School district, broadband firms feeding internet to all students

 

“Since we closed (the schools) we’ve transitioned to virtual and remote learning. We distributed a survey among district families to find out who had internet and who did not. We wanted as many people online as we possibly could,” said Glenrock Schools Superintendent Coley Shadrick, who partnered with the broadband companies to leave no child left behind.

 

“We’re a one-to-one district with Chromebooks – everyone has one and the devices weren’t the issue. We wanted to get every student online. If they aren’t online, they’re receiving paper packets with schoolwork and assignments; it’s a different experience. Our students deserve the highest-quality education possible,” he said.

 

According to Shadrick’s survey, 24 district families in Glenrock did not have internet services. Since then, some families have hooked up internet service on their own, but many had not.

 

Shadrick contacted Vyve Broadband. Vyve has a 60-day program for those in need.

 

“They said they would provide 60 days for free. Not all of the kids who need internet can be serviced by Vyve, but I gave Carl Carr, who I’ve been working with, 14 names of houses in Glenrock city limits. All parents were contacted in regards to the program with Vyve and we explained there would be no expense to them, he said.

 

Others outside of city limits, such as those families living in rural areas outside of Rolling Hills, were more of a challenge to get hooked up to the internet.

 

“I called Visionary and gave them several households who they’ve started providing service to. CCSD2 is paying for the installation and a monthly fee for service, plus a router fee, all at reduced rates to the district. Again, this is at no cost to the families – the district will pick up that cost for those families," Shadrick said enthusiastically.

 

The costs work out to about $52 per month, with a one time installation fee of $120 for each household, which is at reduced rate.

 

“It’s been really great work to try and help districts help students get served. We have shuffled some things around to get the installs booked, as you can imagine Visionary is busy place right now,” Visionary Broadband Public Relations Director Stacie McDonald said.

 

“We are working with eight families in Converse County (School District) #2 to get service. Coley has been great to work with and we know more families could crop up as the school year continues. We are working with five different districts at present across our network. We’re glad to be included,” she said.

 

While being able to provide internet to 21 out of 24 households is positive, Shadrick said he’s kicking around ideas to figure out how to make sure every last student schooling at home is covered.

 

“We’ve got three households now (without internet service) and I have called them all. It comes down to rural locations that we’re not going to be able to get service up with. We’ve purchased hot spots and are working on other ideas. We’re hoping we can get everyone covered. We really appreciated the companies who have partnered with us to get the kids online. Visionary and Vyve have been great,” he said.

 

McDonald said rural broadband is Visionary’s specialty.

 

"Sadly, there were a few that were even out of our tower coverage. This situation has really highlighted the need for expanded service to all of the pockets of Wyoming that are still underserved,” she said.