Foxcroft Academy offers free Wi-Fi access points during COVID-19 crisis

DOVER-FOXCROFT — The phrase “learning from a distance” used to mean sitting in the back of a school classroom. In these tumultuous times, those words have taken on new meanings and presented new challenges in the educational realm, but they have turned into great opportunities for Foxcroft Academy.

On March 16 Foxcroft Academy, along with many other schools in the state of Maine, closed their physical buildings to help contain the spread of COVID-19. The challenge from the onset has been to maintain a strong level of at-home learning while not being able to use complete in-school resources, such as the Foxcroft internet servers. Several of our school families live in areas with little or no broadband coverage, so even though an iPad is available, many of the applications are not able to be accessed. 

Enter the Foxcroft Academy Information Technology Department, headed by Rob Brown. 

Brown

Over the last week Brown has set up drive-up hotspots in several of our district towns, with more to come. Using equipment from the Academy that is not being used at the moment, students can drive to area hotspot locations and with their iPad (or other devices), log on to the Foxcroft Academy network. 

“This whole idea was born out of the University of Maine system’s Study-From-Car initiative that started a few weeks back,” said Brown. “We had several Wi-Fi access points in the school that were not being used because we don’t have kids in the building right now, so I thought, why not bring the internet to them?” 

So far, the No. 1 frustration with on-line learning has been a lack of broadband access to many of our students, due to the rural nature of where we live. This program, while not the best solution, is one that can help the problem for the time being. 

“There has been a real need for this, and if the need comes from our students, we have no choice but to react to the problem,” said Arnold Shorey, head of school. “With the amazing strides we have made in on-line learning in just a short amount of time, there was a segment of our population that was having issues with learning resources. Where you live shouldn’t deter your learning potential, so while this isn’t right at your doorstep, these hotspots are in readily accessible areas and they are ready to be used.” 

Area hotspots include at the Monson Historical Society, Charleston Church, Harmony Elementary School, Sebec town office and Foxcroft Academy. Simply drive into the parking lots and school-issued iPads should automatically log on to the network. Each of these hotspots also has a public option as well, so you don’t need to be a Foxcroft Academy student to use it. 

“This whole project is truly helping our community in a great time of need,” said Brown. “Working with Mr. Paul Shaw from AOS 94 and Premium Choice Broadband, we have local areas covered with fast and reliable broadband communications, something that three weeks ago, may not have been the case. The internet is not just a want anymore. For our students, it’s a need, and a need is something we can deliver on.”