As K-12 schools end another challenging year in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Sparklight is working to close the digital divide for students at Parks Elementary School in Cleveland, Mississippi, with the donation of Chromebooks through the company’s Chromebooks for Kids initiative.
Sparklight Senior Vice President of Technology Services Ken Johnson said that both educators and students need access to the tools and technology that will set them up for future success.
“Now more than ever, student access to computers is a necessity,” Johnson said. “By donating Chromebooks, we’re giving students in need the opportunity to use technology that will ultimately prepare them for a progressively digital workforce.”
Parks Elementary School Principal Anna Bennett said that Sparklight’s Chromebook donation will enhance its After School Tutorial program by ensuring that all students will be able to use these devices to complete coursework and develop their understanding of skills and standards.
“With the development and progression of technology, it is essential for students to learn how to manipulate and navigate multiple forms of technologies in order for them to become successful entrepreneurs one day,” Bennett said. “Having access to devices such as Chromebooks allows students to ‘go’ places they’ve never been and ‘see’ things they have never seen. It helps them fully develop their understanding of concepts that they have not had first-hand experience with previously. It lets them dream bigger and do better.”
Over the past eight years, Sparklight has donated more than 2,000 Chromebooks to Title I schools in the markets it serves.
For more information about Sparklight’s Chromebook for Kids initiative and its other corporate social responsibility efforts, please visit www.sparklight.com/about/social-responsibility.