North Carolina Earns Federal Funding for E-Learning | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Raleigh, N.C. - Governor Pat McCrory announced today that North Carolina will receive more than $23 million to expand Wi-Fi access to K-12 classrooms throughout the state, bringing the total funding for this initiative to nearly $40 million. The funding is part of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) E-rate program. The federal dollars will allow North Carolina to meet the changing need of technology by extending high performance Wi-Fi to over 20,000 classrooms in support of digital learning, benefiting over 375,000 students.

• "By providing all students in North Carolina with access to high-speed wireless Internet in the classroom, we will ensure that our students from rural corners of Dare County or Cherokee County, to those in our most densely populated cities, are provided with identical educational learning opportunities of the highest caliber. At a time when so many students across the globe are connected to the Internet on a daily basis, and when educators see greater use of online materials as an immediate benefit to individual learners, wireless access has become as vital to classrooms as blackboards, textbooks and pencils once were."

    In 2014, Governor McCrory, Lt. Governor Dan Forest, State Superintendent June Atkinson, and State Chief Information Officer Chris Estes met with the FCC to encourage the use of federal funding for Wi-Fi in North Carolina.

    "This announcement comes after countless hours of work to position North Carolina to be the foremost leader in digital education," said Lt. Governor Dan Forest. "I believe we will be the first state in the nation to have every single classroom connected to high-speed wireless and to have one-to-one devices in the hands of our students. When we combine this with effective training, appropriate content and strong leadership, we will be one step closer to bridging the education opportunity divide that plagues many of our communities across the state."

    North Carolina is already a national leader in extending broadband access to public schools. Every K - 12 school in the state is served by high-speed broadband, but only 44% of schools have Wi-Fi in the classroom. In keeping with his commitment to building a 21st century technology infrastructure, Governor McCrory received the FCC's support to expand Internet access from the school house door to the inside of each classroom.

    "This announcement is great news for North Carolina's public school students," said Superintendent Atkinson. "Through the work of many people, North Carolina students will have greater access to the Internet and to the digital learning resources they need for more personalized learning and for success."

    Funding from this initiative will allow North Carolina to extend next-generation wireless connections to every classroom and student, and make North Carolina an e-learning role model for the rest of the country.

    "Classroom Wi-Fi is an essential element in building North Carolina's digital infrastructure," said State CIO Chris Estes. "This effort is crucial in developing the science, technology, engineering and math skills that students will need to succeed in the workforce."

    The first bill Governor McCrory signed supported the transition from textbooks to digital learning. The Friday Institute at North Carolina State University contributed to the effort to competitively procure school network equipment and services and worked closely with the FCC on the E-Rate funding details.

• Contact: Crystal Feldman
•     govpress@nc.gov