2020 BB4E Support
When the COVID-19 pandemic started, the NM Public Education Department, the NM Indian Affairs Department, and the NM Department of Information Technology immediately partnered to support the home digital learning connectivity needs of K-12 students statewide. The following reflects just some of the work that has been done thus far.
- Immediately created the New Mexico Homework Gap Team that routinely meets and is devoted to quickly finding solutions for student home connectivity through research, advisement, outreach, and collaboration
- Mapped over 500 public Wi-Fi hot spots (https://nmbbmapping.org/mapping/) and helped coordinate new areas for connectivity statewide
- Distributed approximately 6,200 Chromebooks, 102 Cradle Points, and 700 residential hotspots---all of which went to Tribal communities, including the Navajo Nation
- Performed geospatial analysis to identify and map student residential addresses unserved by broadband likely needing support
- Obtained over 51,000 Internet Service Provider quotes for quick-to-implement digital learning capable broadband solutions for up to 12,000 addresses/19,000 students residing in unserved rural areas (https://webnew.ped.state.nm.us/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/FAQs-for-GEER-and-Broadband-for-Students-FINAL.pdf)
- Deployed a custom online quote portal for participating public schools/districts to easily shop quotes
- Continue to work closely with the Internet Service Provider community to find quick, affordable, and dependable broadband solutions for students
- Exploring the possibility of piloting newer technologies to expand accessibility in hard to reach areas
BB4E Initiative Overview (October 2015 - December 2018)
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