WEST UNION, W.Va.— Families with students in the Doddridge County school system will receive free broadband internet access for the upcoming school year.
The Doddridge County Board of Education, Citynet, the Doddridge County Economic Development Authority and the Doddridge County Commission announced the deal this week.
“All 568 households that have students in Doddridge County will receive free internet through this partnership,” Doddridge County School Superintendent Adam Cheeseman said Tuesday during an appearance on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Cheeseman said the partnership was formed in 2019 and then the pandemic hit. He said that situation reinforced how vital reliable broadband is.
“It really showed was the need for each student in Doddridge County and every student in West Virginia to have quality access for remote learning,” Cheeseman said.
The Doddridge County Commission began the effort six years ago when it allocated $1.5 million to the economic authority to attract a partner. The county BOE contributed $600,000 to the effort.
CityNet President and CEO Jim Martin said his company then worked on a plan to meet the county’s needs along with securing $12 million in federal funding.
“This project represents everything we set out to do when we partnered with Doddridge County back in 2019—bring real, reliable broadband to every corner of this community,” Martin said. “Watching that investment grow from $2.1 million to a $14 million network has been incredible, but this next step is the one we’re most proud of. Making sure every student in this county has the internet access they need to learn, without their family having to worry about the cost.”
Depending on service availability, families will have access to a connectivity solution that best serves their location. The solution will pair the best solution to address unique coverage challenges throughout the county.
Cheeseman said these are the foundational investments we can make to improve learning opportunities for every student. The public-private partnership is a model for other counties to improve access and provide new opportunities for school districts.
“We talk a lot about our students leaving West Virginia and our people leaving West Virginia, and how can we get them to stay? “Cheeseman asked. ” I think the answer is through education, and I think the answer is through developing these strong public-private partnerships.”
Universal broadband access will offer students flexibility on when they learn and for how long. Cheeseman said there will be some students that will take advantage of on-demand access and excel.
“It really does give us the opportunity and the flexibility to change what remote learning could look like,” Cheeseman said. “So, the student that wants to dive in deeper will have the ability to do that now and learn on their own.”
Recent changes in the legislature from days of instruction required to hours will also provide additional opportunities to be creative with schedules.
“There are now endless possibilities that we could look at to better serve kids and to best serve staff in terms of those remote days,” Cheeseman said. “We can really maximize instruction now.”