Three Rivers Receives Connectivity Grant
The Ohio Department of Education, in collaboration with BroadbandOhio, provided Ohio schools and Education Service Centers with the opportunity to apply for funds through a grant application process. Three Rivers Local School District’s Student Service Director, Megan Rivet, Director of Teaching and Learning, Joan Stidham, and Technology Coordinator, Bryson Min teamed up to apply for the grant. The process, though rather tedious and lengthy, was completed and submitted in August. On September 2, 2020, Three Rivers received the news that they had been awarded $151,466.16 from the BroadbandOhio Connectivity Coronavirus Relief Funds.
The amount awarded to Three Rivers was a sub-award from the US Department of Treasury’s total award of $50,000,000 which was provided to the Ohio Department of Education through the Ohio Governor’s office.
Megan Rivet, who oversees technology for Three Rivers stated, “this grant really helps the District provide technology equity to our families during these difficult times. Furthermore, it has enabled us to be proactively prepared should the District ever need to return to remote learning as a result of the pandemic.”
Using the grant funds, Three Rivers has purchased hotspots for families without WiFi access. Additionally, we are able to utilize the funds to expand our WiFi to include the entire outside grounds of the Three Rivers Educational Campus and install WiFi on 15 school busses. The hope with the smart busses is that if the District were to have to close campus again, busses could be deployed to parks within the community in order to provide WiFi signals for families.
For more information regarding the BroadbandOhio Connectivity Grant, please click HERE.
