Nevada Education Broadband Grant - Round II
These grant funds were distributed throughout the State to support broadband and WAN new construction projects in Nevada school districts, and included charter schools. The funds could be used for any broadband construction project that brings enhanced broadband to a school, such as the installation of fiber optic cable, microwave towers, wireless solutions, hybrid solutions, or other similar broadband/WAN projects, resulting in improved broadband connectivity and enhanced student learning. The project had to provide broadband speeds to schools that meet or exceed the State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) standard of 1Mbps of Internet Access per student being served by the connection. Any public school district or charter school in Nevada was eligible.
Funding Information
Douglas County School District was awarded $790,000 which impacted 3 schools in the Gardnerville area, including; Pau-Wa-Lu Middle School, Scarselli Elementary School, and C.C. Meneley Elementary School. The grant funded the construction of fiber between the three schools, connecting them to the District’s fiber network. This project impacted a total of 1,466 students from 3 schools, who combined have the highest percentage of English Language Learners and Free and Reduced Lunch participants in the Douglas County School District.
Eureka County School District was awarded $20,000 to fund testing, repair and/or replacement for existing 24 strand single mode fiber line from the district technology base facility to the Nevada System of Higher Education (NSHE) Internet provider equipment facility in Eureka. ECSD initially installed this fiber 13 years ago. With this grant, ECSD can enable the school district and Eureka County to add more devices to their networks for current and future needs as they arise, affecting 3 schools and 250 students within the district.
Humboldt County School District was awarded $467,999 to install OM 4 fiber in outlying campus buildings and install microwave backhaul equipment utilizing existing towers between McDermitt and Winnemucca. Lowery High, Grass Valley Elementary, Sonoma Heights Elementary, and Winnemucca Grammar Schools were provided with OM4 fiber from the network core of each site to outlying buildings for each of these schools. HCSD installed microwave backhaul between McDermitt Combined Schools and the HCSD district office. By installing OM fiber between campus buildings and the microwave solution for McDermitt, HCSD students can utilize the full capacity of the given Internet connection at each location with connectivity speeds meeting FCC standards. This project affected 3,094 students and 11 schools throughout the district.
Mineral County School District was awarded $84,000 to upgrade Internet connections and infrastructure to expand opportunities for students to engage in a 21st Century learning environment for Hawthorne Elementary School, Schurz Elementary School, Mineral County School District Office, the maintenance yard, and the Hawthorne Junior High and High Schools with a student count of 582. MCSD’s plan included the replacement of category 5 cable in the internal infrastructure of the buildings that could not support their increased bandwidth funded by the E-rate program. The grant has allowed MCSD to replace the cable with fiber optic cabling within the buildings, and with a reliable network and internet connection, it has directly impacted their students by allowing them to access bandwidth-demanding content internally and on the internet itself.
Nye County School District was awarded $26,128 to extend and improve broadband connectivity from the main school buildings in Gabbs to the gymnasium. NCSD’s remote communities utilizing distance learning tools rely upon technology solutions to connect them to the core of the school district’s curriculum. The tools required more comprehensive delivery of video and other shared content. Having access to a larger space where those services can be delivered is invaluable to the students and educators in Gabbs.
Quest Preparatory Academy, a public charter school with two campuses; a K-8 campus with 2 elementary school buildings and 1 middle school building located in Las Vegas, was awarded $29,073 to install a trench system was between the middle school building and one elementary school building, connecting all three campus buildings to fiber optic cabling to provide a stable Internet system for all students. This project benefits the entire 500-student school and allows middle school students to interact online with their elementary school peers, as well as benefit the entire school community. School families, the majority of whom are low income and lack home Internet service, will now be able to access high-speed Internet through a parent computer hub at the school.
Signature Preparatory Charter School, a public charter school in Henderson, was awarded $191,274 to support the establishment of a fiber network infrastructure to bring high speed internet access to nearly 1,000 students annually. A fiber drop was pulled from the street to the school building along with an upgrade of the existing B100 Vault to B200 Vault. Internally, a network was established to include a server room, 33,000 feet of cat6 cable, and multiple wireless access points. This advanced connectivity speed allows for all students to readily be able to access cloud-based services, curriculum material available from web-based sources, Google Applications for Education, and academic standards-aligned streaming content. This project impacted learning opportunities for 100% of SPC’s students, Kindergarten through 8th grade.