Mission Critical: Connected Nation Partners with EducationSuperHighway to Connect Every Classroom, Every Day

The national nonprofit will spearhead efforts to help K-12 school districts across the country meet the next FCC school broadband goal

EducationSuperHighway Partners with Connected Nation to Carry Forward its Mission

Bowling Green, Ky. (January 15, 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 empower better decision-making and spur better competition and pricing to make digital learning a reality in every classroom, every day.

“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.”

This partnership between the two national nonprofits is part of Connected Nation’s commitment to carry on EducationSuperHighway’s mission ensuring that every school district can make digital learning a reality in every classroom, every day.

A Goal Achieved, A New One Set
When founded in 2012, EducationSuperHighway’s primary goal was to increase access to high-speed internet and decrease the Digital Divide in America’s public schools. While EducationSuperHighway plans to sunset in the fall of 2020 after completing its mission to connect 99% of schools to high-speed Internet connections, the nonprofit credits state and national partners as the real drivers of change.

“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.”

In this next phase, Connect K-12 will provide actionable internet speed and pricing information for America’s K-12 broadband connectivity using publicly available data from the federal Schools and Libraries Program (E-rate). The mobile enabled browser-based tool will equip state and school district leaders with the information necessary to continue to drive school network upgrades to make digital learning opportunities possible for every student.

It will also report national and state connectivity trends to ensure that the E-rate program continues to effectively support school broadband (high-speed internet) access.

“We are honored to carry on EducationSuperHighway’s mission to enhance school connectivity across America and continue the fight to preserve and expand the E-rate Program—making it a core pillar of our advocacy work in Washington, with Connect K-12 as a foundation,” 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 platform for the benefit of state and school district leaders across America.”

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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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. Everyone belongs in a Connected Nation.

Connected Nation works with consumers, local community leaders, states, technology providers, and foundations to develop and implement technology expansion programs with core competencies centered on a mission to improve digital inclusion for people and places previously underserved or overlooked. For more information, 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.