Hotspot - Final Survey
The Gateway Regional School District is dedicated to providing access to remote learning for all of our students which is why the question of internet access has been asked in previous surveys regarding remote and hybrid instruction. We are aware that the vast majority of our students completed online work this spring after we were forced to move to remote only learning in March. We also know that the towns of Blandford and Middlefield currently have very limited access to internet services other than a smartphone or other 'hotspots' while the other towns have broadband coverage to between 96 and 100% of their residents.

In our last survey, we had many respondents from all towns requesting hotspots which was very different from the first survey (46 respondents needed internet in the first survey, 186 in the second survey). As with everything related to technology this year, there are some limitations on the availability of devices and funding. We currently have only 60 hotspots in hand and ready for distribution for 186 students requesting devices (with only 45 families from Blandford and Middlefield).

We will be using the results of this survey to prioritize the distribution of hotspots to families (and please remember that these hotspots require cell service to work, are limited to approximately 3 GB of data per month, the speed is considerably lower than any wired internet available in Chester, Huntington, Montgomery, and Russell, that speed is only slightly higher than the DSL services provided by Verizon to certain locations in our member towns, and the hotspots are programmed to only work on school-provided Chromebooks).

Our goal has always been to provide a hotspot primarily to those students who do not have any other recourse (DSL, Cable, or Fiber as 'wired' services) for the internet rather than to augment families who have or can obtain, internet service to their homes. We also understand that some families on free and reduced lunch status may have difficulty purchasing internet services and are willing to work with those families and internet providers to seek services at a reduced price.

In the first two surveys, we did not collect email addresses but due to time constraints and the need for speedy communications, we will be asking for email addresses in this survey. As always, individual survey results will not be shared publically and only used within the district's technology department to determine hotspot recipients.

We will respond to the surveys as they are completed with the intent of determining appropriate hotspot needs and releasing hotspots prior to the start of remote learning.

Is there any internet service available in your home (whether currently used/subscribed to or not currently hooked up)? *
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