AtlasIED's Standardized Communication System Adopted by Torrance USD - A Look at the Implementation
The Torrance Unified School District has implemented a centralized communication system, thanks to AtlasIED's IPX endpoints. The district, renowned for preparing students for academic, professional, and personal success, serves a diverse student body across 32 campuses, including 17 elementary, eight middle, five high schools, a continuation high school, and an alternative school.
In an effort to streamline district-wide communications and upgrade security measures, Torrance USD began planning improvements in 2020. The ambitious goal was to deploy a unified communication system across all campuses, with one management dashboard for seamless communication. After an extensive evaluation process, the school district chose Cisco Call Manager, Singlewire's InformaCast communications software, and IPX endpoints from AtlasIED.
Previously, the school district faced challenges with disparate technologies and vendor solutions across its campuses, causing separate systems for bells, clocks, and loudspeakers. With no central management, the district couldn't create pre-recorded messages for emergencies, and many system components were approaching end-of-life.
To design the desired district-wide communications solution, school district staff contacted Nilkanth Radadia, senior account manager at NIC Partners. NIC Partners, with over two decades of experience in enhancing K-12 school digital and physical security, was well-suited for the project's scale.
AtlasIED's full LCD screen speaker was a game-changer, as it offered customizability, two-way talk, multicolor visual message capabilities, and ADA compliance for the visually and hearing-impaired. The IP-SDMF speakers were installed throughout the schools, ensuring messages were both audible and visible.
For campus exteriors, IP-HVP speakers from AtlasIED were chosen. These vandal-proof, IP45 weather-resistant speakers are well-suited for communicating across large environments with high output to overcome excessive noise.
NIC Partners implemented the communication system in stages, with the smallest school serving as a test run. Once successful implementation methods were established, the remaining schools were upgraded in less than five months.
Currently, the district is in the process of upgrading to InformaCast Fusion servers and Webex calling for Cisco Call Manager, allowing select staff members to make emergency announcements or push out notifications directly from their cell phones.
The new communication system has been well-received by both staff and students. Teachers appreciate the improved audio clarity, while students enjoy the music played at the end of periods to signal class transitions.
Gil Mara, Chief EdTech and Information Services Officer at Torrance USD, expressed his gratitude for the IPX products and the partnership with NIC Partners and AtlasIED, stating their contributions were instrumental to the project's success.
The Torrance Unified School District, in its pursuit of academic, professional, and personal success, has extended its advancements to the financial sector, implementing InformaCast Fusion servers and Webex calling for Cisco Call Manager as part of the unified communication system, allowing for direct emergency announcements or notifications from cell phones (finance, technology).
In the realm of education-and-self-development, the district's students can now benefit from enhanced audio clarity thanks to the new communication system, and the visually and hearing-impaired are catered to with ADA compliance features offered by AtlasIED's full LCD screen speaker (education-and-self-development).
