Schools, partners working on Wi-Fi

More Wi-Fi is on its way.

Jay School Corporation, in partnership with Watch Communications and AT&T, is rolling out new options for broadband internet to help during extended e-learning.

Schools in Jay County have been shut down since the end of the day March 13. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jennifer McCormick last week announced that all K-12 schools in the state would remain closed for the rest of the 2019-20 school year.

Billed as “Connect and Go” — superintendent Jeremy Gulley said he dubbed it as such to match up with the corporation’s “Grab and Go” food service program — the new initiatives will take on the challenge of broadband connectivity from several angles.

“Internet access is a challenge in every rural community in the country,” said Gulley, “so we’re trying to be creative through some public-private partnership to (offer service) for our families and kids.”

The first of those efforts is the installation of new Wi-Fi hotspots at 10 locations by Watch, free of charge to both the school corporation and the community. Five of those — Westlawn, Redkey, General Shanks and Bloomfield elementary schools, and West Jay Middle School — were already in place Wednesday afternoon. The other five — East Elementary School, East Jay Middle School, Jay County High School, the former Judge Haynes Elementary School and the Jay Schools administrative offices — are expected to be installed today. The company is also planning a hotspot at The Rock Church.

Students are not intended to sit in the parking lots for hours on end, though they are welcome to do so, but rather to use the hotspots to handle the heavier data tasks of downloading and uploading assignments, said Watch vice president for sales and marketing Frank Glaszner.

“We should pretty much have enough spaces for the student body,” he added. “And it’s open to the entire public. …

“I think this is the quickest, easiest way to get as much bandwidth out there as possible for people to access.”

The effort is part of Watch’s commitment through the Federal Communications Commission’s “Keep Americans Connected” pledge, which, in part, asks internet service providers to “open its Wi-Fi hotspots to any American who needs them” during the coronavirus pandemic.

There will be signs indicating where the hotspots are and instructing those who use them to implement social distancing by staying in their vehicles and not parking directly next to others. Wi-Fi signals reach at least 200 feet, and up to 600 feet, from the hotspots. They will be open to everyone — those using them will need to sign in with an email address and agree to the terms of service — but are being installed with a focus on students working on e-learning assignments.

“That’s a start,” said Gulley. “We also know (driving to a hotspot is) not always easy for a parent to do.”

So the next step will be to install Wi-Fi at the homes of students whose families have indicated that they have no internet access or service that is unable to support e-learning. About 50 households qualify based on a survey that the corporation asked parents to fill out earlier this year as well as eligibility for the free and reduced lunch program.

The school corporation will cover the cost of the internet access for approximately 90 days, Gulley said. At that point, the families could either return the equipment to the corporation or decide to continue service with Watch at their own expense. (Watch has committed to offering that service at a subsidized rate.)

“We have a vested interest in our communities,” said Glaszner. “We have people that work in these communities. And because we are a rural broadband provider, the rural markets are our priority. That’s where our clients are.”

Gulley plans to begin contacting qualifying families next week. Watch would then handle the installation for those that are interested in the service.

For those homes that Watch cannot easily reach, the school corporation is working with AT&T. It has ordered routers that will make internet service possible at those locations via AT&T’s cellular towers.

Gulley said he’s looking at the various efforts to provide broadband internet service as a pilot program if extended e-learning is needed again in the future.

“I think this environment has lit a spark underneath all of us to solve problems,” he said.

Watch Communications, which along with Portland’s Community Fiber Solutions falls under the umbrella of parent company Benton Ridge Telephone Company, last year obtained $52.4 million in contracts through the Federal Communications Commission Connect America Fund initiative to build broadband infrastructure in areas that are “unserved and underserved.” Their area covers Ohio, Illinois and Indiana, including portions of Jay County.

The company has also been working with the school corporation on plans to subsidize broadband service for low-income families.

Last year, Watch donated $10,000 to Jay Schools to be used for school security.