UMVRDC staff will work with five local school districts and the nonprofit PCs for People to provide at least 50 computers to families in the region who currently do not have access to a home computer. There was at least one school in each of our five counties that responded with interest in participating in the program, including: MACCRAY, Benson, Lac qui Parle, Ortonville & Yellow Medicine East.
The goals of this program are:
- to provide families that currently do not have one with a home computer;
- encourage internet subscriptions to better connect parents with their child’s education; and
- to create an opportunity for school staff to share with parent’s information they can find on their school’s website.
As a result we hope this project will lessen the technological gap between students who have home access to a computer and those who do not, share the benefits of having an internet connection and strengthen parent’s interaction with their student’s school activities through interaction on the school’s website.
The UMVRDC will work with the local school districts to set up the program this spring. The program will be implemented over the summer months so that the 50 families receiving computers will be better connected and ready to start the new school year this fall.
This project was made possible through a Blandin Foundation grant as part of the Minnesota Intelligent Rural Communities (MIRC) Initiative. Learn more about about Blandin Foundation by visiting their website; learn more about the UMVRDC’s work with the MIRC Initiative by visiting the MIRC page here on our website.
