American United School of Kuwait

American United School of Kuwait
Parents and Children Stay Connected at International American School
Market:
Education
Location: Kuwait
Partner:
Royal Engineering
Featured Products
Avigilon allows busy parents to check on their child in class
ACC Software (v. 5.2)
The American University School of Kuwait (AUS) is a co-educational private school located
in the free trade zone in the Middle East for elementary students pre-kindergarten to fifth
grade. From its inception, the founders of AUS desired a unique facility to prepare students
to engage in the dynamic challenges of the 21st century. To support their mission, the
curriculum offers the latest educational materials and technology. Combining digital media
and traditional student-centered learning practices, students interact with others in multiple
languages, developing the skills and instincts they will use to thrive as future global leaders.
3 and 5 MP
HD Cameras
HD Network
Video Recorder
In September 2013, AUS opened the elementary school. A separate middle school for
grades 6-8 debuted for the 2014-2015 academic year. Eventually, the school plans to
expand to a fully accredited high school for grades 9-12. When expansion is complete,
the 624,000 square foot facility will serve 2,200 students. The building is designed with
children in mind: large corridors, wide doorways, splashes of color and collaborative areas
that promote creativity and interaction. The playground is a wonderland for students to
explore the world around them. Kinetic learners will flourish among the rock climbing walls,
swimming pools, bicycle lanes, a sensory path, soccer and basketball courts, and the plant
and water features that render excellent study environments.
The school chose the Avigilon end-to-end solution to secure the facility and ensure
student safety. As an added benefit, Avigilon HD cameras are used in a unique way:
parents can view their child’s classroom activities. AUS Chief Information Officer Rusty
“No child is the same
and no day is the same,
but every day brings a
child the chance to be
successful.”
– 4th & 5th grade teacher,
Jessica Berry
Bruns explains, “From the parents’ perspective, sitting at home, shopping, dining or at
work, their child can be seen from their smart phones. This has a significant appeal to the
current parents, as well as those of prospective students.”
Parents receive texts every day as children come and go from school grounds, and can
view their children at any time using Avigilon’s ACC software. Knowing their children are
monitored and safe, and seeing their progress in the classroom offers parents familiarity
with their child’s tasks and experiences. This innovative opportunity for parents to stay
better informed is a winner for all concerned.
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CASE STUDY
The security director and five security guards monitor all classes, as well as public and
secure areas, using 30 Avigilon HD cameras with exceptional high resolution and selflearning analytics to monitor all classrooms, common areas and entrances. These offer
an interdependent and comprehensive overview of what is happening ‘anywhere and
everywhere’ on campus.
“We wanted it to be easy for parents to gain and use viewing access,” Bruns notes. “With
a standard analog security system, allowing twenty parents to view their child at the same
time would be a significant challenge, but Avigilon’s ground-breaking system negated the
issue.” According to Bruns, Avigilon’s friendly and knowledgeable sales support was there
every step of the way to help AUS identify its current and future needs.
For the American United School of Kuwait and the families it serves, the future looks bright.
Since the school opened a little over a year ago, the students declare AUS an enormous
success. Kim Cunningham, Elementary School Principal at AUS, is excited about a model
for learning that creates tech-savvy and confident students from the beginning. “In a 21st
century classroom, students practice critical thinking and problem solving and participate in
authentic learning opportunities that are connected to the real world.”
Fifth-grader Ashley typifies student enthusiasm about new models for education: “All the
technology at this school is awesome and all the teachers, computers and games make
learning fun!”
“The teaching helps students come to amazing
solutions to solving their problems through creative,
out-of-the-box-thinking.”
– 5th grade teacher, Dedrick Womble
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CASE STUDY
Teaching
Technology
in the Classroom
AUS is moving to a “flipped”
classroom model where children
work one-to-one in a digital
environment. Tuition includes a
Lenovo Think Pad Tablet for all
students pre-loaded with the
core curriculum apps suggested
Challenge
by teachers. The tablet serves as
Monitor all public and secure areas of a new-facility American curriculum school to
a vehicle that enables teachers
ensure the safety of students from pre-kindergarten through grade 8, with a system that
to plan powerful lessons, and
enables parents of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students to remotely monitor
frees up time in the classroom
children in class.
for more collaborative work and
activities that engage students
Solution
in higher-order thinking.
The American United School’s six-person security staff monitor classes as well as
Students have access to current
technology with specialty
software. TRIUMPH Multi-touch
Interactive boards with 2D and
3D Reallusion animation software
allow students to draw and
explore with colors and designs.
While working, students view
colorful, high definition
presentations from the teacher
on a 20” LCD screen. High-speed
Internet service and network
switches ensure all students work
without experiencing slow-downs
whether they are accessing online
or local network resources.
public and secure areas using the Avigilon Control Center (ACC) software with High
Definition Stream Management (HDSM)™ technology. The 30 Avigilon HD 3 MP and 5
MP cameras offer exceptional high resolution details for real-time review of all school
activities, classrooms, common areas and entrances. The school stores at least 30 days
of continuous surveillance footage on an Avigilon Network Video Recorder (NVR), and is
able to leverage existing network infrastructure using a special virtual local area network
(VLAN). The school’s administration can monitor the system remotely during off-hours
using the ACC Mobile app, and parents of kindergarten and pre-kindergarten students
can also login remotely using their home computer or mobile devices to see what their
children are up to in class.
Benefits to the American United School of Kuwait
- Search for events more than 10 times faster than a standard system
- Prevent security breaches without bloated security costs
- Parents can view their children’s activities in the classroom
- No network bandwidth issue
The lean and flexible security team at AUS can quickly view, review and pinpoint active
or potential security issues with the Avigilon HD solution. With the help of the userfriendly ACC software, the school’s security staff is now able to search footage for
events more than 10 times faster than other schools nearby that still use standard analog
systems now rendered obsolete. The clarity and wide viewing range of the Avigilon HD
high resolution cameras helps the team watch over multiple areas without the need for
additional cameras and security staff.
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design, trademark, patent or other intellectual property rights of Avigilon Corporation or its licensors.
AVIGILON, the AVIGILON logo, ACC, AVIGILON CONTROL CENTER, HDSM and HIGH DEFINITION STREAM MANAGEMENT (HDSM) are trademarks
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CASE STUDY