Ceiling panels have wireless antennas embedded in them
to provide connectivity anywhere in the facility

Considering that it’s only four years old, the Terrace Community School, a rapidly growing charter school for fifth to eighth graders in Tampa, Florida, is quickly making quite a name for itself.

Its fifth grade students recently ranked first in the Hillsborough County School District in math in the state’s aptitude tests, while its eighth graders ranked first on the reading test and writing test and second on the math test.

However, academics aren’t the only factor contributing to the school’s reputation. The school recently moved from its small, original facility to a much larger space located in the city’s Museum of Science and Industry. And, when it made the move, it quickly became one of the leaders in the Tampa area in terms of technology as well as academics. The reason: the entire school is now wireless capable.

One of the major elements contributing to that capability is a unique ceiling system that has wireless antennas embedded in the ceiling panels, thereby providing wireless connectivity for the students anywhere in the school. 

Armstrong’s i-ceilings Wireless System provides the students and faculty of the Terrace Community School with wireless connectivity for their laptops anywhere in their facility, from the classroom to "The Commons." Even though "The Commons" is located nearly 75 feet from the classroom area, students do not lose connectivity. Only four i-ceilings Antenna Panels are required to provide the 17,000-square-foot school with coverage. 

According to William McKelligott, Head of the School, the original facility was a traditional one. However, when the decision was made to move to the new building, it gave McKelligott and other school administrators the opportunity to think ahead.

"We knew that computers are tremendous tools for instruction, and that we wanted to provide our students with these tools," he states. "However, we also knew that we did not want a computer lab, nor did we want computers in only one or two classrooms. We wanted the students to be able to use computers anywhere in the school if they wanted to."

Greg van Stekelenburg, Head of the school’s Technology Committee, concurs. "However," he says, "the problem was deciding how to handle all the wiring, especially in an existing facility. Would we drop cables from the ceiling, run wires from the walls, or install ports in the floor? After some investigation, we eventually decided that laptops in conjunction with wireless connectivity was, by far, the best solution."

The decision to go wireless is working out extremely well. The school has 80 laptops thus far as a result of two grants. It has also established its own Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) for e-mail, shared data, and access to the Internet.

Ceiling System Provides Wireless Coverage

Manufactured by Armstrong, the unique new system features a special Antenna Panel that has a set of antennas embedded in the ceiling panel to enable in-building wireless connectivity. The panels can handle both voice and data connectivity. However, the school is only utilizing the data capability at the present time.

Antenna Panels provide very efficient and effective coverage because the ceiling plane is considered to be the best location for omni-directional antennas. They are also quick and easy to install, since they simply lay into the grid like standard ceiling panels.

From an aesthetic point of view, Antenna Panels look just like ordinary ceiling panels so that they blend in with the overall ceiling. And, because the antennas are embedded in the ceiling, they are invisible from below. This makes the room more visually pleasing, and creates a more comfortable atmosphere for both students and teachers. It also helps eliminate the potential for damage, vandalism and theft that can occur with visible antennas.

Four Antenna Panels Cover 17,000 Square Feet

The school is not only pleased with the aesthetics but also the coverage. Terrace Community School occupies the second and third floors in one of the museum wings. Its administrative offices are located along one side of a long corridor on the second floor, and twelve classrooms along the other.

To provide wireless connectivity on this floor, i-ceilings Antenna Panels are located in the third, sixth and ninth classrooms. Access points are also installed there, directly above the Antenna Panels. Two more rooms are located on the third floor, with an antenna panel and access point located midway between them.

Considering that only four Antenna Panels are providing coverage for all 17,000 square feet of the facility, Van Stekelenburg reports that the quality and range of the signal is strong. As a case in point, he notes that students spend a lot of time in an area known as "The Commons." It is located on the third floor about 75 feet from the classroom area, and students must cross a breezeway to get there.

"Students go there after school and do their homework while waiting for their ride home," he states. "They’ll take laptops with them, and even though there are two walls and quite a distance between them and the antenna panels, they don’t lose connectivity."

Wireless System Offers Academic Benefits

McKelligott, too, is delighted with the system, but more from an instructional point of view. "The use of computers challenges students to think," he says, "in the sense that they have to select and organize information for academic success. This forces them to become much more analytical in their thinking, which is one of the keys to academic success. Computers are one of the best tools by which to accomplish this, and wireless technology facilitates the process."

The Armstrong i-ceilings Wireless System provides the students and faculty of the Terrace Community School with wireless connectivity for their laptops anywhere in their facility, from the classroom to "The Commons." Even though "The Commons" is located nearly 75 feet from the classroom area, students do not lose connectivity. Only four i-ceilings Antenna Panels are required to provide the 17,000-square-foot school with coverage.