Atlanta Neighborhood Charter Schools Gets Back On Schedule with Carina

This Atlanta Charter School needed a new PA, intercom, clock and bell scheduler system that could easily accommodate bell schedule exceptions including standardized testing week.

“During standardized testing week, students have different dismissal times, start times; it’s much easier adjusting our bell schedule with Carina than our previous system.” says Mike Boardman, ANCS K-8 Technology Specialist.

Problem

Standardized testing created some of the biggest headaches for ANCS K-8 Technology Specialist, Mike Boardman. Before Wahsega, the charter school used an analog system with equipment only Boardman was qualified to use. Because of the different start and end times during the standardized testing week, Boardman had to manually adjust the calendar, then change it back again to its normal schedule once the week was over. 

Mike Boardman, the IT Specialist at ANCS began looking for a new system with adjustable calendars and an option to create unique schedules in advance.

Solution

With the Carina Event Manager, ANCS creates custom bell schedules and calendars weeks ahead of time. Boardman no longer needs to manually update the calendar at the beginning and end of every standardized testing week. For standalone events or emergencies that require more immediate attention, the Carina Event Manager helps users find the exact configurations they need fast with its familiar, visual interface.

Results

Installing Carina meant that Boardman spent less time dealing with the manual system, and more time focusing on student needs. Now, Boardman can schedule custom events and bell schedules in advance using a simple browser interface. Carina also supports permission-level users; anyone with basic tech training can log in and configure the bell schedule. The Carina Dashboard also makes it easy to quickly diagnose issues and make prompt changes as needed.

Here are more ways ANCS uses the Calendar / Bell Scheduler in Carina. 

1. The ANCS middle campus observes “quiet time” (four days out of the week), and a dismissal bell. During quiet time, middle school students spend 10-minutes in silent meditation while a Carina IP Speaker plays a Buddist gong. 10-minutes later, another chime plays through a Carina IP Display while an inspirational quote scrolls across its screen.
2. 10-minutes before dismissal, a Carina IP Displays alerts students to return their laptops via a “Chromebook Return” message.