
- Our instructor trainers are geographically dispersed, have diverse skills, and many years of experience teaching academy students and instructors.
- Email, phone, virtual meetings, social media, and recordings are tools that are used to reach our instructors both synchronous and asynchronous.
- Refurbished Cisco routers and switches are shipped directly to schools when available.
- Flexible training is available year-round. Fast Track and complete training classes for new instructors are offered up to four times a year to assist teachers in being ready and prepared to begin teaching IT Essentials, Network Essentials, Cyber Essentials, Python Essentials, CCNA, Network Security, DevNet and Cybersecurity Associate curriculum. These courses are offered live, online, and in hybrid online/lab practicum formats. Networking Academy Offerings
- Instructors who complete training at META Solutions ITC will automatically receive one year of instructor support, following the training.
Instructors are trained by META Solutions ITC knowledgeable and experienced trainers:
Elaine Horn – CCNA ITQ Certified, META Solutions, Marion, OH
Pete Anderson – CCNA/Network Security/CCNP ITQ Certified, Retired Davenport University, Grand Rapids, MI
Lonnie Decker –CCNA/Network Security/Cybersecurity Associate/CCNP ITQ Certified, Davenport University, Midland, MI
Debra Keller –CCNA/Network Security/Cybersecurity Associate /CCNP ITQ Certified, Retired University of Akron, Akron, OH
Katie Fitzner –CCNA ITQ Certified, Henry Ford Community College, Dearborn, MI
Paul Fedele – IT Essentials ITQ Certified/Specializes in Linux and Ethical Hacker, Calhoun Area Career Center, Battle Creek, MI
Chris Bowhuis – Specializes in Python and IoT Connecting Things, Kellogg Community College, Battle Creek, MI
Will Bailey – CCNA ITQ Certified, Zane State College, Zanesville, OH
Rich Lamb – CCNA ITQ Certified, Retired from Pinckney High School, Pinckney, MI
Lisa Oyler – CCNA ITQ Certified, Specializes in Cybersecurity Curriculum Pathway, Retired Summit Technology Academy, Lee’s Summit, MO
Sandy Thomaschek – CCNA ITQ Certified, Canal Winchester High School, Canal Winchester, OH
Joe Mayes – Specializes in CCNA and Cybersecurity Associate, Retired Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
Training Fees (May 2025 – September 2025)
| IT Essentials | $600 |
| CCNA v 7.0 – Introduction to Networks | $800 |
| CCNA v 7.0 – Routing, Switching, and Wireless Essentials | $800 |
| CCNA v 7.0 – Enterprise Networking, Security, and Automation | $800 |
| Network Security | $800 |
| Cybersecurity Associate | $800 |
| CCNP Enterprise: Core Networking | $800 |
| CCNP Enterprise: Advanced Routing | $800 |
| DevNet Associate | $800 |
| Ethical Hacker | $800 |
| CCNA Fast Track Accreditation | $500 |
| Cybersecurity Associate (Skills Only Accreditation) | $250 |
| DevNet (Skills Only Accreditation) | $300 |
| Networking Essentials | $600 |
| Cybersecurity Essentials | $600 |
| Python Essentials Training | $600 |
| Linux Essentials Training | $600 |
News
Check back often for new information, updates and upcoming events.
CISCO ACADEMY RESOURCES
Contact Us
100 Executive Drive
Marion, Ohio 43302
Phone: (740) 389-4798 ext 12254
Fax: (740) 389-4517
Email: netacademy@metasolutions.net
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