Wood County Schools seeks federal funding for WiFi hotspots
PARKERSBURG — In an effort to give students more reliable WiFi access to those that have little to no internet access at home, Wood County Schools is applying for federal funding to purchase WiFi hotspots for those families.
The FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) is a $7.17 billion program that will help schools and libraries provide the tools and services their communities need for remote learning during the COVID-19 emergency period.
The grant requires a survey of needs. The survey posted was drafted by the state and will be used by Wood County Schools to show how many families are in need, which in turn determines how many WiFi hotspots it will have to distribute.
Wood County Schools Communications Coordinator Michael Erb said the survey is not in case the district will go to remote learning due to rising positive COVID test results and recently wearing masks in school.
“We apologize for any confusion that we caused. We’re attempting to get this grant in order to provide internet access for families who do not have internet access or have unreliable internet access. It has nothing to do with the idea of schools going remote,” he said. “We’ve repeatedly said what Wood County Schools has repeatedly said we have no intention of going remote, we don’t want to. We believe that the best scenario is the students and teachers in the classroom together, that face-to-face instruction is incredibly valuable. That is what we want and that is what we are working to keep.”
The survey is still open at https://tinyurl.com/wcsInternetSurvey and the district encourages everyone to fill out the survey, even if there is not a current need for a WiFi hotspot.
Erb also said the district’s Central Office is trying to get the survey into the hands of people who might not have access to fill the survey.
Last fall the district distributed more than 1,200 hotspots. So far 700 people have indicated on this survey they lack access or reliable internet. That survey just opened Tuesday.
For more information, contact Erb at the Wood County Schools central office (304) 420-9663 x178 or email at merb@woodcountyschoolswv.net.