Cox donates computers to Providence school

PROVIDENCE – Cox Communications donated six new computers to West Broadway Middle School as part of the company’s commitment to helping bring students online.

Cox donated the computers on Oct. 22 as part of National Computer Learning Month.
The new computers will supplement older computers the middle school uses to allow more students the ability to get online and master today’s digital tools.
In a press release from Cox, the company said the computers will help students complete homework assignments and explore online learning opportunities.

Cox cited an Internet study by Pew Research Center that found 56 percent of teachers of the lowest income students said a lack of resources among students to access digital technologies is a “major challenge” to incorporating more digital tools into their teaching, compared with 21 percent of teachers of the highest income students.

“With these computers, students will be able to build the skills needed to help them complete homework assignments, participate in online learning and complete research projects. And, with our partnership with Connect2Compete, we are also providing affordable access to families who may otherwise not have the ability to have Internet at home,” Pipier Bewlay, Interim Regional Manager and Senior Vice President and Vice President of Human Resources at Cox Communications, said in a statement.

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In addition to Bewlay and Cox Vice President of Government and Public Affairs Jennifer Bramley, those who attended the computer donation event included Providence School Department Superintendent Susan Lusi, Connect2Compete Regional Director Kurt Peluso, West Broadway Middle School Principal William Black, and West Broadway Middle School students and their families.
“Internet access is vital at school and increasingly at home for academic success,” Lusi said in a statement. “This donation from Cox helps to increase our students’ access and goes a long way toward leveling the playing field as they learn to incorporate technology into learning.”
Connect2Compete’s goal is to make high-speed Internet and computers affordable to everyone, regardless of income; the C2C program offers families with at least one child receiving free school lunch through the National School Lunch Program $9.95 Internet through Cox.
“We simply can’t afford to have two Rhode Islands – one where students are connected to all the opportunity the Internet has to offer and the other disconnected living in a bygone era,” Kurt Peluso, regional director, Connect2Compete, said in a statement. “That’s why we are here, because low-income students and their families deserve to have all the tools they need to compete and succeed in the 21st century economy.”
According to C2C, more than 75 percent of K-12 teachers assign Internet-based homework that students without broadband and digital skills are struggling to complete. Students with a PC and broadband at home have graduation rates that are 6 to 8 percent higher than similar students who lack home access to the Internet.

Eligible families are able to enroll through C2C via phone (1-855-222-3217) or online at http://www.connect2compete.org/cox/.

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