Project Snapshot

Project: Milton Elementary

Customer: Cape Henlopen School District

Building Type: Educational

New/ Remodeled/Restored: New and Retrofit

Services Provided: Structured Cabling & Audiovisual Solutions

Project Size: 95,000 sq/ft

Completion Date: August 30, 2021

 

Project Description

In October of 2020, Assurance Media was contracted to install the low-voltage cabling infrastructure and audiovisual systems for the renovated 95,000 square foot Milton Elementary School located in Milton, Delaware. Milton Elementary School originally opened in 1932 and to preserve elements of the historic building, the architects created a design that incorporated the original gym, auditorium, entrance, and many of the existing wood and brick architectural features. The blending of the existing architecture with the needs of a new educational building required our team to strategically plan the cable pathways and drops. By utilizing the attic space our team was able to run cables throughout the school so that no cables were exposed.

In addition to installing smartboards in each classroom, a LightSpeed system was also installed to help students be able to hear the teacher from anywhere in the room. The teacher wears a microphone around her neck and her voice is amplified and comes out of the four in-lay ceiling speakers. The Assurance Media team has experience installing this technology before at the Sussex Consortium and that experience allowed us to install this system efficiently. In this case, our team had to find a solution that could incorporate the shelf in a way that is functional and aesthetically pleasing.

Innovative sound systems were not limited to the classroom for this project, our team installed sound spheres in the gymnasium and speakers in the auditorium. The sound spheres were chosen as the sound solution for the gymnasium because of their shape and ability to cover a large area with sound. The shape of the speaker and its placement make it almost invisible. Unless you were looking directly at the gymnasium ceiling, you would never notice the speakers. To install the sound spheres our audiovisual technicians used a scissor lift. The sphere itself was mounted to a metal support and the cables running to the speaker are not visible. Our technicians took great care to be sure there would be no exposed cables cluttering the gym’s ceiling. A total of four sound spheres were installed in the gym. If another speaker system was used, at least double the number of speakers would have been needed.

84 Wireless Access Points

53 Smart Interactive Displays

668 Data Drops

1 Large Auditorium AV System

Above all of the innovative solutions installed at Milton, the shining star of this project is the nine-panel video wall that our team installed in the school’s lobby. The architects engaged our team and we advised them to create a recessed window in the wall so that the massive video wall would be flush with the wall instead of sticking out. If the video wall was not flush with the wall, it would pose a potential hazard to kids walking by and the board could be damaged as well. In order to achieve the flexible display options the school was looking for, we decided to install our first Userful system. Userful is the software that allows the content managers to easily change the display from one large image to nine individual images or a 2x2 video wall with five surrounding images. The panels used for the video wall are LG professional monitors that are made for 24/7 use. This is important so that the screens will not burn out over time like traditional monitors.

In conclusion, the audiovisual systems and low-voltage cabling installed for Milton Elementary came together to create a highly interactive and innovative educational setting just in time for school to start. Our team installed 104,889 feet of cabling throughout the school to support the school’s network infrastructure, SMART interactive displays, classroom sound systems, wireless access points, multiple audiovisual solutions, and conference room systems. This project posed challenges due to multiple delays in materials, but our team was able to execute the most innovative audiovisual education solution to date. Click here to view additional case studies

Customer Quote

 

“The Cape Henlopen School District has had the pleasure of working with Assurance Media on our new Rehoboth Elementary School. Assurance provided us excellent turn-key service while implementing state of the art technology solutions for our school. The management team and crew in the field have been very easy to work with in all phases of this project. Assurance provided a high level of construction excellence and were extremely professional to work with.”

Brian J. Bassett
Director of Capital Projects
Cape Henlopen School District

The Assurance Advantage

Milton Elementary opened its doors in August of 2021 to welcome 500 students. The school hosts students from kindergarten to 5th grade in the 2-story building. Assurance Media completed installing the Cat6 cabling infrastructure and numerous audiovisual systems before the beginning of the school year. Our team installed 104,889 feet of cabling throughout the school to support the school’s network infrastructure, SMART interactive displays, classroom sound systems, wireless access points, multiple audiovisual solutions, and conference room systems. This project was honored with an Excellence in Construction Award by the Associated Builders and Contractors of Delaware for its innovative audiovisual and low-voltage solutions.

Milton Elementary was last modified: November 23rd, 2021 by dscull