Giving Compass' Take:

• In Virginia, one school district plans to retrofit school buses with wireless routers to increase student access to Wi-Fi during COVID-19. 

• How can donors help expand innovative ideas such as this one to other students around the U.S. who lack adequate internet access?

• Understand more about how COVID-19 highlights the connectivity gap in rural communities. 

Hopewell City Public Schools in Hopewell, Virginia, has plans to retrofit 31 school buses with wireless routers to provide Wi-Fi access to roughly 1,000 students who don’t have reliable internet access at home during the novel coronavirus pandemic.

The buses will be deployed within a few weeks to densely populated areas of the city, the school district's supervisor of information technology Kris Reed told Smart Cities Dive. The wireless signal from the parked buses can reach homes within about 300 feet, or the length of a football field, he said.

The pandemic has brought a new sense of urgency for cities and school districts across the country to address the digital divide as students learn from home.

"On a normal school day, we have no issues with equity in the classroom as far as technology goes," Reed said, but providing students with an equitable opportunity for learning during the pandemic has been a challenge.

"On a normal school day, we have no issues with equity in the classroom as far as technology goes," Reed said, but providing students with an equitable opportunity for learning during the pandemic has been a challenge.

Some of Hopewell’s neighboring school divisions have put up internet access points outside of school buildings, allowing students to drive to the school and access the internet from the parking lot, according to Reed.

Reed and his team decided to think outside-the-box and use a more flexible solution. "Instead of having kids come to us for the internet, we’re going to take the internet to the kids." It’s unacceptable for students —​ especially on hot days —​ to sit in a car parking lot to complete their assignments, he said.

Read the full article about increasing access to wifi by Cailin Crowe at Education Dive.