State Board of Education provides $14.8 million to improve schools’ technology infrastructure

GaDOE, GOSA, OGA partnership provides more than $36.7 million in funds to 103 local education agencies

MEDIA CONTACT: Matt Cardoza, GaDOE Communications Office, (404) 651-7358, mcardoza@gadoe.org

October 27, 2014 – The State Board of Education voted today to contribute more than $14.8 million in bond funds toward grants that will allow 103 local education agencies (LEAs) to improve their internet infrastructure, part of a larger effort to ensure all classrooms have the high-speed broadband access required for digital and blended learning.

One state charter school and 102 districts received a total of more than $36.7 million in grants from Connections for Classrooms, a collaborative funding effort between the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), the Governor’s Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), and the One Georgia Authority (OGA).

The five top-scoring districts – Thomas, Peach, Tattnall, Ben Hill, and Laurens counties – will receive full funding to have wireless built out to every classroom once grant funds are paired with estimated federal E-Rate funds.

“As technology advances, educators have an unprecedented opportunity to provide personalized learning to every student,” State Superintendent Dr. John Barge said. “However, schools cannot fully take advantage of that opportunity without access to adequate infrastructure. Through this program and others, we are working to ensure that every Georgia classroom is fully equipped for digital learning.”

The Connections for Classrooms grant program is part of a broader effort that includes expanding the University System of Georgia’s (USG) Peachnet network to connect every Georgia LEA to its high-speed network. The partnership between GaDOE and USG will ensure that all district central offices have 100 megabits of bandwidth per second, per school by July 2015. Connections for Classrooms broadens this expansion to ensure that schools have sufficient network infrastructure to effectively utilize that increased bandwidth at the classroom level.

Click here for the full list of school districts awarded with Connections for Classrooms grants.