Part 2 of a 3 part series of blogs about Public Address & Mass Communication Systems in K-12 Schools
In a lockdown situation, it is important to have a way to communicate with students, teachers, and staff quickly and efficiently and to alert them to the potential threat and provide instructions based on the policy and procedures defined by the school.
Public address systems in K-12 schools are used to make announcements in a controlled manner ensuring students, teachers, and staff all receive the same information at the same time. They can be used for common announcements such as school-wide events, information about delays, or changes in schedules. In addition, the same technology and devices can be used during emergency events such as fires, tornado alerts, medical emergencies, and lockdown situations.
Public address systems provide for clear and consistent communication to students, teachers, and staff that are onsite. Other methods of communication such as text alerts, phone calls, emails, and desktop notifications can be helpful during emergency events and for communicating to people offsite, but public address systems are faster and do not assume a person is holding their phone or in front of a computer. These other forms of communication can be used for redundancy but should NOT be the primary method for emergency events.
Additionally, PA systems with automation capabilities can be programmed to make announcements or play pre-recorded messages at specific times or in response to certain triggers such as when an emergency lockdown is activated.
Some other benefits of an automated PA system in K-12 schools can include:
1. Timesaving: Automated PA systems can be programmed to make announcements or play pre-recorded messages at specific times, reducing the need for someone to manually make announcements over the PA system. This can save time and allow school staff to focus on other tasks.
2. Consistency: Automated PA systems can ensure that the same message is delivered consistently to all students and staff. This can be especially important in emergency situations, when it is critical that everyone receives the same information. During emergency events, pre-recorded messages can provide calm, detailed instructions that are specific to school policies and procedures and reduce the potential for human error when lives are on the line.
3. Customization: Automated PA systems can be programmed to make different announcements or play different messages based on the time of day, location, or other factors. This allows for customized communication based on the needs of the school.
4. Efficiency: Automated PA systems can be programmed to make announcements or play messages in multiple languages, allowing for efficient communication with students and staff who speak different languages.
5. Assurance: PA systems can include ambient noise sensors which can automatically adjust volume levels of announcements to ensure they are intelligible over other noise in a specific area. 90% of school shootings happen during passing periods where ambient noise levels are higher than typical classroom time which is what most PA systems are designed for.
Automated PA systems can be an especially useful tool for improving communication and efficiency in K-12 schools. They can save time and ensure consistent and customized communication with students, teachers, and staff for both common and critical situations.
Other Related Blogs:
Part 1: Security Cameras or Public Address System in K-12 Schools
Why Ambient Noise Sensing is Critical for Critical Alerts