October 26, 2015
Today’s Mobile Citizen story features Herron High School, a public charter school in Indianapolis. Only 11 days left till the shutdown. Sign our petition today.
Katie Dorsey is an academic advisor at Herron High School, where almost 10 percent of the school’s 700+ students were named AP scholars last year. Most of the honor students have home Internet access; however, Dorsey wrote she often hears stories like Faith’s:
“We do not have Internet at home and it is difficult for Faith to get school work done,” expressed a parent. Eventually Faith approached me, shyly, and said, “I heard that the school might be able to help with Internet. My friend didn’t have it at her house, but then Herron helped her. It’s hard for me to get my school work done at night. Do you think you can help me, too?”
Faith is not alone. When Sprint shut downs service to over 300,000 vulnerable Americans on Nov. 6, thousands of students will lose the ability to complete their work at home, which is often crucial for keeping up in classes. Students like Tyus, a Herron High student whose story Dorsey shared:
His family always had to go to the library for Internet access, which was challenging, especially in the evenings when the libraries were either busy or closed. Having a mobile Internet device at home not only helped Tyus bring up his grades last spring, it also helped his family when they had to research to find a new place to live. The new hotspot he received this fall luckily works in their new home.
If you agree that Faith, Tyus and all students across the country deserve the ability to keep up with their school work and have a better chance for a brighter future, please sign our petition.