Students at Grantham Elementary in Clarkston, Washington; Gorenflo Elementary in Biloxi, Mississippi; Batesville Elementary in Batesville, Mississippi; Eastmorland Elementary in Joplin, Missouri; Frontier Elementary in Angleton, Texas; Beebe Elementary in Beebe, Arkansas; and Meridian Elementary School in Meridian, Idaho will be equipped with new Chromebooks this school year as the result of a Sparklight initiative designed to improve student access to technology in Title I schools.
Sparklight Senior Vice President of Technology Services Ken Johnson said that donating Chromebooks to Title 1 schools will help bridge the digital divide in schools that lack funding – especially for students lacking the technology needed to perform school from home activities during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“While many school systems are taking big steps and working to give every student and every teacher access to the technology and tools they need to learn, not all schools have the funding to support this effort,” Johnson said. “We understand how critical access to technology is right now – especially during the pandemic when many schools are struggling to provide laptops to students in need during the transition to online school.”
Batesville Elementary School Principal Amy Sutton said the Chromebook donation will level the playing field for students who are currently without technology at home.
“In the midst of a global pandemic, online instruction and technology use has become an essential tool in education,” Sutton said. “Sparklight’s Chromebook donation will ensure that equitable learning opportunities are available for our community and school families.”
Grantham Elementary School Principal Rob Hoffman said Sparklight’s Chromebook donation will help supplement the school’s aging technology, especially in the current distant learning environment.
“Many of our Grantham students do not have access to technology at home, so this donation is a blessing, as it will positively impact our under-resourced families by giving them the opportunity to complete distance learning assignments at home,” Hoffman said.
Over the past seven years, Sparklight has donated more than 1,500 Chromebooks to Title 1 schools in the markets they serve.