November 2, 2015
Today’s Mobile Citizen story features Académie Lafayette in Kansas City. Only 4 days left till the shutdown. Sign our petition today.
Many Académie Lafayette teachers travel from other countries to teach at the French immersion charter school, arriving in Kansas City without basic needs like housing. Hotspots from Mobile Citizen give these teachers immediate Internet access — something they might struggle to secure without a permanent residence, local bank account or, sometimes, proficient English skills.
Having immediate and unrestricted access is not only convenient but essential once these teachers enter their classrooms, according to Jessica Wallace, Development Director and Assistant to the Head of School.
“Much of their preparation for class is done at home and on their own time,” Wallace said. “It helps them get their day-to-day work done without having to be stuck at school into the evening after school is finished.”
Académie Lafayette has also offered Internet access to families of students who lack it at home.
“Much of our school work and parent-school communications are done almost exclusively online now, so having a reliable option for both teachers and families has been important to us,” Wallace said.
Capping data at 6GB a month, as Sprint plans to do after its Nov. 6 shutdown of the WiMAX network, would impair teachers and students who rely on Mobile Citizen hotspots, according to Wallace.
“Even for simple things like checking e-mail, especially if there was an attachment or a video or voice message as in the case with how our school delivers voicemails, a slower connection would be prohibitive.”
If you agree that teachers and students at Académie Lafayette and 428 other schools across the country deserve broadband access that meets their needs, please sign our petition.