Stephens Co. School System Receives Technology Grant

Stephens County is one more than 100 school systems to receive grant money to help with technology improvements.

In all, $36.7 million in grants are being awarded through a program called “Connections for Classrooms.”

That is a collaborative funding effort between the Georgia Department of Education, Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, and the One Georgia Authority designed to allow school systems to improve their internet infrastructure, which is part of a larger effort to ensure all classrooms have high-speed broadband access.

The state’s Department of Education said Stephens County is receiving $231,021.20 in grant funds.

State education officials said the “Connections for Classrooms” grant program is part of a broader effort that includes expanding the University System of Georgia’s “Peachnet” network to connect every Georgia local education agency to its high-speed network.

Officials said the partnership between the Georgia Department of Education and University System of Georgia will ensure that all district central offices have 100 megabits of bandwidth per second, per school by July 2015 and the “Connections for Classrooms” effort broadens this expansion to ensure that schools have sufficient network infrastructure to effectively utilize that increased bandwidth at the classroom level.

State School Superintendent Dr. John Barge said that as technology advances, educators have an unprecedented opportunity to provide personalized learning to every student, but adds that schools cannot fully take advantage of that opportunity without access to adequate infrastructure.

Barge said through this program and others, the state is working to ensure that every Georgia classroom is fully equipped for digital learning.