Sherman High School
In 1849, Sherman opened its first log-cabin school with the first high school students attending what was known as the Washington School in 1893. Today, Sherman ISD is home to over 7,400 students across 12 campuses and is the largest and fastest-growing school district in Grayson County.
In 2017, voters approved a $176 million bond election to address several district needs, including constructing a new high school, which serves as the only high school in the district.
Construction of the new three-story, 527,000 sq. ft. facility provided the district with a unique opportunity to include robust IT capabilities from the ground up to better serve the growing 2,200-student community. Divided into three main buildings, the new school features modern career and technical educational spaces, a fine arts wing, a 2,000-seat JV football stadium, an 800-seat auditorium, and four indoor gymnasiums.
As the project’s IT integrator, NCS worked closely with Cadence McShane Construction, True North Consulting Group, WJHW, and Sherman ISD to ensure complete connectivity, enhanced security, and optimized audiovisual solutions in a building with many interspersed performance areas, academic spaces, and indoor and outdoor athletic facilities.
The project took over two years to complete. During that time, NCS installed a new category 6 data communication network with over 2,300 CommScope cables to support their data, voice, video, and Wi-Fi networks campus-wide. We also installed a new video surveillance system utilizing 380 cameras, (9) IP Force intercom systems, 262 wireless access points (WAPs) in single- and dual-wall locations, an IP phone system, (60) doors with access control systems at major entrances, (6) emergency Talk-A-Phone systems, and integrated audiovisual systems. Additionally, the technology infrastructure included a large armored multi-mode fiber optic and copper backbone system to support the data communications between the MDF room to (25) IDF rooms.
To help meet the district’s security initiatives, NCS utilized Genetec™ Security Center’s IP-based video management system, Omnicast, which allows the security team to access video from over 380 indoor and outdoor Axis cameras from their central control room. Its flexible architecture and efficient streaming reduce storage, lighten network load, and allow for easy, unified video with access control, intrusion detection, and communications for better operational insights.
NCS was chosen to perform the integration for the extensive AV systems for the campus, including in the school’s café, gymnasium, auditorium, and classrooms. The latest technology and products from Extron, BSS, Shure, and many other manufacturers combined to provide cutting-edge AV capabilities throughout the facility.
The Extron control of each system helps the district monitor and support system functionality in each space, while the AVoIP Extron streaming system allows events to be sent across campus for remote viewing during live presentations. NCS also provided infrastructure and loudspeakers for the district’s Extron GVCCS IP Paging and Alert system.
NCS approached the project with a multiple-phase installation with solutions designed to seamlessly scale to meet the district’s future needs as demands grow.
