Audio Enhancement presents classroom amplification, emergency alert and translation systems to Shelby County Board of Education

At its March 24, 2025, meeting the Shelby County Board of Education heard a presentation from a representative of Audio Enhancement on classroom audio-amplification systems that the vendor says also provide panic alerts, campus-wide intercom control and live translation for English-language learners.

The presentation, led by Austin (Audio Enhancement representative) and accompanied by a short video featuring Claudia Anderson, founder of Audio Enhancement, outlined three product areas: teacher microphones and classroom speakers, the EPIC intercom/district dashboard and a wearable alert system the vendor calls SAVE. "When my baby, Jeremy, was born, I was told that he would never be able to talk," Claudia Anderson says in the video, describing the company history and the rationale for classroom amplification.

Why it matters: presenters said the system is intended to improve audibility for all students, help classroom management and shorten emergency response times by letting teachers trigger location-aware alerts without leaving the classroom. Board members and staff asked technical and operational questions about redundancy, camera and weapons-detection integrations, update schedules, and translation accuracy.

Key product features presented

- Classroom amplification: a lightweight teacher microphone that transmits to ceiling speakers so presenters say all students hear the teacher clearly; presenter materials said teachers reported improved engagement and reduced need to raise voices.

- EPIC intercom and district dashboard: presenters demonstrated a district view that shows building maps, can target announcements to portions of a building and can display classroom status during emergencies.

- Wearable and wall alerts (SAVE): presenters said teachers can press a 3-second press-and-hold or a dedicated button to notify the front office; the district dashboard shows the classroom location and can escalate alerts to 911. A visible wall indicator changes color when an alert is raised and changes again when a first responder or administrator acknowledges the alert.

- Integrations: the vendor said the system can integrate with camera vendors (example name shown in the presentation: OpenEye) and with weapons-detection feeds used by other districts; it also offers an API for district integrations and a phone app so principals can be alerted off-site.

- Translation and transcription: presenters showed a demonstration in which the teacher microphone audio is routed into a translation service (the vendor referenced using Microsoft technologies) so students can join a session with a code and hear the teacher in their preferred language or view a transcript.

Technical and operational clarifications

- The presenter said the system runs on the district local-area network (LAN) and does not rely on Wi-Fi for core alert functions; UPS/battery backup options were offered for power outages.

- The vendor said software updates occur roughly annually and are scheduled with the district, not pushed randomly during the school day.

- Wall plates can be configured with a PIN to reduce false activations, and the district dashboard can show room-level confirmations (green/yellow/red) indicating whether a teacher has marked the room secure during a lockdown.

Board questions and next steps

Board members pressed on redundancy (presenter: LAN-based, UPS backup available), the ability to call 911 directly (presenter: yes, via a designated button and escalation options), camera and weapons-detection integrations (presenter: integrations available; OpenEye cited as an example), and whether the district-level view could notify neighboring schools sharing a campus (presenter: yes, automatic notifications can be configured).

Presenters offered to follow up with district staff on implementation details and to meet again with Superintendent-level staff; no formal procurement decision was taken at the March 24 meeting.

Ending

Board members thanked the vendor for the demonstration and indicated staff would continue technical review and budgeting discussions in follow-up meetings.