Allentown School District gets grant to purchase thousands of internet hot spots

The Allentown School District has received a state grant to purchase 3,517 Wi-Fi hot spots for students.

The $844,000 grant was funded through the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development. In a news release, the district said the grant was made possible through the work of Allentown state representatives Peter Schweyer and Mike Schlossberg, both Democrats, and Lehigh County Republican state Sen. Pat Browne.

In a statement, Superintendent Thomas Parker said the grant will help the district narrow the digital divide among its students.

“As we work to provide a high-quality virtual education experience for ASD students, a computer and Wi-Fi access have become just as essential as a pencil and paper,” Parker said.

Allentown’s more than 16,000 students started the school year virtually because of the coronavirus pandemic. Every student has received a computer to do lessons on. The hot spots purchased through the grant will mean that the district has acquired more than 4,000 hot spots since March to give students access to the internet. Earlier this year, Allentown received 1,000 hot spots through a partnership with the Allentown School District Foundation and Century Fund.

Hot spots are first given to schools with the highest level of poverty. The schools then distribute the devices to families who indicated in surveys that they do not have access to the internet. In Allentown, more than three-quarters of students are considered low-income.

MORNING CALLFILE PHOTO Allentown School District has received more than $800,000 from the state to purchase internet hot spots for students in the district who don’t have internet access at home.