Throughout the past few years, the Technology Department at Marshalltown Community School District (MCSD) has been engaged in a major effort to install high-quality audio amplification equipment across the majority of the district’s school buildings. This strategic investment goes far beyond simple sound boosting. The system, known as Audio Enhancement, functions as a critical, multi-purpose platform. Its features include sound equalization throughout classrooms and common spaces, intercom, bells, paging, and an integrated safety system. Altogether, it serves to improve both the instructional environment and the security posture of MCSD’s learning spaces.

Audio Enhancement originated as a system designed to ensure students who are hard of hearing could fully access classroom instructional content. All students have equal access to sound no matter where they sit in the classroom, a key benefit that also saves the voice of teachers from strain and overuse. Therefore, developers quickly realized that capability was far more extensive than the initial purpose.

Research consistently demonstrates that classrooms utilizing soundfield equalization technology show significant improvements in student reading achievement scores. Furthermore, studies prove that students for whom English is a second language (ESL) perform significantly better when listening conditions are less noisy and instructional sound is clearer and evenly dispersed. These compelling findings provide a strong instructional justification for the Audio Enhancement system, yet its benefits extend much further into the realm of safety and efficiency.

MCSD prides itself on proactively adopting practices and technology that enhance the safety and security of its students and staff. Audio Enhancement offers several critical safety features that help us identify opportunities to enhance safety measures in many of our schools. Key functionalities include the ability to page the entire building, including exterior zones, from the main office or principal’s office. This paging, intercom, and bell system allows administration to communicate with all zones or specific areas, intercom directly into classrooms, and set precise bell schedules to signify building transitions.

A powerful asset is the integrated notification system, which can play prerecorded messages. This feature saves valuable time, allowing building leadership to broadcast important announcements, such as the Pledge of Allegiance, morning messages, or crucial safety protocol messages, without needing to be physically present in multiple locations. In preparation for deployment, the Technology, Communications, and Safety and Security Departments collaborated directly with the Marshalltown Police Department to collaboratively create standardized, emergency-specific messaging in each school, aligning with the response drills practiced throughout the year.

Audio Enhancement also includes crucial safety features, offering discrete ways to notify the front office of the need for support or safety concerns. To ensure rapid and effective intervention, dedicated safety teams within each building are working with safety and security leadership to ensure consistent responses. This equips them to respond appropriately, swiftly, and effectively to any situation deemed an emergency.

The Audio Enhancement system is far more than an upgrade to the Marshalltown Community School District’s paging, intercom, and bell infrastructure. It represents a significant, dual-purpose enhancement to the district, simultaneously boosting instructional access and fortifying security measures. The district has placed a high emphasis on the system through professional development training and district communications, working toward operational clarity and staff competence. This installation is a clear demonstration of how MCSD has truly Embraced the Lead by deploying cutting-edge technology that directly supports the academic success and holistic well-being of every person who walks through its doors.

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Amy Harmsen is the Director of Technology for the Marshalltown Community School District. She can be reached at aharmsen@marshalltown.k12.ia.us. The district educates over 5,000 students to have the skills for a rapidly changing world. Learn more by visiting www.marshalltown.k12.ia.us.