How Broadalbin-Perth Central Enhances School Communication and Event Engagement with Rise Vision

Michele Kelley, the Director of Communications at Broadalbin-Perth Central School District (BPCSD), along with her team of Communications Specialists, Gehrig Garner and Katie Jensen, have been pioneering the integration of digital signage to enhance communication across their school community. Hosting approximately 1,700 students from Pre-K through grade 12 in two school buildings, BPCSD has been a long-time user of Rise Vision, employing it for nearly a decade to engage, entertain, and inform students, staff, and visitors alike.

Seeking Effective Communication Solutions

Before Rise Vision, BPCSD struggled with outdated methods of communication. Back then, the district recognized the need for a dynamic, sustainable, and captivating way to disseminate information across various campus areas. 

Michele Kelley, the Director of Communications, shares that their goal with digital signage is to engage, entertain, and inform.

BPCSD has now been a loyal customer of Rise Vision for nearly a decade, experiencing the evolution of the platform firsthand.

Michele reflects on the early days: "We've been with Rise Vision for a very long time. I remember a much clunkier version of Rise Vision than the one that is there now. And I can tell you I very much appreciate the current version of Rise Vision."

As a longtime client, I have seen firsthand the dedication Rise Vision has to continuous improvement, and I always look forward to seeing what new templates and software updates they roll out. - Michele Kelley

Implementing Rise Vision Digital Signage

Michele's son, a student at BPCSD, observes the Fun Fact template for Physical Fitness Month.

BPCSD has displays strategically placed throughout both school buildings - in hallways, lobbies, and common areas. Michele and her team manage the content on all these screens, ensuring it is tailored to the needs and interests of their audience. For example, the content in the hallways is very specific to the school and includes presentations like the school calendar and lunch menus.

In areas where people are gathering and have more time to engage with the content, like their lobbies and cafeterias, they sprinkle in fun presentations like videos with closed captions. 

The transition to Rise Vision has allowed them to significantly cut down on paper use, streamline announcements, and create visually appealing content that captures the attention of students and visitors.

Implementation and Impact of Rise Vision in Broadalbin-Perth Central School District

Let’s explore the ways BPCSD uses Rise Vision digital signage to enhance communication and engagement across campus.

Engaging Content for School Events

One unique application of Rise Vision at BPCSD is during extracurricular events. 

During the BPCDS tournament, digital signage played a role in orchestrating the day's activities.

For school events, BPCSD leverages Rise Vision to transform their campus into an interactive, informative hub. During their recent Odyssey of the Mind regional tournament, digital signage played a role in orchestrating the day's activities. The screens displayed a tailored playlist that not only included schedules for each of the six problems from the Odyssey of the Mind program but also featured videos produced by the international Odyssey of the Mind organization.

Michele elaborates on the dynamic use of the digital displays: "We made sure that anyone, no matter where they were on our high school campus, could access essential information about the event.” Their digital signage helped guide visitors and participants throughout the day, offering updates on where to find performances, food sales in the cafeteria, and raffle baskets in the auditorium lobby.

This strategic use of digital content not only informed attendees but also enhanced their experience by highlighting activities and attractions across the campus, ensuring they had every opportunity to engage with all facets of the event. The application also showcased the school’s capabilities and event management proficiency.

Gehrig highlights the ease with which they could adapt signage for different events, making it a tool not just for day-to-day communication but for enhancing event experiences, potentially including sponsor advertisements.

Enhancing Parent Experience in Waiting Areas

Another impactful use of digital signage is in areas where parents spend time waiting, such as lobbies.

Michele shared her personal insight as a parent herself, noting that sometimes the wait to pick up her children can be 15 to 20 minutes. To make this wait more pleasant and engaging, the school ensures that the content on the lobby screens is diverse and captivating.

"We really load up those lobby screens with a variety of content," Michele explains. "The goal is for parents to be entertained and informed without seeing the same message or video repeat during their wait." 

This approach not only utilizes the time parents spend in school lobbies but also enriches their engagement with the school community by offering a constant stream of fresh, relevant information and entertainment. These include event reminders, menus, and other relevant school activities.

Centralized Content Management

All digital signage content at BPCSD is centrally managed by the communications team who have significantly streamlined and centralized the process, particularly in how daily announcements are handled.

Michele elaborated on the transformation from an inefficient system to a modern, digital solution: "Previously, the daily announcements were printed and taped around the high school building each day, which was not only labor-intensive but also wasteful.” Recognizing the inefficiency of this process, Michele and her team collaborated with the faculty to innovate a more sustainable approach.

The solution involved creating a shared Google Sheet accessible to all pertinent staff within the building. "The middle column of this sheet contains the bulk of the announcement, which is then automatically fed into a presentation that displays on all the screens throughout the high school," Michele described. This method has transitioned the school to a paperless, real-time updating system where announcements scroll continuously, eliminating the need for manual updates and physical prints.

The control over this system is tightly managed by Michele's team through a centralized Rise Vision account. This setup ensures that while the content is accessible and updatable, the overall control remains with the communications team. "Our principals occasionally request direct access to post updates themselves, but we prefer to manage submissions centrally. This way, we maintain consistency and quality across all displayed content," Michele noted. This centralized approach not only streamlines communication but also leverages digital signage technology effectively, ensuring that all updates are instant and match the school's branding.

Key Takeaways and Advice for Other Schools

While some schools lay the responsibility of digital signage on their technology department, BPCSD believes the function should be with the communications team. Here are some takeaways for schools looking to accomplish the same.

Rise Vision has forever changed how we communicate inside our school buildings. Our faculty and staff know it is one of the best ways to reach students, parents, and visitors. - Michele Kelley

Customization and Ownership

Michele emphasizes the importance of customizing digital signage to meet the specific needs of the school environment. BPCSD’s approach—keeping content management within the communications team while collaborating with IT for technical support—ensures that the digital signage not only delivers content effectively but also retains aesthetic and informational quality.

Strategic Content Placement

Understanding where to place digital content—differentiating between what is needed in hallways versus waiting areas—helps in maximizing engagement and ensuring the content is appropriate and effective for the target audience.

Leveraging Digital Signage for Multi-Use Scenarios

BPCSD's approach suggests other schools consider digital signage not just for daily announcements but as a versatile tool for event management, emergency information dissemination, and enhancing general school communication strategies.

Through strategic implementation and thoughtful content management, Broadalbin-Perth Central School District has successfully leveraged Rise Vision to transform its communication methods, creating an environment that is not only more engaging and informative but also prepared to handle the diverse needs of its community.