Creating Tomorrow's Classrooms: Electrical Upgrades for Safer and Smarter Schools

While students and staff gear up for the fall semester, it's never too early to think ahead to winter break or next summer for your district’s construction projects. Whether you want to enhance security, improve communication, or create a sustainable learning environment, Lemberg is here to guide you.

We tapped into a few of our Data Communications, Electrical and Signs professionals who bring their expert advice on how advanced electrical construction can enhance your school's safety and operational efficiency. From modernizing security systems to upgrading your data communication infrastructure to support interactive learning, their insights will help you design the best learning environment for students and staff.

Keep Students and Staff Safe with Advanced Building Security

Safety continues to be a top priority for every educational institution. With increasing concerns over the safety of our schools, administrators are relying upon advanced integrated technology to create safer campuses. This includes access control systems, security cameras, fire alarms, and mass communication systems that ensure a rapid response to any threat.

• Door Access Systems and Security Cameras: Most educational institutions already use an access control system to assist in the prevention of unauthorized building or restricted area entry. Enhancing your existing security camera system places another layer of monitoring activity on school grounds. Cameras can be both a deterrent for unsavory activity as well as a tool for incident response. Knowledgeable installers will map out the potential coverage for each camera placed, helping you eliminate blind areas.
• Building Automation: Modern campuses utilize building automation systems (BAS) to enhance the student and staff experience. Lighting, HVAC, communications and security systems are integrated into one cohesive platform. Automated enhancements with real-time monitoring of building functionality create efficiencies, allowing facilities managers more time to focus on other elements of safety and building performance.
• Fire Alarm, Mass Communication, and Audio/Visual Systems: Many schools have existing fire alarms. However, legacy systems lack the ability to integrate with other safety, security and communications systems, leaving those campuses at risk. Proactive system upgrades may include mass notification systems that use lights, alarms and voice cues to warn students and staff across a wide area. This type of visual and auditory instruction integrates with newer fire alarm systems to help manage the crisis response, evacuating people to safety and providing the "all clear" when ready. They can also be connected with access control systems and SMS communication apps that warn staff and students that are off-campus at the time of the incident.

Student safety and building security rely upon well-planned protocols, forward-thinking administrators, and up-to-date systems. Those systems need an electrical and data cabling infrastructure to support enhanced functionality. Seek an experienced professional to evaluate your current components and assist your team in creating an integrated life safety and security system that will protect your campus and all who study, work and visit there. Learn more about implementing and maintaining integrated life safety and security systems.

Check out how Lemberg's Data Communication team installed data cabling, fiber optics, fire alarms, security cameras, public address systems, and door access across all five Cedarburg School District schools. Read the case study here!

Enhance Communication with Electronic Message Centers (EMCs)

Exterior school signage is about the brand and school pride, but more and more use exterior signage to inform their communities. Using integrated Electronic Message Centers (EMCs), schools can provide real-time messages through features such as user-friendly programming, remote access, clear resolutions, and 3D graphic and animation capabilities.

Is it time to upgrade your school’s outdoor signage? The following are all benefits of EMCs:?

• Real-Time Updates — Provide instant communication for event reminders, schedule changes, and emergency alerts visible to anyone passing by.
• Remote Content Management — Easily update messages from the comfort of an indoor office, ensuring content is always current. No more manual changes, which is especially convenient during Wisconsin’s harsh and cold winters.
• 24/7 Operation — EMCs can run around the clock, keeping the community informed even outside school hours.
• Eye-Catching Displays — Enhance school-to-community engagement with customizable, dynamic content that grabs attention and effectively delivers important information.

Electronic Message Centers can be integrated into new or existing signage and come in various resolutions to fit your budget, location, and message. Lemberg's signs and lighting professionals will guide you through the following options to design a customized EMC:

• Resolution and size
• Viewing distance and angle
• Basic gray scale or full color
• Video capabilities
• Messaging
• Integration with existing signage and landscape positioning
• Municipal limitations, such as setbacks
• Verified, listed, and certified UL energy efficient
• Rugged, weather-proof materials

Explore our sign gallery to see how Lemberg’s sign and lighting team can enhance your school’s campus.?

Connecting Minds Through Interactive Learning and Smart Technologies

Today's classroom is rapidly evolving, thanks to the integration of smart technologies and interactive learning tools. These innovations enhance the learning experience and personalize education to meet each student's unique needs. A solid data communications infrastructure supports interactive technology for a more engaging, dynamic, and effective learning environment.

Learning and collaboration are no longer limited to the confines of the classroom with the following tools:

Interactive Learning Tools:

• Adaptive Learning and AI — Customizes lessons to each student’s needs, offering personalized pacing and difficulty adjustments based on performance.
• Interactive Smart Boards — Transforms the traditional blackboard, enabling students to interact with content, collaborate on tasks, and access digital resources directly.
• Gamification — Adds gaming elements to lessons, making learning more engaging and improving retention through fun, interactive activities.
• Virtual and Augmented Reality — Provides immersive, hands-on experiences, such as virtual dissections or historical explorations, making complex concepts more accessible and memorable.

Personalized Learning and Collaboration Tools:

• iPads and Tablets — Enables access to digital resources and fosters real-time, seamless collaboration with peers and teachers through shared notes and assignments.
• iClicker — Facilitates real-time Q&A and polls, providing instant feedback that helps teachers adjust lessons to student needs.
• Cloud Repositories and Video Recording — Offers easy access to class materials and recorded lessons, ensuring continuous learning for all students, even those who miss class.

Working with a professional electrical company, your school can build a robust data communication infrastructure and Wi-Fi network that supports the demands of interactive learning and modern educational tools. This ensures students and educators have the seamless connectivity they need to thrive in a digital learning environment.

Download our guide below to learn everything you need to know about Data Communications!

Importance of Lighting

Quality lighting, especially natural light, significantly affects students' academic performance, mood, and overall well-being. Studies show that exposure to natural light enhances focus and supports cognitive function because it helps regulate circadian rhythms, promoting better sleep at night and more alertness during the day. This can lead to better test scores and higher concentration levels.

Lighting also plays an important role in maintaining mental health. Well-lit classrooms create a more inviting and calming atmosphere, reducing stress and fatigue. Improving mental health can, in turn, enhance overall physical health, ultimately leading to improved attendance rates.

If you're designing or renovating your school, consider maximizing natural lighting through windows and skylights. For artificial lighting, focus on variable levels that mimic natural light. For example, blue-enriched white light has been found to reduce restlessness and aggressive behavior among schoolchildren compared to standard white light.?

Another benefit of including more natural light is lower energy consumption and costs, which leads us to our last topic….

Encourage Learning with Sustainable and Healthy Learning Environments

Green initiatives like rooftop gardens, solar panels, natural lighting, and other healthy building initiatives can provide several benefits. Below are a few ways to create a sustainable and healthy learning environment.

• Rooftop Gardens and Green Spaces: Incorporating rooftop gardens, shade features and green spaces into school design can significantly reduce the urban heat island effect, improve air quality, and enhance biodiversity. These green spaces also offer mental health benefits, such as reducing stress and improving cognitive function.
• Vertical Gardens: Vertical gardens can transform otherwise unused spaces into vibrant green walls that purify the air, reduce noise, and create a more visually appealing environment. These “living walls” offer hands-on learning opportunities in subjects like biology and environmental science while promoting sustainability and enhancing student well-being.
• Solar Panels: Schools that adopt solar panels reduce their carbon footprint and lower energy costs.
• Healthy Buildings: Modern schools are incorporating building automation and features like air filtration systems, no-touch doors, and automatic lighting to create healthier indoor environments. These technologies help reduce the spread of germs, improve air quality, and provide a more comfortable and efficient learning space.

Lemberg Electric can help you design and implement green initiatives like rooftop gardens, solar panels, and advanced healthy building systems. Contact us today to learn more!

At Lemberg Electric, we specialize in creating safe, efficient, and sustainable learning environments through expert electrical construction services. From enhancing campus security to modernizing communication systems and incorporating green technologies, our team is dedicated to supporting schools in their mission to provide the best possible environment for students and staff.

Are you ready to upgrade your school’s infrastructure for the future? Share your goals and upcoming projects in the comments below!