TCA Improves Its Mass Communications
Trinity Christian Academy replaces disjointed analog systems with a unified IP-based platform to streamline daily bells and campus-wide emergency alerts.
- By Mark Foerderer
- March 06, 2026
Founded in 1970, Trinity Christian Academy (TCA) was started by a small group of parents committed to building a school with a strong curriculum within a framework of traditional Christian values.
TCA opened with 80 students in grades nine through twelve, and its first graduating class had one senior. In 1976, the growing school moved to the town of Addison, Texas, which at the time had only a few houses, no water or sewage hook-ups, and plenty of sorghum fields. Today, TCA is one of the country’s largest, single-campus, pre-K-12 Christian schools, serving more than 1,400 students on a 40+ acre campus.
The school is fully accredited, and TCA graduates are accepted to a wide variety of colleges and universities, including the nation’s most prestigious institutions.
Like many schools, TCA used different technologies and vendor solutions across its lower, middle, and upper schools for bells, clocks and loudspeakers, many of which were analog. There was no central management for all systems. Supporting everything was cumbersome at best.
Design the Desired Communications Solution
The catalyst for making AV upgrades was the construction of a new middle school. District staff contacted James Burrows, AV Manager at Superior Fiber and Data Services, to design the desired communications solution for the new building.
Superior Fiber has over two decades of experience in AV solutions for K-12 schools and higher education and was well-suited to take on a project of TCA’s scale.
“Even though some of the loudspeakers on campus weren’t working properly, one of the biggest pain points they had were their old analog clocks,” Burrows said. “Every time there was a time change, or they just weren’t keeping their time correctly, they would have to go out and reset the clocks. So that was very annoying to them.”
Burrows created a solution combining a variety of IPX endpoints from AtlasIED with Singlewire’s InformaCast communications software. Vetted integration technology partners like Singlewire and AtlasIED ensure that interoperability, reliability, and usability have all been verified and confirmed through extensive testing.
The new middle school communication system was designed with an AtlasIED IP-SDM IPX series loudspeaker and an LCD installed in each classroom. Promethean interactive flat panels were also installed, and the audio output of the Promethean IFP was tied into the IP-SDM to function as the flat panel’s external speaker.
Dual-sided AtlasIED IP-DDS displays incorporating speakers and a dual-sided LCD were installed throughout the hallways for communication coverage during passing periods.
The IP-SDM and IP-DDS register as communication endpoints directly within InformaCast, supporting both visual text and audio broadcast to enhance physical security while improving day-to-day communications through advanced alerting, bell schedules, pre-recorded, scheduled announcements and intercom.
Additionally, the IP-to-analog gateways proved invaluable by allowing the IPX endpoints to interact with the school’s existing analog systems during the upgrades, saving money and keeping the option for future digital upgrades. These gateways also proved helpful in connecting the digital system to the campus’s new analog horns, which were installed to provide communications coverage to all outdoor areas of the campus.
“AtlasIED provided solutions that worked well in the new building as well as with the existing combination of technologies,” said James Burrows, AV manager at the middle school.
The Power over Ethernet (PoE+)-enabled IPX endpoints connect through the same IT network the school uses to deliver Internet access. The platform uses existing network infrastructure, simplifying the installation process for integrators and reducing the need to introduce multiple cable types to a project. The IPX platform also offers scalability benefits, allowing TCA the flexibility to expand its systems as its communications needs or school footprint evolve.
After completing middle school, Superior Cable upgraded the upper school building, followed by the lower school building, to standardize the AtlasIED/ Singlewire integration across the entire campus. All buildings are integrated and centrally managed so that daily and emergency messages like weather alerts and lockdowns can be distributed to individual buildings or all locations, depending on the message content.
This article originally appeared in the March April 2026 issue of Campus Security Today.