Page 30 - Demo

Page 30The School District of Palm Beach County is actively implementing a Districtwide upgrade of the CENTEGIX CrisisAlert System as part of a broader effort to modernize school safety infrastructure, strengthen emergency response capabilities, and comply with Florida%u2019s Alyssa%u2019s Law, which mandates mobile panic alert systems in public schools. These enhancements improve real-time emergency communications, increase location accuracy across campuses, and strengthen overall system reliability for both lockdown situations and medical emergencies. The upgraded platform supports faster response times and more precise activation of digital mapping and location tracking tools, enabling first responders and District safety teams to quickly and accurately identify the exact location of incidents within any school facility.As part of the deployment, CENTEGIX has introduced new LoRa-enabled infrastructure, including updated staff badges, gateways, and alert strobes. The upgrade eliminates the need for hubs and Wi-Fi antennas, replaces solar-powered devices with external locating beacons to improve indoor positioning accuracy, and retains existing intercom integration equipment to ensure uninterrupted communication. Each campus is required to maintain at least two gateways, with additional units installed at selected schools to expand coverage as needed. The District%u2019s IT Infrastructure Department has coordinated structured cabling and a synchronized rollout across all campuses and ancillary sites, resulting in full Districtwide gateway deployment and expanded network coverage where required.The project is currently in the badge management phase. Approximately 75% of schools have been fully implemented, and about 55% of District departments are actively using the updated badge system. The final phase will consist of the scheduled decommissioning of legacy CENTEGIX equipment in the fall, ensuring a controlled transition that preserves CrisisAlert functionality, minimizes operational disruption, and maintains uninterrupted staff access to emergency support systems at all times.The School Police Department and the IT Division would like to thank CENTEGIX for their critical role in supporting the CrisisAlert system, as well as their participation in training sessions and the activation of new badges. All new badges should be activated by the beginning of the new school year to prevent any disruption in the use of the CrisisAlert system and to ensure all staff have the necessary tools available in the event of an emergency.