Good morning everyone,

The equipment pictured is being installed today and tomorrow on our 8 route buses, 2 trip buses, and 2 spare buses that are used for routes and trips. In addition to this equipment that will be installed is a portable unit that will be available for staff to use on activities where WiFi is needed and not available.

The Electronic Connectivity Fund was created by the federal government to help schools and libraries attain WiFi for students where it wasn't already available. The fund takes care of the cost of equipment, the installation of the equipment, and the first "school year" of connectivity fees.

You may be asking, "why do you need WiFi on a school bus?" There are three very appealing reasons. First, it has been suggested by articles I have read that school districts that have installed WiFi hotspots on school buses have seen their discipline issues on those buses reduced by 50%. Secondly, some of Putnam County's students ride the route bus for an hour and a half each way. That's three hours available for doing homework. Also, our students who attend extracurricular activities will also have access to the internet to complete homework assignments. This is huge for those activities that take place during the school day or late into the evening. Last, if our school district ever has to be closed for an extended amount of time, we will have the capability of parking busses throughout the county to provide hotspots for students who don't have access to the internet at home.

The WiFi systems have three levels of content filtering. They will be installed with a k-8 filter rating. The overall purpose is for the students to be able to use their Chromebooks on the school bus, making the most of their time! The equipment is ours and as we update buses we will remove the WiFi routers and antennas and install them on updated buses. Should you have any questions at all, feel free to give me a call at 660-947-2494 (399).

Sincerely,

C. Allen Tipton
Transportation Director
Putnam County R-I Schools