Jan 28, 2023

GreenWatt's Kid-Centric lighting systems have been installed Carroll Middle School in Southlake. [Video still: GreenWatt Lighting] Frisco-based GreenWatt Lighting has released a new school safety lighting system that can communicate emergency safety protocols to students, teachers, and administrators with instant visual cues and immediate notification alerts. The company says its Kid-Centric lighting system “is the only safety lighting system that utilizes a reliable Bluetooth mesh network.” The announcement was made today at the Texas Association of School Administrators. Joint venture features Mark Cuban-backed MeshTek Greenwatt Lighting is a joint venture between Mark Cuban-backed MeshTek, a leading IoT company that creates and builds smart lighting and other systems, and GreenWatt Development, which specializes in developing and designing sustainable solutions. “Our patented technology is the most advanced, long-range, Bluetooth mesh platform in the world, which is critical for school applications, where it can provide 100% coverage campus-wide,” MeshTek CEO Swapnil Bora said in a statement. Cuban says the timing is right for the new tech. “With school safety being a top concern across the country, this innovation could not have come at a better time.” Cuban said in the statement. “This adaptable system will transform the classrooms of today and tomorrow, with its valuable security features and functional lighting benefits.”  Multiple security solutions Kid-Centric Lighting’s security solutions include a “Secure the Perimeter” system, which utilizes energy-efficient, colored LED light bars on the inside and outside of school doors that display the doors’ open or closed status. The entire system is programmed to send push notifications to select administrators to address the issue of propped-open doors—a major issue with schools today. Also provides functional lighting solutions  In addition to safety and security, Kid-Centric Lighting also offers functional solutions. Integrating lights with class bell schedules “has proven to significantly reduce tardiness among students, while implementing talk/no talk light bars can assist educators with developing desired behavioral outcomes from students,” the company said. GreenWatt says its controllable lighting feature also provides much-needed aid in special education classrooms, where visual prompts are essential and light sensitivity issues are prevalent. “Educators and administrators need a reliable and affordable system they can trust.” said Jeff Ray, President of GreenWatt Lighting. “The proprietary control application mirrors state emergency protocols, is simple to use and can integrate easily into existing safety systems, or operate as a stand-alone solution to provide the support schools need.”   First installation was installed at Carroll Middle School in Southlake GreenWatt said the first successful installation of its Kid-Centric Lighting solutions was at Carroll Middle School in Southlake’s Carroll Independent School District. The project featured both security and functional lighting applications, “and was met with high praise from educators, administrators and parents,” the company says. You can see a video about the installation by going here . Additional GreenWatt Lighting projects are currently planned and moving forward in other North Texas districts, GreenWatt added. Get on the list. Dallas Innovates, every day. Sign up to keep your eye on what’s new and next in Dallas-Fort Worth, every day. One quick signup, and you’re done. R E A D   N E X T The University’s newest school in more than 50 years will be named after Peter O’Donnell Jr., the late local investor and visionary philanthropist. The School of Public Health will be "research-intensive,' says Interim Dean Celette Sugg Skinner. The school plans to welcome its first class of Master of Public Health students in the fall of 2023, followed by classes for Ph.D. students in the fall of 2024. The app was developed by Dallas-based Zimperium, a leader in mobile security, and is designed to secure devices against even the most advanced threats. Available as a free download on Apple iOS and Android Play, Dallas Secure arrives just in time for the busy holiday mobile-commerce season. "Public safety comes first in Dallas—and cybersecurity is a form of public safety,” Mayor Eric Johnson said. Dr. Laura Leathers has been named the next Eugene McDermott Head of School at the Hockaday School in Dallas, effective Jan. 1. Leathers currently is interim head of school for the 109-year-old institution. Previously, Leathers served as Hockaday's assistant head of school for academic affairs. "We are thrilled to name Dr. Leathers as the next Head of School," Nicole Ginsburg Small, chair of the Hockaday board of trustees, said in a statement. "I believe Laura is truly the best of both worlds. She is both an innovative thinker with a long and impressive career as an educator and administrator, as… Whether he's buying a pro pickleball team or disrupting big pharma with his cost-plus drug company, Mark Cuban says he's a "ready, fire, aim" businessman. So he surrounds himself with "ready, aim, fire" perfectionists to keep him from "screwing everything up." That's just one insight the billionaire shared in a fireside chat with Backstage Capital founder Arlan Hamilton at the Venture Dallas conference last week. “There's always going to be somebody smarter, there's always going to be somebody faster, better," Cuban added. "I just try to work a little harder.” TAGS: