Robbinsville – A collaborative effort will deliver free wireless hotspots and high-speed data to 300 students across Robbinsville Elementary, Middle and High schools, as part of Project 10Million.
Angie Knight, superintendent of Graham County Schools and Myra Waldroup, chief technical officer for the district, announced the collaboration in a joint statement.
Even before the pandemic, more than nine million of America’s 56 million school-age kids did not have access to reliable internet and could not complete after-school assignments online.
This is particularly true in Graham County, where mountainous terrain makes wired and wireless connections difficult to obtain. This critical homework gap has tremendous short and long-term impacts: lower test scores, lower grades and limited opportunities after graduation, Knight and Waldroup said in their joint statement.
With COVID-19, 50 million students across the country are learning remotely including Graham County Schools. Those without reliable Internet connectivity will face an even bigger schoolwork gap as they are unable to participate in any type of online classroom learning.
“Every child deserves access to opportunity, so Project 10Million will provide Graham County Schools a free wireless hotspot and free high-speed data to give to eligible student households a value of about $500 a year per household,” Knight and Waldroup said in their joint statement. Students will receive free unlimited data, to ensure all students have enough data to complete their schooling.
For more information about Project 10Million, go to t-mobile.com/p10m, or visit Graham County Schools’ website at graham.k12.nc.us.