Over the course of the last few years, Clarion-Goldfield-Dows, like thousands of school districts nationwide, learned a great deal about distance and digital education. As school moved online during COVID, districts also faced major concerns about connectivity. Many students and their families just didn’t have reliable internet access or access at all. Even though school has mostly returned to normal, those issues remain as CGD and every other school district realizes the necessity of reliable connectivity to the future of education. To that end, the local school district received some amazing news last week.
CGD Technology Coordinator Kevin Katz shared that he recently received confirmation that the district was granted almost $379,000 from the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF). This fund is through the Federal Communications Commission and was approved by Congress as part of the American Rescue Plan. The ECF is a $7.17 billion program that helps schools and libraries provide the tools and services their communities need for learning during the COVID-19 emergency period. The fund is meant to provide relief for students who currently lack necessary internet access or the devices they need to connect to classrooms.
Katz said that this grant is from the second wave of funding from the program. “During the initial wave, when information was sent out last summer, it didn’t seem like something we’d be able to take advantage of,” he explained. At that point, the district had already taken some proactive connectivity steps, including purchasing Wi-Fi hotspots and more iPads.
However, after the first round of granting, Katz’s interest in the program was again renewed. “I started to hear that the program was overfunded and was getting emails from vendors encouraging us to apply,” he said. He added that he also noticed that schools who were marked to receive funds were in a similar position to CGD with 1-to-1 technology already. That made him think the district DID have a chance to be included in the grant.
Katz states that he and Jon Dahlke, CGD Network Administrator, began to strategize. They know that connectivity is a big issue. “The problem of getting internet for everyone is pretty overwhelming, but the district becoming a Wi-Fi provider is not really the proper role for a school,” Katz emphasized. With that in mind, they began working on a plan to provide cellular connectivity for students.
“That’s how we wrote up the grant,” Katz explained, with plans to purchase cellular capable iPads for PrepK through eighth grade students. This would give students connectivity everywhere- they could work on homework on the school bus, finish a project while at a sports event, and most importantly, get online at home even if the family does not have internet access.
They submitted the grant application with that plan in place. “I didn’t know if it would be acceptable,” admitted Katz. “But when we were contacted in February about our application and asked to work on a few details, I was pretty enthusiastic.”
That enthusiasm was warranted, because just last week, Katz got the word- the district will receive $378,790.18 in funding. Katz, Dahlke and CGD Superintendent Joe Nelson were beyond excited upon receiving the big news. “What a gift to our families,” said Nelson. “Under Kevin’s leadership, this grant can help level the playing field and provide equal access to technology for all kindergarten through eighth grade students.”
Katz and Dahlke are also happy about moving towards equality of access with this grant. “For those kids who don’t have the internet or don’t have a cell phone to use as a hotspot, this can help make that access equitable,” said Dahlke.
Katz added that kind of constant connectivity is simply where education is going. “During COVID, we were forced to quickly step forward in digital education, and now this is where we’re headed in the future. Being able to have a connected status all the time may be where districts will soon need to go.”
The district’s tech gurus emphasize though that this does not mean that the students who receive cellular connected devices can do anything, anywhere on the internet. Katz explained that the devices will have all the same filters that the school computers currently employ. “The filters safely open content for the students,” he said. He also stressed the need to teach students good online habits.
Now, with the funds from the grant committed, Katz and Dahlke have their work cut out for them. Katz noted that they are several weeks from getting the devices still. “Right now, we are having discussions about how this will all be rolled out,” he said. “We’re also working to determine how this will look in the elementary setting. These students have not taken their devices home in the past unless it was for a special circumstance. We will develop this over time and with guidance from Principal Tricia Rosendahl and her staff.”
Katz added that the district is working with T-Mobile on the deployment of the devices. He anticipates that things will be ready to go by next school year. If all goes well, the grant funds will help add 706 new devices to the school network.
As he looks down the road, Katz is not taking a break even after receiving the good news about the grant. He in fact plans to apply for the third wave of funding to work on connectivity issues for high school students. He hopes that additional money will push the district even closer to equitable access for all.
Superintendent Nelson is optimistic about the future thanks to the ECF grant and Katz’s work on it. “We always heard ‘universal connectivity is impossible,’ but thanks to Kevin, we now have a solution here we’re proud of,” said Nelson. “We’ll be setting a benchmark for other districts with this.”
