Dive Brief:

• OneCommunity, an Ohio-based nonprofit, recently began connecting schools and homes to high speed internet and working with them to identify and train families without sufficient internet access.
• The organization has been connecting public institutions like libraries and museums to high quality fiber optic cables since 2003 and has connected 800 Ohio institutions to the internet.
• The homes program, called Connect Your Community, focuses on low-income households and provides training for families on digital engagement and technology skills.

Dive Insight:

The program's goal is to fill access gaps across the state, both in terms of Internet speed and technological savvy. A separate initiative by OneCommunity is focused on STEM education and engagement, especially for computer science.

For other states and organizations looking to start something similar, OneCommunity's founder has a tip: find partners.

"We’ve learned that it definitely takes a village to sort through all of the technical, pedagogical, and student-related services, and to bring the technology community to the planning progress," OneCommunity CEO Lev Gonick told eSchool News. Also, he recommended making sure funding is stable and there are longterm plans for training and support.

"It can’t be solved through an intervention with just a few hundred parents," he said.