‘All the lines are busy; I can't get through—and I really need to talk to my kid!’ Until recently, this was the all-too-frequent lament of parents who tried to call the front office of Half Moon Bay High School in San Mateo County. Getting through was almost impossible.

Even if parents were successful in making a telephone connection to the staff of the main office, there was usually no way for them to reach teachers directly during the school day. Instead, they had to ask a staff member to put a note in an instructor's mail box—a “pony drop” system that has been around since the turn of the last century.

Putting Half Moon Bay High School's parents and teachers in better touch was something that Cabrillo Unified School District Superintendent John Bayless and Principal Barbara Stanley were determined to accomplish, and Ceitronics was retained to solve the problem.

The challenge for Ceitronics was to design a communications system that would expand the high school's capacity to communicate conveniently and cost-effectively and would also integrate existing internal communications functions such as intercom, public address, and class change signals. Supt. Bayless also wanted to address heightened security and safety concerns.

Greg Steele, Ceitronics’ in-house educational technology specialist, engineered a solution that would seamlessly integrate several systems, including existing Centrex telephone lines, into one automated platform.

Steele has focused on the technological needs of school systems for two decades. Before he joined Ceitronics several years ago, he served as the educational technology specialist for a number of firms. Steele was also the installed-systems manager for Cupertino Union School District for five years. “I learned what's unique and particular with schools and school operating conditions,” said Steele. “Schools and teachers have special needs that are different in many ways from the world of business.”

When Ceitronics first signed on to oversee the school's telecommunications project, the high school had 40 installed lines on a Centrex system. At first glance, it would seem that there were more than enough telephone lines to handle incoming calls—so why were parents having trouble getting through to the front office? Further study indicated that communication congestion arose because none of the 40 lines were pooled—most were dedicated to an individual extension, just like a standard single line phone in use in a home.

“There was a published number for the main office, and two or three of those 40 lines were on roll-over, so if one line was busy, it would roll-over to the second or third line,” said Steele. “But if those two or three lines were busy, the front office was unreachable, because all the other 30-some lines were going to dedicated phones, not only at this site, but throughout the district. This was one of Supt. Bayless' main concerns. He said the district was paying for many lines, but not getting the benefit of many lines.”

Ceitronics' solution was to keep the Centrex feature (which allowed the school to call back and forth between sites easily with only three digit dialing), and add a phone switch so that the high school could go to a pooled operation, or sharing of lines. This meant that parents now had access to many lines, instead of two or three.

“We not only improved their operation,” said Steele, “but we were also able to help them make substantial savings in monthly costs. After the pooling feature was added, the existing 30-odd phone lines were overkill. We were able to cut down to about 15 lines—and save on the monthly fees that the high school was incurring on those additional lines. The savings will be configured on eliminating 15 lines at $30 per line per month, or a savings of about $5,400 per year.”

The new system also made out-dialing easier—by simply dialing 9, anyone within the system could initiate a search for any of the available lines. Ceitronics also added an automated attendant function, which routes incoming calls where they need to go. The automated attendant eliminates the need for a staff member to answer and transfer all the calls and includes a full voice mail system. There are no more “pony drops”—each classroom teacher now has an individual voicemail box.

“I've seen a real change in the classroom and in how teachers are viewed: they're viewed as business professionals with a need for technology and communications in the classroom,” Steele said. “Classrooms have changed considerably from years ago, and there's a heightened safety and security issue for teachers. But there's also the need for improved communications between parents and teachers. Parents are the clients.

“In keeping with this change in philosophy, the new voicemail system has 75 teachers' lines,” said Steele. “Now the community, without requiring the assistance of someone in the main office, can reach an individual teacher and leave a message. During the day, teachers can access their voicemail boxes, but their phones won't ring directly, so that their classes aren't disturbed.

“After hours, in the evening, or on weekends, teachers can be called directly in their rooms by a spouse or a student or a parent. In addition, we installed a full Emergency 911 system. Teachers can now call a 911 service directly from their classroom. The service will pinpoint not just the site location, but also the particular building or classroom that the call is coming from. This allows an emergency response team to get to the location more efficiently. So we have greatly improved communications and traffic-handling capacity, along with better security.”

Once the system design was configured, the next challenge for Ceitronics was to integrate the various functions and existing communication systems seamlessly. Rauland's state-of-the-art Telecenter was selected to provide the basic telephone system, intercom system, and 911 response system for the classrooms. The Rauland system was paired with a Vodavi phone switch and Automated Attendant voicemail system. Ceitronics tied the systems together into a simple, smooth operation, and also integrated those systems with Centrex, which has three-digit dialing.

Ceitronics set up a UDP, or Uniform Dialing Plan, in order to program all the Centrex extension numbers in the district into the various switches. Now someone can simply dial that extension number and be routed to the proper station.

“Half Moon Bay is a good example of how the new educational technology works,” said Steele. “We're seeing a push towards getting enhanced communication tools into the hands of both teachers and students. Now, the community has better access, the district saves money, and teachers are able to communicate more effectively. It's a win-win for everyone.”

Illustrations
1. Project Management Model
2. Copper vs. 3M's Volition Cabling System

Other Features
1. Newly awarded Ceitronics Projects
2. Volition System Components