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Community Consolidated School District 59, in Elk Grove Village, Illinois, is less than 15 miles from O’Hare International Airport, the country’s fourth busiest airport. The 15 schools and additional district buildings are under the purview of Albert Tijerina, Director of Facilities & Operations.

The Challenge

District 59’s location posed a unique connectivity challenge. Noise abatement solutions installed in the 1980s and 90s to combat the constant buzz of planes from nearby O’Hare created a new problem: a total lack of any cell signal.

“At certain schools, they placed a roof on top of the existing roof to create that sound barrier,” explained Tijerina. “It’s literally a stainless-steel metal roof which completely blocked all cellular signal.”

Poor cellular signal plagued most school buildings in District 59. Some buildings had pockets of bad signal, while other schools were completely void of any in-building cellular signal.

The impact of poor cell signal went beyond daily frustration over dead zones and dropped call to more serious safety issues. Tijerina recalls a particularly concerning incident when a school principal could not make an emergency call from her office because of bad signal.

All too aware of the possibility of a much worse outcome, the event created a sense of urgency for Tijerina to resolve the connectivity issue. It was no longer just a matter of dropped calls—from a safety and security perspective Tijerina knew he needed a reliable solution to improve cell signal in schools. Tijerina, who began working for the district in 2019, views himself as the head of an extended family.

“My position comes with a lot of responsibility for the entire district,” explains Tijerina. “I always say students first. I am a father. I want the best for my kids. I want my house to be in good shape. And I take that same approach at my schools. It’s my working family and I treat them the same way I expect for them to treat me.”

“I want every layer of security that I can add to this district to keep our students and staff safer,” said Tijerina.

The Solution
Investing in Future Safety

With an urgent focus on safety and security, Tijerina and his team connected with a local WilsonPro certified integration partner. Tijerina remembers learning about different WilsonPro DAS solutions and feeling like he had finally discovered a solution to his safety and communication issues.

District 59’s lack of adequate in-building cellular signal was a serious safety issue, and the installation of a distributed antenna system would improve connectivity to immediately enhance school security and prepare facilities for future technology needs.

“I wanted to build a case, and work with all the schools to actually write up a summary of the issues that we were experiencing district wide,” explains Tijerina. All you need to do is look around at recent school tragedies, Tijerina said, to see the risks of not addressing the district’s connectivity issues.

“What are you doing to make our schools safer?” It is a question Tijerina and his team are asked often—from parents, staff, and the district’s safety committee.

Communication is at the top of the list, says Tijerina, in addition to all the physical safety and security measures his teams take, like securing doors and reinforcing windows.

Tijerina said the school district understood the costs and agreed that the problem of cellular signal in schools had shifted from an issue of inconvenience to a real safety concern. And because Tijerina was thinking about and planning for future scenarios he insisted the district add backup battery power for the entire system to maintain consistent connectivity, especially during a power outage or emergency.

The three schools most in need of connectivity improvements were identified and a custom signal boosting plan was designed for each building.

While crews worked to address the most difficult schools, Tijerina also requested a full connectivity survey of every school in the district to assess the need for a district-wide signal improvement. The connectivity survey showed some schools had a few areas of bad signal, while other buildings needed an entire signal overhaul.

In total, 16 WilsonPro cellular signal amplifiers were installed across 11 schools in District 59—six WilsonPro Enterprise 4300s and 10 Enterprise 1300s. Some schools were easy to set up, but the schools with noise abatement roofs required additional tripods to get the antennas high enough.

Summary

Once the WilsonPro passive DAS was installed the improvements were immediate and allowed schools to update their safety technology.

As part of their safety planning the district purchased communication software for crisis situations to quickly alert and communicate with staff during emergencies. Because the software relies on a cell phone to deploy crisis communication, strong, reliable signal strength throughout schools is imperative.

Tijerina also highlighted an upcoming possibility for 3D mapping of all district buildings to provide law enforcement and first responders with detailed visuals of school facilities and surrounding areas. Now, District 59 is equipped with the future-ready infrastructure to accommodate additional safety and security investments, and Tijerina feels confident the improvements his team made to connectivity will continue to support the district’s needs long after he has moved on. The district worked with a grant writer to apply for a school safety grant to fund future security efforts.

Safety and security concerns drove Tijerina’s efforts to improve connectivity, however, he also wanted to enhance the learning environment for everyone in the building.

“One of the biggest challenges was trying to provide a good signal for everyone,” Tijerina said. “I can’t control who purchased what type of phone or what type of plan they have.”

In-building cellular signal connectivity, regardless of mobile carrier, did a complete 180—teachers and parents went from assuming their phones would not work once they stepped into the building to overwhelming surprise and delight that they could use their phones.

Resolving the connectivity issue in his schools lets Tijerina rest assured knowing he is doing everything he can to keep his schools safe while also creating space for learning to thrive. And parents feel more at ease and confident when they can reach their children in school and know they are safe.

Tijerina said the feedback from staff was overwhelmingly positive, and teachers especially appreciated how easily they can communicate with each other throughout the day on their cell phones. Tijerina remembers how surprised people were when their phones had a signal, and they knew they weren’t in a dead zone anymore. Now, staff can reliability text, call, and download whatever they need and stay confidently connected while on campus.

“We have a lot of happy people right now,” Tijerina said.

WilsonPro has the most comprehensive line-up of DAS solutions so you can be ready for anything.

• Scalable and modular to make it easier to build on for next generation needs.
• Simplifies complexity with fewest components, most bands, and lowest power usage.
• Accelerates cellular optimization with pre-approved core components and advanced signal sourcing technology.
• All Wilson Electronics hardware is engineered and assembled in the USA, and 100% guaranteed.

To learn more about the right solution for your location, please reach out to your current WilsonPro advisor or contact us for a consultation.