Capital City Charter School serves a diverse group of pre-K through high school students in northwest Washington, DC. The school was founded in 1999 with the mission to help students meet higher expectations, develop creativity and become intellectually engaged adults. When Capital City relocated to a newly renovated facility in 2012, the school’s tech savvy leadership asked CTSI to design and install advanced education technology solutions to improve communication and collaboration.
Challenge
CTSI consultants, designers and technicians needed to present a solution that could provide students and teachers with functional and scalable audiovisual systems, voice system, and networking access. In addition, the school required security and safety technologies to protect the facilities during and after school hours. The systems must integrate into the existing facility infrastructure, and must offer ease of use for school personnel.
Solution
CTSI implemented a comprehensive solution that included voice and data, security, paging and bell systems, classroom and conference projectors, library multimedia, digital signage and more. Technicians installed over 2500 category 5e fiber optic cables along with riser infrastructure to enable VOIP telephony, and provide BYOD wireless network access throughout the entire facility. To enhance building security, CTSI installed a IP-accessible RedCloud controls and an Aviglon IP CCTV video monitoring system. An Infocast paging and bell tone system enabled simultaneous paging across overhead loudspeakers and the Cisco IP telephones installed throughout the individual classrooms and offices. CTSI techs installed Epson interactive projectors in dozens of classrooms. In the library, two 4500 lumen projectors with electric screens were installed for multimedia use. Finally, a Scala SignChannel digital sinage solution with a 42” LED was installed in the main lobby to showcase student artwork, menus, news and school information.
Results
Ultimately, the CTSI team created and implemented a total solution with numerous components that successfully solved technological needs throughout the new Capital City Charter School facility. Thanks to CTSI’s VOIP and data solutions, students, teachers, administrators and parents are now able to communicate and share information quickly and easily. The audiovisual solutions in the classrooms and library enhance students’ learning experience. The CTSI-designed security components provide superior protection for the grounds and facilities, and the paging system allows administrators and teachers to communicate with the entire student body clearly and efficiently. Overall, CTSI created a technologically advanced campus that is equipped to help school leadership accomplish the mission of educating creative and engaged young adults.