Bancroft Public Library Hosts Partnership to Help Close the Homework
Gap for
Bancroft-Rosalie Community School Students
High-speed
Internet access is essential to Nebraska schoolchildren and a partnership
between the Bancroft-Rosalie
Community School school district and the public library will demonstrate
an innovative way to ensure that children can use digital resources for
homework. The Bancroft Public Library
is collaborating with the Bancroft-Rosalie Community School district to
increase Internet speeds at the public library using fixed wireless technology
to provide additional Internet to the library, augmenting the current Internet
service.
The Nebraska Library Commission has been
awarded a National Leadership Sparks Grant of $25,000 by the Institute of
Museum and Library Services (IMLS) to support this partnership with the Nebraska Office of the Chief Information Officer
(OCIO) and five local school districts and public libraries. The Nebraska Schools and
Libraries—Breaking the Ice and Igniting Internet Relationships grant is one of 26 projects out
of 117 applications to receive funding totaling $5,770,682 to support libraries
across the nation.
Bancroft-Rosalie
is one of five Nebraska school districts and public libraries that will work
together as partners to increase Internet access to up to one gigabit
(1,000Mbps) of Internet speed for a designated homework hotspot for school
district students and staff. This will help close the “homework gap” that rural
students face when attempting to complete homework assignments and school
projects without a reliable Internet source at home. Five rural Nebraska communities
will participate in this one-year project beginning June 1: Bancroft, Genoa,
Imperial, Verdigre, and Wymore. The libraries will use the school districts’
networks to augment existing Internet service, supplementing it with high-speed
Internet access for K-12 students and staff of the school district.
“As Nebraska students and teachers embrace
digital learning, Nebraska public libraries look for new partnership models
with schools to ensure equal access to digital learning resources for all
students. Students need broadband services outside of school and after school
hours. Libraries fill the gap and contribute to educational achievement. This
project demonstrates the commitment of Nebraska’s public libraries to provide
high-speed Internet service through innovative educational partnerships with
schools. We thank the schools and libraries that have committed to
demonstrating this innovative approach to school and public library
collaboration,” said Nebraska Library Commission Director Rod Wagner.
“The State of Nebraska’s Office of the CIO is
pleased to partner with the Nebraska Library Commission on this project to
improve Internet access in small, rural public libraries and to leverage the
investments made in the state education network, Network Nebraska,” said Ed
Toner, the State Chief Information Officer.
“Better Internet access for our students and
teachers is an essential component of the quality education we provide in our
community,” said Lesa Bargmann, Bancroft librarian. “Students will be better
able to complete homework assignments, collaborate in groups on research
projects, access online instruction, work on special projects, and undertake
other digital learning activities.”
This project was made possible in
part by the Institute of Museum and Library Services [IMLS grant:
LG-99-18-0018-18].
The Institute of Museum and Library Services
is the primary source of federal support for the nation’s approximately 120,000 libraries and 35,000 museums. Our mission is to inspire libraries and museums
to advance innovation, lifelong learning, and cultural and civic engagement.
Our grant making, policy development, and research help libraries and museums
deliver valuable services that make it possible for communities and individuals
to thrive. To learn more, visit www.imls.gov and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
As Nebraska’s state library agency, the Nebraska Library Commission is an
advocate for the library and information needs of all Nebraskans. The mission
of the Library Commission is statewide promotion, development, and coordination
of library and information services—“bringing together people and information.”
The most up-to-date news releases from the Nebraska Library Commission are
always available on the Library Commission website, http://nlc.nebraska.gov (search on News
Releases).
The Nebraska Office of the Chief Information Officer
(OCIO) is the State’s agency for Information Technology services. Through
partnerships with public organizations, the OCIO provides coordinated IT
management, enterprise oversight, and reliable solutions to support the
business needs of the state agencies, boards, commissions, and political
subdivisions serving Nebraska. Its staff helps manage Network Nebraska, the
statewide telecommunications network serving public and private K-12 schools
and higher education entities. Network Nebraska is uniquely positioned to
assist public libraries with faster and lower cost commodity Internet and
peered routing achieved through statewide aggregation and consortium E-rate
expertise.
