AT&T and leading nonprofit Connected Nation are continuing work to place connectivity solutions vital to education into the hands of those who need it most.
Eight nonprofit organizations and four schools throughout New York State have received more than 3,500 free hotspots from Connected Nation, as well as free internet connectivity for a year. They are part of more than 100 organizations and school districts that will benefit from a $10 million commitment first announced by AT&T last year to provide free internet subscriptions and wireless hotspots to 35,000 vulnerable students across the country.1
New York nonprofit organizations and schools that have received free hotspots and connectivity:
- The Children’s Village (Bayside)
- Buffalo Collegiate Charter School (Buffalo)
- Project Rousseau (NYC)
- InnovateEDU (Brooklyn)
- New Alternatives for Children (NYC)
- Project Morry (Port Chester)
- District 79-NYC DEO (NYC)
- Women in Need (NYC)
- Albany Fund for Education (Albany)
- DREAM Charter School (NYC)
- East Ramapo Central School District (Spring Valley)
- The Salvation Army Saratoga Springs (Saratoga Springs)
An estimated 17 million K-12 students nationwide currently lack access to the connectivity and devices required for successful online learning. While this homework gap is not new, the pandemic has heightened the challenges — most acutely in rural and under-resourced neighborhoods, where the effects disproportionately impact 1 in 3 students of color, as well as students with disabilities, and roughly 10 percent of all public school teachers.
Whether students are learning remotely or are in the classroom, having access to affordable high-speed internet service and devices is non-negotiable for successful learning outcomes.
This support of students across New York is part of AT&T Connected Learning, the Company’s $2 billion investment over the next 3 years to help address the digital divide by helping to stem the tide of learning loss, narrow the homework gap, and create compelling educational content.
“By helping to expand connectivity for the students across New York, we can play a role in narrowing the homework gap and helping address inequities associated with the digital divide.”
Amy Kramer — President, AT&T New York
“By helping to expand connectivity for the students across New York, we can play a role in narrowing the homework gap and helping address inequities associated with the digital divide.” said Amy Kramer, President, AT&T New York. “These schools and nonprofits are critical to serving and supporting some of the most at-risk students across New York.
“What makes this program so critical is that it seeks to help students who have been disproportionately disconnected from formal learning opportunities due to COVID-19,” said Tom Ferree, Chairman & CEO, Connected Nation. “The investment being made through the AT&T K-12 homework gap program will not only allow these kids to fully participate in remote learning now, but also allow them to catch up on learning lost during the pandemic. We must all work together to minimize and mitigate the impact that the pandemic has had on our must vulnerable youth.”
In addition to contributions to organizations and schools in New York, AT&T is expanding wireless affordability and flexibility for all schools in its service area with unlimited wireless data plans that include content filtering services to support online safety protocols.
Learn more about the offer here or visit www.att.com/closethegap.
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1 Selected recipients are required to agree to certain terms before receiving internet subscriptions and wireless hotspots.
