In September the libraries of Unit 7 applied for and received a digital networking grant from the Illinois State Library. This grant titled Expanding the Walls aligns with the mission statement of Unit 7 Schools, which is “to support the development of academic excellence, developmental responsiveness and social equity for all students." During these challenging times of remote learning and blended learning, we know that having reliable Internet connectivity is essential, and this grant seeks to address that problem outside of the normal school hours for our school devices.
Five remote access points that are designed to withstand many different weather situations are now mounted on the outside of the high school and junior high buildings. This will permit Internet access available to anyone sitting in the parking lots with a school-issued device. To access this, a student simply needs to sign in to his/her school-issued devices, and the network will automatically connect.
We had hoped to have this additional access to our students earlier; however, as with many technological devices during the pandemic, equipment was back-ordered. However, this additional access should serve the students of Unit 7 schools for many years to come.