The Wheeler School

Overview

Locations: Providence, RI & Seekonk, MA
Campus Type: Private
Student Population: 800+
Faculty & Staff: 200+

The Wheeler School, a coeducational private school in Providence, Rhode Island, consists of an elementary, middle, and high school, as well as a 120-acre farm in Seekonk, Massachusetts, which offers opportunities for hands-on learning.

Challenges

Chief Operating Officer, Ian Moorhouse, introduced the Alertus System to the Wheeler School in 2022. This followed a successful implementation of the system at a previous school in 2018. Upon arriving at the Wheeler School, Moorhouse noted a lack of existing security measures. His initial steps involved replacing previously padlocked gates with a swipe card entry. He then sought to implement a comprehensive mass notification system across both the main campus and the farm to improve emergency communication. “When it came to building up all areas of security measures, we moved really quickly and didn’t mess around,” said Moorhouse.

Solution

comprehensive notification coverage

To ensure widespread outdoor alerting, The Wheeler School installed the Alertus High Power Speaker Array at their Seekonk farm. This location hosts a variety of activities and facilities, including athletic fields, the Van Norman Field House, the Sixth Grade Farm Program, a summer camp, a ropes course, and is used for Forest & Farm Days for Early Childhood Education.

In Providence, they implemented a comprehensive Alertus System across its campus. Outdoors, 30-watt Text-to-Speech Horns were strategically placed in parking lots and around campus buildings.

Indoors, the school integrated Visiplex with interior speakers, and installed both the Alert Beacon® (featuring contact closures) and LED marquees in key areas like the gym and cafeteria. Additionally, they deployed Alertus DesktopTM Notification on campus computers and utilized push notifications via the AlertAware® Mobile App.

Moorhouse remarked that a FEMA representative recognized and complemented an Alertus LED Marquee while on their campus, highlighting Alertus’s growing recognition in the industry.

Seamless implementation

“Working with Alertus has been seamless, from the simple implementation and training, to support from my account representative,” said Moorhouse. He noted that unlike other “clunky” applications, Alertus is straightforward to use. “It calms the noise when you can simplify a system to be able to notify for a number of reasons.”

The Alertus System is utilized for various situations, including medical emergencies and locating lost students. Additionally, The Wheeler School is mandated to conduct 15 drills annually in Rhode Island, and they leverage the system for these required exercises.

“With Alertus, it’s not just the same prerecorded messages every time, so we can ensure clarity when we are conducting a drill versus notifying for a real emergency. We send all-clear messages after every drill or incident, and every message consistently includes the specific location of the event.”

simplicity & ease-of-use

Even long-time employees, some with over 50 years of experience, find the Alertus System easy to use, despite challenges they may have with using their phones. The system has been consistently effective through all its upgrades over the years, and adoption has been smooth, with no complaints from users.

Moorhouse enjoys the working relationship he has with Alertus, and the simplicity of the system. “Crisis management is a tough role, but having Alertus makes my job much easier because it works so well,” said Moorhouse. “My biggest concern—the inability to communicate during an emergency—is alleviated by the Alertus System.”