Duval County Public Schools and Mayor Alvin
Brown teamed up to support another
public-private partnership benefitting public
schools. Comcast, along with city and school
leaders, held a news conference recently to announce a new program, Internet Essentials, designed to help low-income families bridge the digital divide.
“The Internet provides access to numerous resources for project research, homework help and practice problems that can assist students at home,” said Duval County Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals. “We are so thankful that Comcast has developed this program to provide such a valuable service to students who would otherwise not be able to afford and benefit from it.”
“This is a great example of how public-private partnerships are working to help us become a stronger community,” said Mayor Brown. “Comcast is demonstrating good corporate stewardship. This program helps to advance our mission of providing students in Jacksonville with a world-class education on limited public resources.”
The cable company is offering Internet service at a reduced price to families with students who receive free lunch as part of the National School Lunch Program. The reduced cost of the service for qualifying families is $9.95 a month, plus tax. Families can also purchase certain laptops from Comcast for $150.
“The Internet is a great equalizer and a life-changing technology,” said Tim Horn, vice president and general manager of Comcast in Jacksonville. “Internet Essentials helps level the playing field for low-income families by connecting students online with their teachers and their school’s educational resources, and by enabling parents to receive digital literacy training so they can do things like apply for jobs online or use the Internet to learn more about health care and government services available where they live.”
Duval County Public Schools operates 177 schools and serves approximately 123,000 students. The school district is committed to providing high quality educational opportunities that will inspire all students to acquire and use the knowledge and skills needed to succeed in a global economy, and culturally diverse world.
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