QCISD, ZOOM deliver internet service to students via hotspots

It is often said that, “Necessity is the mother of invention,” but that statement has never been truer for educators than during the COVID 19 school closures.

At the onset of the shutdown, Queen City ISD Assistant Superintendent and Director of Curriculum and Instruction, Shannon Henderson along with the District Technology Influencers Committee began brainstorming ideas for alternative means of instruction.

The obvious and immediate answer was to move classes to an online platform, but this solution brought about additional obstacles for a rural district like Queen City ISD.

To ascertain exactly what the district was up against, a survey was made available to all parents in the district on Monday, Mar. 16, in hopes of gaining a better understanding of the availability of technology in the homes.

“We knew early on that we needed to verify what our families’ capabilities were for distance learning,” said Mrs. Henderson, “So we began our quest for a solution that would match our resources to their needs.”

One piece of the puzzle fell into place during a routine maintenance check performed on the district’s internet tower performed by ZOOM when one of the technicians mentioned that they specialized in internet access for rural areas.

Spurred by the excitement of this possibility, Mrs. Henderson went to work creating a location map by placing a pin at the addresses of students without service.

Mrs. Henderson, along with ZOOM technicians utilized the map to choose locations most heavily concentrated with students without internet accessibility but that also provided an area where users could park safely.

It was decided that hotspots could be placed on buses and then driven to these locations where students along with their parents could literally drive up to access internet service.

In addition to providing online services, QC ISD was able to use the results from the survey to supply each of these homes with a chrome book as well.

“Queen City ISD appreciates the willingness of ZOOM Internet Services, Calvary Tabernacle, and the QC ISD Transportation Department to partner with the district in ensuring that a continuity of education is provided for our students and families during this difficult time.”