School districts everywhere have been struggling with how to handle online education during the COVID-19 epidemic. One of the biggest challenges has been supporting students who do not have high-speed internet at home.
According to a publication from the Texas Comptroller website, “More than 2 million Texas households don’t have high-speed internet.” Digging deeper into the dataset provided by the FCC yields the following for southeast Texas counties:
| County | % Rural Population with High-Speed Internet | % Rural Population without High Speed Internet |
| Hardin | 61% | 39% |
| Jasper | 18% | 82% |
| Jefferson | 55% | 45% |
| Newton | 18% | 82% |
| Orange | 62% | 38% |
| Tyler | 16% | 84% |
Working with Ruckus Wireless, we were able to design a plan to enable robust WiFi coverage throughout the parking lots at Deweyville High School. We used a combination of Ruckus’ best-in-class outdoor wireless access points to bring the best possible experience to Deweyville ISD’s students, faculty, and staff. From their vehicles, tailgates, or even lawn chairs, Deweyville ISD users can upload / download their school work while maintaining appropriate social distancing, provided they are simply in the parking lot.
Local news channel FOX4 did a story on this project:
If you’d like more information on creative, custom solutions for your institution, please let us know.