Federal Funds Help Private Schools Expand Internet Access

Seven private West Virginia schools will receive more than $120,000 from the Federal Communications Commission.

Hands are poised on the keyboard of a laptop ready to write.

Seven private West Virginia schools will receive more than $120,000 from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

The largest individual award of $53,850 will go to the Eastern Panhandle Preparatory Academy, a charter school in Kearneysville.

The other six awards are:

  • $37,600 – St. Patrick School, Weston
  • $6,926 – St. Michael School, Wheeling
  • $6,926 – Central Catholic High School, Wheeling
  • $6,926 – Our Lady of Peace School, Wheeling
  • $6,233 – St. Paul School, Weirton
  • $3,694 – Fairmont Catholic School, Fairmont

The funding is made possible through the Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF) and will help the schools purchase laptops and tablets, Wi-Fi hotspots, modems, routers and broadband connections for students, faculty and staff. 

The ECF was authorized as part of the American Rescue Plan to provide $7.17 billion to expand distance learning and connectivity around the country.

The most recent allocation last year went to Greenbrier, Nicholas, Wayne, Kanawha, Cabell and Lincoln County School Districts.

Author: Chris Schulz

Chris is WVPB's North Central/Morgantown Reporter and covers the education beat. Chris spent two years as the digital media editor at The Dominion Post newspaper in Morgantown. Before coming to West Virginia, he worked in immigration advocacy and education in the Washington, D.C. region. He is a graduate of the University of Maryland and received a Masters in Journalism from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism.

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