From the Texas Education Agency
On April 15, 2016 TEA announced the partnership with the non-profit EducationSuperHighway to launch the Classroom Connectivity Initiative. The Classroom Connectivity Initiative is focused on achieving three goals:
- Increase the number of campuses that meet minimum bandwidth targets (100 kbps / student)
- Increase the number of campuses where WiFi is accessible in all classrooms
- Drive the cost of broadband down (to under $3 / Mbps)
As you begin the 2016-2017 school year, I’d like to provide an update on the Classroom Connectivity Initiative. The EducationSuperHighway team has been working hard and has engaged 19 Education Service Centers and launched broadband upgrade projects with 30 school districts. In addition to supporting districts and charters, EducationSuperHighway is educating providers about the recent E-rate rule changes to ensure they can provide the best possible service and pricing for our schools.
The EducationSuperHighway team is available to support broadband upgrade projects throughout Texas at no cost to the district. I encourage you to attend one of the upcoming informational webinars to find out the steps you can take to ensure your broadband network supports future bandwidth demands. The one-hour webinar will explain how you can take advantage of upgrade resources available to schools across the state.
You can register by selecting one of the links below:
- Tuesday, September 13th at 11am – register here
- Wednesday, September 14th at 1pm – register here
- Monday, September 19th at 2pm – register here
- Tuesday, September 20th at 3pm – register here
It is clear that digital learning is taking root in even the most rural and remote schools across the state and that we must continue to prepare our school networks to support teachers and students in their use of technology in the classroom.
Claim your spot in the Classroom Connectivity Initiative and join the ranks of school districts and charters in Texas upgrading their networks to support growing bandwidth demands. Sign up for a webinar or pass this invite along to the appropriate contact in your district.
For questions or additional information, contact Natalia Marcantonio, Outreach Coordinator at EducationSuperHighway, at natalia@educationsuperhighway.org, or Texas Education Agency staff at ClassroomConnectivity@tea.texas.gov
Sincerely,
Mike Morath
Commissioner of Education