Business Challenge

A suburban public school district employing 2,000 teachers and serving 20,000 students had implemented IP telephony two years earlier, and had already enjoyed half a million dollars in savings annually because of the new technology.  With today’s increased awareness of public safety issues, they had become concerned about the limitations of their existent 911 notification system.  The system could only identify which school a call had come from; it could neither pinpoint a specific extension nor a specific location within a school.   Nor could it provide the 911 dispatcher with a number to call back in the event of a disconnection.  As a result, when 911 was called, the emergency responders would arrive with no direction as to where to go.  They would have to check in with the school’s administrative office, which would then broadcast a PA announcement asking whomever had called 911 to call the office.  At a high school campus that covers over 75 acres, this process could waste valuable time in getting emergency services to those in need, or in containing a crisis.

Solution

Forsythe implemented brand-new Enhanced 911 technology throughout the district’s 21 schools.   The technology provides the 911 dispatch center with full logistical information for every call, including from which school, from which floor in that school, from which hallway on that floor, and from which extension the call was generated.  The technology also enables call-back to the extension.  In addition, the technology can be programmed to immediately notify selected individuals that a 911 call has been placed. 

In this case, the system immediately calls the school’s principal, assistant principal, and security officer, as well as individuals in the school district’s administrative offices and IT department.  A recording announces, “There has been an emergency reported to 911 at this facility.”  Next, an e-mail is automatically generated to identified recipients containing full logistical information regarding the source and time of the call.  Pagers can also be notified, and a Web alert monitor can be installed in a school district’s administrative offices as well. 

Results

The implementation was tremendously successful.  The school district is very pleased with its new technology, and with Forsythe’s careful attention through every step of the process.  The district is reassured by the improved emergency-response Enhanced 911 supports, and by the immediate awareness of potential emergency situations it permits.   Now, after the authenticity a 911 call is confirmed, emergency services are directed to the specific location within a building or on a campus, and can be met by informed school and district staff who can immediately assist and direct them in dealing with an emergency.