Cincinnati Enquirer / September 23, 2014
When Oyler 10th grader Kayla Elliott wants to use the Internet after school, she has to go to a friend’s house, the library or the nearby McDonald’s.
Sometimes, she and her friends try to guess the passwords when notifications pop up on their phones that they’re in range of a locked hot spot, she said.
Kayla is among up to 140 students – about 20 percent of Oyler’s student body – who don’t have Internet access at home. That makes it hard to work on homework, talk to friends on social media or look things up on Google.
But an announcement Tuesday changes that for her, er neighbors and their neighbors. In fact, it changes things for the entire community of Lower Price Hill.
Cincinnati-based communications provider Powernet announced it will provide free universal Wi-Fi to every man, woman and child in Lower Price Hill. Residents will now be able to access the Internet in their homes, in neighborhood businesses, on the sidewalk or even in cars parked on the street.
The service, coupled with the donation of 50 tablets valued at $16,000 to Oyler School and Community Learning Center, isn’t just about providing a convenience. It’s about creating equity in a distressed neighborhood, leveling a playing field that for too long has been lopsided, officials said.
“This is bigger than one school and one neighborhood,” said City Councilman P.G. Sittenfeld, who chairs the city’s education and entrepreneurship committee. “It’s about what kind of society we want to be.”
The goal, he said, is to expand. Other neighborhoods could be next. Powernet officials say they’ll look at the feasibility for any interested neighborhood.
Meanwhile on Tuesday a symbolic ribbon cutting ceremony on the stage at Oyler school opened up a whole new world for Lower Price Hill….
So Powernet worked with Oyler School, a Cincinnati Public School that has received national attention for its “community learning center” model.
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