State-of-the art telecommunications system makes schools safer

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Jan 05, 2016, 08:00 ET

PORTLAND, Oregon, Jan. 5, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Citing shooting violence as an illness, cities are reaching out to the Center for Disease Control. Last week Wilmington, Delaware, with a 45 percent jump in shooting from 2011 to 2013 and 45 shooting deaths in 2015, had city leaders asking the epidemiologists form the Center for Disease Control and Prevention to examine gun violence.

"Like any other epidemic," says Wilmington city councilor, Hanifa Shabazz, "the widespread violence in our nation felt like an illness." With the deaths in San Bernardino, Calif., the shooting toll in the United States is now up to over 300 mass shootings as of December 2015.

Safety solutions are available
Regardless of anyone individual's position on the Second Amendment (right to bear arms), there are nonviolent safe solutions available now to protect the public, especially those in school. Unseen and behind all the activities, classroom learning, and assemblies, Inflow Communications Inc., www.Inflowcommunications.com, headquartered in Portland, Ore., offers a silent and secure safety system that work throughout an entire school system or organization.

Beaverton School District + Inflow
Beaverton, the third-largest school district in Oregon serves more than 40,700 students and families. A new communication system, to integrate with existing collaboration systems, improve workflow and save time, while addressing student safety, was needed to replace the decades old existing system. Beaverton safety committee leaders also wanted intuitive interface, ease of use, and a system that would function in a collaborative environment. For example, a phone system could impact and support student safety, explains Steven Langford, chief information officer for the Beaverton School District.

The Inflow system, which won the district's RFP, includes automated safety and security features that are unified and fully redundant. This "fail-safe" means that the system is capable of instantly taking over communication controls from any communication point in case of a communication unit interruption, including the core site.

The Inflow system, which exclusively utilizes ShoreTel® technologies, increases safety by transmitting specific directions to first-responders. The balance of the automated safety features will be in full deployment this month. Demonstrations of the system are available for interested parties, contact www.Inflowcommunications.com.

The Beaverton School District selects Inflow as its communication and safety partner
"I'd say of all the firms that we have worked with, Inflow is one of the very top vendors due to their responsiveness, communications, and knowledge of the product. We really see them as a long-term partner. The ShoreTel Deployment (by Inflow), has been held up as (a vendor) that is under budget and ahead of schedule," says Langford.

This new multiunit communication system makes instant communication possible for administrators on multiple devices between schools, offices and external communications, hospitals, fire departments and first-responders.

According to Langford, the district expects E911 and Emergency Notification System (ENS) to play a very big role in its safety portfolio. Plans include connecting E911 with an ENS and other communication systems across campuses. The safety committee is also looking at integrating E911 with door locks so, for example, if a school goes into a lockdown, staff is not required to physically secure the doors. The system will enable teachers or staff to quickly initiate a lockdown or lockout from any phone.

The educational experience will also be enhanced because teachers, staff, and students will be able to communicate from virtually any customized device – video, audio, desktop sharing, conferencing, work stations, smartphones, tablets, instant messaging (IM), IP handsets, and other systems.

The Beaverton School District regularly collaborates with other school and government systems to share best practices that keep students learning in the best possible circumstances. To that end, the RFP that Inflow competed for and won from the Beaverton School District, was written as an "assumable RFP," also known as a "cooperative RFP." It is available to other school districts and government agencies. For information about utilizing the Beaverton RFP, please contact Inflow Communications, www.Inflowcommunications.com or call the Inflow Portland headquarters office at 503-575-7530.

Inflow was founded in 1996 and President Travis Dillard took over the company in 2009. Since 2012, the company has been listed as one of the fastest growing private companies by The Portland Business Journal and The Denver Business Journal. Inflow Communications now supports over 70,000 international endpoints for over 400 clients and has grown to offices in Portland, Seattle, Dallas, Los Angles and The Bay Area.

                                                                      PRESS CONTACTS:
Mara Woloshin, 503-310-4504,[email protected] 24/7;
Travis Dillard, 503-575-7531, [email protected]
                                                                     or
Maureen Wheeler, APR, Public Communications Officer
Beaverton School District, 503-356-4360, [email protected]