Tacoma school kids who need them can get devices, internet access from new partnership

A new program launched this week to help bridge the gap for thousands of Tacoma students still without access to laptops or internet for online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Tacoma Public Schools, the Foundation for Tacoma Students and Rainier Connect have partnered to provide devices and high-speed internet to Tacoma families.

The foundation has set aside $30,000 to help purchase and distribute laptops to students and started contacting families this week.

Expecting that funding to go quickly, the foundation also opened a platform to collect donations from the community. Donations can be made at graduatetacoma.org.

Students also will be provided with home internet service through Rainier Connect. The connections will be for up to one year at no cost.

“We want Tacoma students to be successful and since they cannot be in school, we’re proud to do our part with broadband connections that support their education while class is safely taking place at home,” Brian Haynes, president and CEO of Rainier Connect, said in a press release.

Rainier Connect provides the installation, a wireless modem and will aid families in connecting their devices to the internet in the home, spokesperson Lorie Hills said in an email.

“We have also established a way for us to connect them to the district IT contact if they call in with device problems,” Hills said. “Essentially, our goal is to make this as seamless and easy as possible for each family.”

Rainier Connect is offering the same program to the Eatonville and Clover Park school districts.

A list of 50 local free high-speed Wi-Fi locations is also now available and listed at TacomaLearns.org.

The partnership comes after TPS distributed 2,500 laptops to help students participate in online learning last month. They ran out within days, highlighting a large need for devices among Tacoma students.

About 5,000 Tacoma Public School students said they didn’t have access to the internet, a device or both at home, according to a survey conducted by the district in April.

That number is likely much larger — the survey only represented 13,900 students out of TPS’s 30,000 total enrollment.

The district put in another order for laptops for a second round of distribution, but that’s unlikely to happen this school year.

“Last I checked, the vendors are all backed up with orders from across the country and having trouble fulfilling orders,” Voelpel said.

The team at Foundation for Tacoma Students has been in touch with Best Buy and other retailers to identify devices to use. There’s a high demand for devices across the board.

“As we are seeing with many retailers right now, we have been given a variety of delivery time ranges,” said Cecilia Garza, communication director with Foundation for Tacoma Students. “Because of the public health crisis, it’s been difficult to know exactly when and how many will be turned around to families. However, we remain committed to making sure students who don’t have a device and or don’t have internet are able to get what they need to get connected.”

If you or someone you know needs internet access or a device, visit TacomaLearns.org for more information or call 253-327-1448.

This story was originally published May 6, 2020 at 12:43 PM.