EducationSuperHighway Partners with Connected Nation to Carry Forward its Mission
Bowling Green, Ky. (January 14, 2020) – Connected Nation (CN) has been selected by EducationSuperHighway to carry forward its mission to ensure state and school district leaders have the information they need to improve school broadband (high-speed internet) connectivity.
This will be made possible through a new tool—Connect K-12—that will equip them with key information and analytics needed to improve school broadband access in their communities. Connect K-12, launching later this year, will provide the broadband data and pricing information that school district and state leaders need to upgrade their bandwidth to the FCC’s 1 Megabit per second (Mbps) per student goal.
“Our core belief is that ‘Everyone Belongs in a Connected Nation.’ To us, that means that no one—and particularly no student—should ever be without the opportunities and resources that having access to broadband can provide,” said Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation. “For years, we’ve worked to help schools bring instructional technology and better connectivity to the classroom, but Connect K-12 will enable us to provide key data and insights that will help state and local leaders take informed action to improve school connectivity in districts across the country. All of us at Connected Nation are honored and excited to work with EducationSuperHighway in launching this tool and building upon their impressive legacy as they prepare to sunset later this year.”
Founded in 2012, the nonprofit reached its goal of connecting 99 percent of schools to internet connections that provide at least 100 Kbps of bandwidth for every student by 2020. In accomplishing that mission, EducationSuperHighway will hand off the next stage of this work to Connected Nation.
“Strong leadership, actionable data, and partnerships at the state and national level have been critical to increasing school broadband access.” said Evan Marwell, Founder and CEO, EducationSuperHighway. “We are thrilled to partner with Connected Nation. As a leader in the broadband and public-sector space, we feel confident that they will continue to work in partnership with state leaders and schools in an effort to ensure every child has access to the opportunities digital learning can provide.”
Connect K-12 will provide actionable internet speed and pricing information on K-12 broadband connectivity across America using publicly available data from the federal Schools and Libraries Program (E-rate). The tool will equip state and school district leaders with the information necessary to continue to drive school network upgrades toward the 1 Mbps per student goal.
The tool will also report national and state connectivity trends to ensure that the E-rate program continues to effectively support school broadband access.
“We are honored to carry on EducationSuperHighway’s mission to enhance school connectivity across America, with Connect K-12 as the foundation of our work,” said Brent Legg, Vice President of Government Affairs at Connected Nation. “Improving access remains a challenge for many school districts, particularly in rural areas, as they seek to keep pace with growing technology demands. We are thrilled to have the opportunity to launch and maintain this new tool for the benefit of state and school district leaders everywhere.”
Funds For Learning, a professional firm specializing in the federal E-rate Program, has been selected as the technology partner to manage the data readiness and software elements of the tool.
“Funds For Learning is widely recognized as one of the nation’s preeminent E-rate firms, and they’re the perfect partner to help us ensure that Connect K-12 and the intelligence it will provide are truly best-in-class for the state and local stakeholders we will serve,” said Ferree.
Connect K-12 will be available for free nationwide later this year.
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Media Contacts:
Jessica Denson
Connected Nation
Email: jdenson@connectednation.org
Phone: 502-341-2024
Victoria Holmes
EducationSuperHighway
Email: victoria@educationsuperhighway.org
Phone: 248-872-9099
About Connected Nation
Our mission is to improve lives by providing innovative solutions that expand access, adoption, and use of high-speed internet and its related technology to all people. We believe everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.
We work with consumers, community and state leaders, broadband service providers, technology companies, and foundations to develop and implement initiatives that expand the reach and impact of connected technology, with core competencies focused on achieving our mission to improve digital inclusion for people and places previously underserved or overlooked. For more information about us, please visit: connectednation.org and follow Connected Nation on Facebook and Twitter.
About Funds For Learning
Funds For Learning® is a professional firm specializing in the federal E-rate funding program. Our mission is to provide high-quality consulting and support services for the needs of E-rate program participants, including preparing and submitting paperwork, and helping our clients to understand and maintain compliance with E-rate rules and regulations. Proudly serving schools and libraries since 1997.
About EducationSuperHighway
EducationSuperHighway was founded in 2012 with the mission of upgrading the Internet access in every public school classroom in America. The organization took on this mission because it believes that digital learning has the potential to provide all students with equal access to educational opportunity and that every school requires high-speed broadband to make that opportunity a reality. EducationSuperHighway is funded by national philanthropic organizations including the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Salesforce Foundation and our mission is supported by governors in all 50 states and America’s leading CEOs. Having completed its mission, EducationSuperHighway will sunset August 2020.