Schools hopeful that new broadband funding will aid students
Leaders at school districts in the northern part of Butler County are particularly hopeful about the potential of improved broadband access after Gov. Tom Wolf announced $6.6 million in federal funds for the cause on Dec. 8.
According to Eric Ritzert, superintendent of Karns City Area School District, the area has seen improvement within the last 10 years, but mobile broadband remains a challenge in the Bruin area.
He cited Armstrong as one of the widest internet service providers in the region, supplying connection as best it can to a large portion of the student body.
“The topography and location is definitely a hindrance,” Ritzert said of the rural community.
The $6.6 million in funding, which comes from President Joe Biden’s “Internet for All” initiative, are the first funds to be awarded of the more than $100 million coming to the state. The money will be managed by the Pennsylvania Broadband Authority.
According to a map provided by the Federal Communications Commission, only 48.98% of the Bruin area has mobile broadband coverage.
The map also shows 100% of the area has fixed broadband. Fixed broadband encompasses any high-speed data transmission to a residence or a business — i.e. a fixed location. However, the validity of that map is being challenged across the state. With the exception of Moraine State Park, most of Butler County appears as having 80% to 100% fixed broadband access.
Karns City has taken numerous steps to aid students with connectivity issues as much as much as possible. With the situation out of their control on any given day, the school is in possession of 25 hot spots that they loan to students when needed.
Each student also is equipped with a Chromebook through the school, which they use in both the classroom and at home to complete various assignments.
According to Sean Edwards, Karns City’s technology director, the hot spots are powered by T-Mobile, and are set up to connect automatically to the students’ Chromebooks. Edwards said they have had better experiences using T-Mobile in Karns City over other mobile providers.
“In March 2020, we didn’t have a device for every student,” Ritzert recalled. “Over the summer of that year, we remedied that, which solved the issue of families possibly not having a device for their students. It put us in a better position to clear more hurdles where connectivity is concerned.”
In the event that a student doesn’t have the connection needed to complete assignments, they have the option to turn in physical copies of their work “the old-fashioned way.” The district also allows for a makeup period on work for these students, which is extended to all in the case of a widespread outage.
If weather or other circumstances cause the schools to switch to a remote platform, the students meet with their teachers via Google Meet. If some end up in a total blackout, not being able to log into class isn’t treated as an absence, and they work with their teachers to catch up on what they have missed.
“The issue is that there’s no good system for knowing which children have internet access at home and which do not,” Ritzert said, “We are improving; it’s just a slow process.”
Alfonso Angelucci, superintendent of Slippery Rock Area School District, and Alix Greenawalt, technology director for Moniteau School District, spoke similarly of the situation in their districts.
During times when schools used remote learning due to the coronavirus pandemic, students were hindered in live classes taking place through video conferencing by slow connections, which may still persist in the event of remote learning days.
“It would cause both audio and video issues, lag, and dropped connections,” Greenawalt said.
Superintendent Aubrie Schnelle stated that Moniteau students also utilize Chromebooks daily, with the technology department lending out hot spots as needed, but devices are only one piece of the puzzle.
Moniteau has partnered with some internet providers to assist families in need with internet connectivity at home. They’ve also begun to advertise the federal Affordable Connectivity Program to families, which allows them to receive a monthly discount of up to $30 on home internet service, as well as other technology purchases.
They maintain connections with internet providers on a regular basis, trying often to expand current offerings.
Angelucci said they have some families in the school district that experience some internet connectivity issues.
“We feel it is our responsibility to do what we can to help our families the best we can when they experience any kind of hardship and ask for our help,” Angelucci said.
Like Moniteau, Slippery Rock has worked with local internet service providers during the past couple of years to help limit that inaccessibility, but Angelucci reiterated that it’s not a problem that is immediately solved.
The district’s technology director continues to work with the business office and the superintendent to make sure student connectivity needs are met.
