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Page A-12 — Shelton-Mason County Journal - Thursday, Oct. 22,
By sexless}
kbox/eitner@masoncounty. com
Comcast kicked off October by announcing its part-
nership with the Washington Office of Superinten-
dent of Public Instruction to connect low—incomeK-12
students across the state to the internet at home, free
of charge. .
However, several school districts in Mason Coun-
ty‘have pointed out the “last-mile problem” that re-
mains.
OSPI is taking advantage of Internet Essentials,
a Comcast program designed for low-income families
and people to get the internet to support Washing-
ton’s K-12 Internet Access Program.
The Comcast portion of the OSPI program would
serve up to 38,000 qualifying low-income families
with free internet service through the remainder of
the school year, directly affecting more than
1,000 low-income households in the Shelton School
HaVing Difficulty
Internet for some students faces 'last-mileproblem
District.
Congress has already provided $195 million to
'Washington’s school districts to address COVID-
related costs and $21 million to OSPI for statewide
coordination and support through the federal CARES
(Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security) Act.
However, many Mason County students face a more
fundamental stumbling block.
“Our issue in the Grapeview School District re-
volves around the lack of fiber in certain areas of
the district,” Superintendent Kurt Hilyard said. “We
have found success in distributing 19 hot spot devices
Hearing People with Masks? '
Mask wearing eliminates vital visual information like watching
another's lips
move to understand speech. This is a problem for those with hearing loss.
Miracle-Ear needs 15 qualified candidates to participate in a field test
study in determining the benefits of a new hearing instrument in the
Sheltonarea.
We have a limited supply of the Genius 4.0 test product currently on hand
and ready for testing. We
have also been authorized to offer significant discounts if you decide to
take the hearing Instruments
home. If you choose not to keep them,there's no risk or obligation of
any kind.
in an effort to accurately demonstrate the incredible performance of these
devices, specially trained
representatives will be conducting testing and demonstrations during this
special event. '
In addition to an audiometric hearing evaluation, candidates will receive a
fiber-optic otoscope
exam, a painless procedure that could reveal common hearing problems such
as excessive wax or
damage to the eardrum, as well as other common causes of hearing
deficiencies.
Dates: October 22th 28*"
‘> TO PARTICIPATE:
Mention Code ZOOdMask
1) You must be one of the first 15 people to call our office
You will be required to have your hearing tested in our office,
FREE OF CHARGE, to determine candidacy.
f
3) Report your results with the hearing instruments to the Hearing Care
Specialist over a three week test period.
Qualified candidates will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis
so please call us TODAY to secure your spot in the Product Field Test.
Product Test Site:
MIRACLE EAR SHELTON
116 W. RailroadAve. Ste. 106
Shelton WA 98584
360-836-4098
MIRACLE EAR ABERDEEN
323 W. Wishkah Street
Aberdeen WA 98520
360-205-5785.
Pursuant to terms of your purchase agreement. the aide may be returned for
a full refund within so
da of the com letion of (thin , in satisfactor condition. See store for
details.
r . Ashley Murphy
North Mason School District executive director of finance and operations
to some of our families. However, we have additional
families where hot spots would not work. Hence, we
need fiber installed in those hard-to-reach areas.”
Nikki Grubbs, superintendent of the Hood Canal
School District, said her district has distributed Veri—
zon Hotspots to several students whose homes do not
have internet access, but for a handful of students,
even these hot spots do not work.
“I don’t have exact numbers for you, but I am
guessing less than 10 families,” Grubbs said. “We
will attempt to access OSPI’s vendors and encourage
those families to apply for the services.”
Matthew Mallery, superintendent of the Mary M.
Knight School District, is gill exploring his district’s
options within the state’s internet access program,
while Jill Diehl, superintendent of the Pioneer School
District, estimated her district would be able to assist
about 3% to 5% of its students with internet access.
But Diehl conceded, “The bigger issue for our dis-
trict is the students who are in rural areas where
there is no internet access available.”
This “last-mile problem” stands out more starkly
in the North Mason School District.
“After getting information into the community re-
garding this program, we have had no families come
forward asking to participate,” said Ashley Murphy,
executive director of finance and operations for the
district. She joined other Mason County school dis-
trict officials in pointing out the total absence of in-
ternet infrastructure in many of their neighborhoods.
“A lot of our rural areas have no internet infra-
structure installed, so even if they wanted to partici-
pate, they would not be able to,” Murphy said.
Although a number of North Mason families are
using hot spots to access the internet, Murphy noted
that the seasonal turn toward rain and cold would
complicate the use of those hot spots for students who
normally walked to those areas and sat outside.
“So, we may see an interest in the program as
winter approaches,” Murphy said. “We have recently
brought in roughly 140 students in small cohorts,
who have been most adversely impacted by a lack of
connectivity, and have been identified as the farthest
from educational justice.” ,
The district has already purchased many wireless
‘ hot spots, but they only work in areas that can receive
a cellular connection, Murphy said. Likewise, the dis-
trict has installed outdoor internet boosters on sev-
eral of its buildings to increase the number of areas
with outdoor hot spots, but Murphy told the Shelton-
Mason County Journal that teachers are still having
to work with students and families who do not have
proper access to internet connectivity, to determine
the best methods for those students to receiVe and re-
turn their school work. ._
Southside School District Principal and Super-
intendent Doris Bolender said Southside has been
working diligently to get all of its students connected
to the internet during the pandemic. '
Even before Comcast announced its partnership
with OSPI, Southside has collaborated with families,
businesses and the public utility districts to provide
hot spots. Bolender also cited Assistant Principal Ro-
bie Spaulding’s work with T-Mobile and Verizon to
provide some reduced costs for services. .
“The Comcast agreement is one additional way-
that we can work with our families to provide a more
equitable opportunity during remote learning plans,”
Bolender said. “But because we have beenfairly suc-
cessful at getting most of our students some form of
' internet connection, they would not qualify under the
Comcast agreement.”
Bolender explained that under the Comcast agree-
ment, students must have had no internet connec—
tion in August, and qualify for free or reduced-price
lunches.
“Southside has about 2.5%, or five students, with
whom we are still Working to find solutions forinter-
net access,” Bolender said. “We’re hoping the Comcast
”
option will help us get even closer to the 100% mar .
Southside families without internet access are still
provided learning packets and Chromebooks, and Bo-
lender credited. the CARES Act with offsetting some
of the expenses associated with getting technology to
all of its families. ' ’
“Local educational dollars will support the remain-
ing‘costs,” Bolender said. “Because of schools, fami-
lies, government and businesses working together,
we are better able to provide increased learning op—
portunities for as many students as possible.”