School District Forming Internet Access Task Force

The New Britain school district has announced that it is forming a task force to work on how, “to bring Wi-Fi access to all New Britain students who currently cannot connect to the internet.”

With the extended closure of school buildings because of the COVID-19 pandemic and teaching being moved online, the need for students to have access to computers and high-speed internet has become acute, and lack of wi-fi access has become an educational access concern.

The school district says, “there are still more than 1,000 students who have found it challenging to connect due to the lack of internet access in their homes.”

Starting two years ago, Ald. Aram Ayalon (D-3) has been pressing for city planning around the concept of providing free wi-fi access in poorer neighborhoods, such as the North-Oak and Arch Street areas. At that time, he said that, “Wi-Fi is available to those who can afford it, but many people do not have access to it.”

Ayalon and fellow Third Ward City Council member, Ald. Iris Sanchez (D-3), recently renewed the call for information on how providing free Wi-Fi in low income areas of the city might be accomplished.

That the city had not followed through since 2018 with providing more free wi-fi in low income areas of the city has been seen by some as a lost opportunity for educational access that is now sorely missed during the present COVID-19 crisis.

With lack of internet access remaining an obstacle to education for a thousand New Britain students, the school district says that, “thanks to the school district’s partnership with Schaller Auto, dozens of mobile Wi-Fi hotspots will soon be deployed to city neighborhoods allowing more students the ability to join their virtual classrooms through the remainder of this school year.”

Still, the school district says, “with technology opening new possibilities to reach and connect with students, and distance learning likely to take on a more prominent role in the future, school leaders are seeking a more permanent solution.”

“The current pandemic has highlighted the reliance on technology to deliver education to all students,” said said Jeff Prokop, the school district’s Chief Information Officer. “At the same time, it has provided us the opportunity to further improve our technology infrastructure moving forward.”

“The goal of the task force,” the school district announced on May 12, 2020, “is to bring together members of CSDNB and the community to cooperatively brainstorm the most efficient, realistic, and cost-effective solutions to bring Wi-Fi access to all New Britain students who currently cannot connect to the internet.”

Superintendent Nancy Sarra says that, “this is an opportunity for our community to come together once again and level the playing field for all New Britain students and families when it comes to internet connectivity.”

Saying that, “Innovation runs deep in the roots of who we are,” in the New Britain school district, Sarra adds that, “We believe the community and school district sitting at the same table will ensure that we are creating solutions together that will align with our current and future needs.”