Three North Georgia school systems are among 36 across the state that will benefit from a wi-fi access initiative announced this week by Gov. Brian Kemp's office.
The Georgia Department of Education, Foundation for Public Education, will implement the program which has been financed by a donation from AT&T. The donation will be used to deploy technology known as Wi-Fi Rangers to parts of the state where there are gaps in internet connectivity. A total of 448 devices will be deployed in the three dozen school districts.
In North Georgia, school districts in Barrow, Franklin and Jackson counties will benefit from the program.
All 36 school systems chosen for the initiative are located in rural Georgia; system selection was based on factors which included poverty level of the school population, the student-to-device ratio in a school’s existing technology inventory, and the school’s status on either the Comprehensive Support and Improvement or Targeted Support and Improvement lists.
According to information released from the governor's office, each district will create its own mobilization plans for placing the Wi-Fi Rangers on school buses or other public vehicles to reach the highest numbers of unserved students in their communities. Each Wi-Fi Ranger can enable internet connections for up to 45 devices at one time.
"AT&T is doing our state a great service, helping us take a step forward to address the lack of available broadband connectivity for Georgia students," said Kemp in a statement issued by his office. "This issue has come into sharp focus during the COVID-19 pandemic as so many rural students struggle to continue remote learning without internet access."
AT&T’s donation includes two free months of service for each device. Additional grant funding was applied to extend the impact of the initiative to an additional three months of service for each device.
"We are proud to work with Governor Kemp and the Georgia Department of Education to equip hundreds of school buses with AT&T Wi-Fi, connecting students in communities all across the state,” said Venessa Harrison, President of AT&T Georgia. “More than ever before, connecting people with resources needed to maintain a sense of normalcy is critical, and we are committed to supporting Georgia’s students, families, and teachers.”
According to a Federal Communications Commission report released last month, of Americans not connected to the internet, 78 percent live in rural areas. More than 22 percent of rural Americans do not have access to high-speed internet, compared to 1.5 percent of urban dwellers without high-speed internet. This means that rural students are almost 15 times more likely to lack access to the internet for remote learning when school buildings are closed.
School systems will choose locations for Wi-Fi Ranger bus networks, sending them to unserved areas where students do not have access to the internet at home. Access information will be communicated directly to their students and families who will be able to access the Wi-Fi by parking nearby or by walking to the Wi-Fi Ranger bus location. Parents and students will be directed to follow the state guidelines for social distancing, but they will be able to access the internet signal within a certain distance of the bus. The signal for each bus has a range for connection up to 300 feet.
