August 2005 — Applications
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Surviving a Communications Network Overhaul
The district defined specific operational features for this developing system. We had integrated overhead paging and fail-safe analog lines added for additional security. The district would have robust communications available literally under almost any foreseeable situation.
Today, the Cheltenham Township school district has a corporatestyle communications network, operating with super-fast Internet connections.
To achieve our goals, a group of Cheltenham administrators worked with Alcatel (www.alcatel.com) and Verizon (www.verizon.com) to assess the functionality and ROI of a new communications system. We chose Alcatel because the company developed a unique solution in line with Cheltenham’s multiple goals. In fact, Cheltenham was the first school district to implement Alcatel’s K-12 district alert application. The new communications system includes:
- Inter-building communications solutions. An IP telephony solution that allows school administrators and teaching staff to reach each other at any time.
- Security applications. Alcatel’s K-12 education district alert application allows Cheltenham to send each classroom in the district instant notifications regarding weather, news, events, or specific security concerns.
A Technology Infusion
We initially implemented a switchover from analog to IP telephony in August 2004. Phase I consisted of the administration building and Glenside Elementary School, which helped us develop a comprehensive model for all other buildings. Advanced development continued for several months following the transition.
To date, we have implemented most major aspects of the VoIP telephony systems: personal wireless telephones (PWT) usable throughout VoIP-equipped buildings and roaming users; Alcatel 4980 Softphones with enhanced message popup capabilities; integrated overhead paging accessible from within or outside of the district using dialed-in system access (DISA); bridge conferences for up to 29 members; voicemail for all users; voice broadcast service (VBS) to all phones, with 64 different messages that use up to 256 different scenarios (accessible from anywhere); and more than 500 features built into the 4,035 telephones used in the administration building.
Phase II is planned for this summer, when we expect to equip grades 5 and 6, the middle school, and our high school. After lessons learned through Phase I, we expect the second phase of implementation to be considerably shorter. This type of project was new for Alcatel, Verizon, and the school district, which made it a learning experience for allinvolved. Whilee we are only through the second part of the six-phase project, it has been a learning process for the school district and the technicians, due, in part, to not knowing what to expect in terms of speed and execution.
