Wireless hot spots: A pandemic fix yielding lackluster results for rural students
Spare mobile hot spots are held at the Gadsden Independent School District offices on Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2022, in Sunland Park in southern Doña Ana County. During the pandemic, the district -- like many public school systems -- distributed hot spots to students to bridge connectivity gaps. But, because of several factors in this largely rural district, they weren't effective for many families. (Photo by Meg Potter/ Southern New Mexico Journalism Collaborative)
ANTHONY, NEW MEXICO — When the COVID-19 pandemic shut down the Gadsden Independent School District in March 2020, school officials began the daunting task of ensuring thousands of students spread out over nearly 1,500 square miles had access to a reliable internet connection for online courses.
“We knew there were some connectivity problems, but we did not know the extent,” said Sam Snody, GISD director of technology. “We literally called every family in the district asking about their internet access and its speed. At that point we discovered that, in rough numbers, we had 5,000 students without any type of internet at home. That’s … out of roughly 13,000 students in the district.”
So GISD did what most other public school districts did to address the problem: They issued personal, wireless hot spots to students.
The district wasn’t alone in its approach. More than 60 percent of public school principals reported they sent personal hot spots — “or other devices” – home with students to connect for distance learning, according to a study this year by the Institute of Education Sciences. And about half of public rural schools reported sending home these devices with their students.