Anytime Chuck Ehler, Superintendent at Rushford-Peterson Schools in Minnesota, gives a tour of a classroom, people say, “Wow! I really like the clocks that you have here. That is really impressive.”
Rushford-Peterson opened its new, state-of-the-art school in 2017, after flooding and aging buildings necessitated the project. But the district not only received a new building, it upgraded technology, too.
“We have everything in this building technologically — from programmable LED lighting to programmable heating and ventilation,” says Technology Director Corey Mattson. “We have wireless access in every corner of the building. We have a secure building with secure entrances.”
When choosing which synchronized clock system to purchase for the new buildings, Ehler and Mattson were immediately impressed with the capabilities of the EverAlert® system.
“In any school system, synchronized time is essential because everybody relies on minutes and sometimes it comes down to seconds,” Ehlers says. “By having synchronized time, we’re guaranteed that our students and our staff know exactly when they should move, and we can rest assured that the time is accurate and everybody can be on the same page.”
With 78 displays in the building, it is essential that students and staff receive clear communication throughout the school day. The synchronized clock system helps Rushford-Peterson not only become a technologically-advanced school, but an efficient one.
The EverAlert® communication platform is far more than an ordinary clock. It can display announcements, lunch menus, even weather communications. In the future, Mattson would like to give staff members the ability to control their own classroom clock, so they can use it for activities like dismissing children to a different class or simply getting ready for lunch.
EverAlert® has been an incredible time saver for the school by allowing staff to communicate through the clock displays without having to go through an intercom system.
Mattson likes that weather alerts are displayed automatically because faculty, staff, and students will be immediately notified of weather advisories or warnings.
Not every classroom features the same clock. Instead, Rushford-Peterson allows its teachers to select between digital and analog.
The early childhood program teachers chose a digital display because they wanted students to learn numbers. Kindergarten through third-grade teachers said they work on digital numbers for half the year before switching to analog.
Eventually, the school will use more of the modules to do everything from fire drills to lockdowns. In case of emergency, the principles can log into their own portal and activate alerts and directions, as well.
EverAlert® is also easy to install and configure. “The backside portal on the website is very intuitive, very easy to use,” Mattson says. “We chose to do all wireless displays. It’s done with a USB stick and it’s done within minutes.”
When he installed the displays, he simply carried the laptop around from room to room and named each display with the name and room number of the corresponding staff member.
The students and staff at Rushford-Peterson are used to seeing things in a digital format. With EverAlert®, the format is clear, they can trust that the information is accurate, and it provides them with the essentials to make school operate smoothly and efficiently.
For a school district, EverAlert® is certainly the clock of the future.