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Carrollton Farmers Branch Schools - Carrollton, TX
Carrollton Farmers Branch Gets Automated
With 26,000 students living in six cities, the Carrollton-Farmers Branch School District in Texas had a very big challenge – devise a system where they could communicate with community members, students and parents spread over 54 square miles. Carrollton-Farmers Branch (C-FB) encompasses 34 schools in Addison, Carrollton, Coppell, Dallas, Farmers Branch and Irving.
Local cable channels 74 and 75, which are student produced, include monthly shows such as the C-FB Insider – a news show – and a district sports show. The trouble was the district had no automation for its existing system – information was typed in each day and someone always had to be there to push “play.”
C-FB now uses Alpha Video’s CastNET software along with Scala’s InfoChannel 3 for messaging. The installation could not have come at a better time, according to Amy Johnson, Multimedia Specialist at C-FB. “We are using our channels to communicate information to the community about a pending $300 million bond referendum. This is a very important referendum for us, and now we have the ability to communicate this to the entire community.” Johnson chose Alpha Video to work with her on the project because of her prior positive experience working with Alpha’s account executive Jeff Guyot on a similar project at another school district. Johnson said she likes having a local representative to go to for questions and answers. “Jeff is very service-oriented. If I have questions or issues about the system, Jeff is able to log onto the Internet and walk me through our content to see where the problems are,” she said.
According to Johnson, one of the main reasons C-FB chose Alpha Video’s CastNET software was because it provides the school district the ability to schedule content. C-FB was not automated until it integrated CastNET into its system. Says Johnson, “CastNET was attractive to us because more than one user can utilize it. This means that each school can customize its own content.”
The benefits of CastNET to C-FB are numerous. Most importantly, the district can now save time and money because of automation capabilities and eliminating the need for a dedicated employee to run the system. C-FB has also improved
communications within the communities it serves. For example, the district can now show that its channel schedules are much the same as a regular television schedule, with certain shows on at the same time every week and occasional special shows interspersed. “My personal favorite,” says Johnson, “is that I can type all the content from home if I need to. This is especially
helpful during inclement weather.”
C-FB’s channels also spotlight students’ work at the Academy for Media Arts and Technology (AMAT), a magnet school within the district. CastNET helps improve registration numbers by recruiting students into the Academy with its messaging capabilities. “The students benefit from the AMAT format because it exposes them to the technology, and it looks great on their
portfolios,” said Johnson.
The project, integrated entirely by Alpha Video’s Digital Display Group, was completed in July 2003.
Contact:
Leslie Parker
Alpha Video & Audio, Inc.
7711 Computer Ave
Edina, MN 55435
952.896.9898
www.alphavideo.com