SAN ANTONIO — San Antonio Independent School District is planning to provide electronic devices and even high speed internet to families in need during the remote learning period.
The district has closed schools until April 3 due to coronavirus concerns. The schools are planning remote learning lesson strategies.
An effort called #ConnectCampaign is underway to provide devices and hot spots to families. The equipment is expected to be funded by philanthropic sources and through the SAISD Foundation.
The district expects to get devices and internet into homes within two week.
A survey went out to district parents this week to gauge how many students need a device and what type of internet is available, if any.
Below is the full statement from the district:
"Our strategic plans call for having all schools operate with 1:1 technology, and this crisis is both an opportunity and a challenge to accelerate our plans. We currently have 17,000 devices, and we face a gap of approximately 30,000 devices to completely close the gap. Our goal is to augment our budget with philanthropic sources, including a #ConnectCampaign through the SAISD Foundation, to enable us to purchase the necessary devices. We also are purchasing hotspots so that once our families have devices, they are fully able to access the learning resources we are providing through our academic team. We are moving quickly to complete both of these purchases and to distribute the resources to our families, with the goal of completion in two weeks."
Northside ISD is also taking requests for devices for families who don't have access to electronic devices and/or the internet at home.
But, at last check, the district had been overwhelmed with requests for devices and temporarily suspended requests for devices, according to the district Facebook page.
