Obama administration to subsidize internet access for poor families

Low-income families who can’t afford internet access at home will get subsidized access from the government under a program President Barack Obama unveiled Wednesday.

ConnectHome will bring affordable high-speed internet and digital devices home to poor students, beginning in 27 cities across the United States. Though officials say the technology will help poor families flourish, some educators say it isn’t a complete solution.

“I don’t think someone’s not going to be successful if they don’t have it,” said Nicole Goodman, the principal of a low-income school in Kansas City, adding students need “parental support, a qualified teacher, and a safe environment.”

Goodman said ConnectHome can meet an educational gap—giving students time at home to catch up on their studies. The companion ConnectEd program is said to be on track to connect 99 percent of K-12 students to the internet in their classrooms by 2017. But, when almost half of these low-income student go home, they don’t have access to the internet.

Housing Secretary Julian Castro has noted most college applications are submitted online, and declared families need 21st century tools to thrive.

But Goodman thinks Castro might not have the complete picture. Her Kansas City school is in one of the 27 urban areas ConnectHome plans to target first. Home internet access does matter to her students.

“I know there are some students who want to continue learning … they just don’t have access to what others have,” she said.

But her students need more than just equal internet access. In their low-income area, Goodman must be “creative,” just to provide her students with counselors, nurses, and quality teachers. She has to teach her student’s parents how to be supportive of their children’s education and sometimes even steer them towards adult classes. The parents care, she said, but they get ConnectHome, they might not even know how to use the digital devices or protect their children from internet stalkers and inappropriate content.

“It’s a great tool,” Goodman said of the internet. “But, we have to make sure we use it well.”

The Associated Press contributed to this report.