Every Seat, Front Row: How Ardrey Kell High School Uses Broadcast to Engage 40 Students at Once

Ardrey Kell High School, located in Charlotte’s Ballantyne community, is one of the largest high schools in North Carolina with more than 3,000 students. Consistently ranked in the top 5% of public high schools statewide, Ardrey Kell is celebrated for its academic excellence, 97% graduation rate, and a mission centred on creating a student-focused, inclusive, and challenging learning environment.

Despite its strong track record, Ardrey Kell faces the everyday realities of modern education: full classrooms, visibility challenges, and the need to keep every student engaged.

The Challenge

In classes with up to 40 students, even upgraded Promethean panels couldn’t solve the issue of visibility. As math teacher Matthew Greiling explained:

“When you’re 30 feet in the back of the classroom looking over six or seven kids’ heads, it’s not that easy to see.”

This gap risked students disengaging, especially during Ardrey Kell’s 90-minute block schedules. With every student using a Chromebook, Matthew looked for a better way to make lessons equally accessible for all.

The Solution

Over the summer, Matthew discovered DisplayNote Broadcast while exploring tools to improve classroom accessibility and engagement. Broadcast allowed him to share teaching content directly from his Promethean board to every student’s Chromebook, no downloads required.

“The easier it is, the more likely kids are going to be to utilize it. Broadcast is browser-based, so there’s nothing to install, they just type in the passcode and join.”

With Broadcast, students who struggled to see the board could now follow along clearly on their own devices.

Key Benefits

• Accessibility for all: Every student, no matter where they sat, had the same clear view of lesson content.
• Engagement and focus: With content right in front of them, students were less likely to “check out” during long blocks.
• Flexibility for absentees: Broadcast opens the possibility for sick or absent students to join live sessions and keep pace.
• Seamless integration: Broadcast worked smoothly alongside the school’s LMS, Canvas.

Teacher Insights

Matthew valued not only the visibility boost but also the simplicity and efficiency of Broadcast:

“Without something like this, my job becomes more about classroom management than teaching. Broadcast helps me keep students engaged so I can focus on the content.”

He also highlighted Broadcast’s ease of use:

“It appears to be very simple. I can just launch within Canvas, and students type in the six-digit passcode, boom, they’re in.”

Looking Ahead

As the new school year began, Matthew was optimistic:

At a school known for excellence, Broadcast is helping Ardrey Kell teachers meet their mission by ensuring every student feels seen, included, and empowered to learn.