For Immediate Release
$650,000 to Provide Internet Access in
Connecticut Schools, Libraries, and Districts
May 22, 2000
Washington, D.C. — Senators Chris Dodd and Joe Lieberman, both D-Conn., today announced that 47 Connecticut schools, libraries, and districts will share more than $650,000 to provide access to the Internet and upgrade computer and communications networks.
The grants were awarded as part of the national E-rate initiative created by the Telecommunications Act of 1996. E-rate funding is intended to provide affordable Internet access and computer resources to schools and libraries, especially those in rural and disadvantaged areas. Senators Dodd and Lieberman were original co-sponsors of the E-rate legislation.
"The E-rate initiative is first rate because it literally puts our children in touch with the future," said Dodd. "It provides the technological tools children need today to make the most of their lives tomorrow."
"One of the most basic ways to bridge the digital divide is to make sure that every student has access to the Internet in school," Lieberman said. "For children who don't have home computers, the E-rate initiative may be their only on-ramp to the information superhighway. This grant will help ensure that Connecticut's classrooms are wired to take full advantage of Internet-based learning, so every student is properly prepared for our technology-driven New Economy."
This is the third year of funding for the E-rate initiative, which has received more than 36,000 applications from schools and libraries across the country. In addition to this latest round of grants, Connecticut has received more than $4 million in E-rate funding.
The percentage of schools with Internet access has more than doubled since the E-rate initiative was implemented, but individual classroom access remains a priority. Currently, four out of five Connecticut schools report inadequate classroom access to telephone lines, and 60 percent of classrooms in wealthier communities have Internet access compared to under 40 percent of lower-income classrooms.
The most recent wave of E-rate grants were awarded as follows:
| Grant Amount: | School, District, or Library: |
| |
| $8,820.90 | Bryant Elementary School, Bridgeport. |
| $7,540.00 | Canterbury Public Schools, Canterbury. |
| $20,843.76 | Cheshire School District, Cheshire. |
| $2,664.00 | Chester Elementary Schools, Chester. |
| $1,008.00 | Colchester School District, Colchester. |
| $3,120.00 | Cold Springs School, New Haven. |
| $14,718.40 | Common Ground High School, New Haven. |
| $831.50 | Derby Neck Library, Derby. |
| $600.00 | East Haddam Board of Education, Moodus. |
| $10,320.00 | East Hampton School District, East Hampton. |
| $27,654.00 | Ellington School District, Ellington. |
| $6,127.97 | Fairfield Country Day School, Fairfield. |
| $8,551.68 | Guilford School District, Guilford. |
| $1,200.00 | Hebron School District, Hebron. |
| $5,046.30 | Lawrence-Dunbar Elementary School, Bridgeport. |
| $11,400.00 | Litchfield Public School District, Litchfield. |
| $67,929.95 | Middletown School District, Middletown. |
| $2,352.00 | New Milford Public Library, New Milford. |
| $14,688.00 | New Milford School District, New Milford. |
| $6,510.00 | North Canaan Elementary School, Canaan. |
| $12,285.73 | North Stonington School District, North Stonington. |
| $88,104.00 | Norwalk Public Schools, Norwalk. |
| $5,176.80 | Norwich Free Academy, Norwich. |
| $11,836.80 | Notre Dame High School, West Haven. |
| $3,035.62 | Our Lady of Mercy School, Madison. |
| $10,090.92 | Plymouth School District, Terryville. |
| $6,862.40 | Regional District #11 Chaplin Public Schools Parish Hill High, Chaplin. |
| $11,040.00 | Regional School District #4, Deep River. |
| $10,800.00 | Regional School District #9, Monroe. |
| $3,779.28 | Rogers Magnet School, Stamford. |
| $6,624.00 | Salisbury Central Elementary School, Lakeville. |
| $1,878.00 | Scotland School District, Scotland. |
| $152,996.54 | Sprague Elementary School, Waterbury. |
| $3,128.00 | St. George the Great School, Danbury. |
| $400.00 | St. Thomas Aquinas School, Fairfield. |
| $936.00 | Stonington Free Library, Stonington. |
| $10,357.20 | Stonington School District, Old Mystic. |
| $11,321.85 | Thompson Public Schools, North Grosvenordl. |
| $513.60 | Town of New Fairfield. |
| $8,776.46 | Watertown Public Schools, Watertown. |
| $3,762.00 | Welles-Turner Memorial Library, Glastonbury. |
| $62,336.98 | Weston Public Schools, Weston. |
| $2,880.00 | Wilton School District, Wilton. |
| $8,162.94 | Windham Public School District, Willimantic. |
| $15,941.29 | Windsor School District, Windsor. |
| $8,723.57 | Woodbridge School District, Woodbridge. |
| $6,288.00 | Wooster School, Danbury. |
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