Montclair Group Offers Free Internet For Students

Are you having a hard time paying for Internet access to keep your child hooked into the digital classroom?

Financially disadvantaged Montclair parents with students in the district can now apply for free home Internet access through a Montclair Kids First (MKF) initiative.

The Wi-Fi collaboration is being conducted in partnership with JerseyOn, a statewide non-profit focused on connecting low-income students and their families to the Internet.

According to a release, the initiative will fund the purchase of Sprint NETGEAR Fuse Mobile Hotspot devices and four years of continuous service for every family in Montclair participating in the free and reduced lunch program.

• See related article: Four Years Of Free Internet For Montclair’s Students

Each free device will provide 3GBs of free monthly data service for four continuous years on Sprint’s 4GLTE network. There will be no cost or obligation to the user and will be available only to parents who choose to participate, the MKF announced in a release.

As part of the negotiations, Sprint and JerseyOn will ensure each Internet access device will block anything deemed inappropriate for children, the release stated.

As the introduction and implementation of the program takes hold, MKF hopes to develop and grow the initiative to sponsor computers and other learning tools and devices to all economically disadvantaged students in Montclair.

The parent application for free Internet access is due on Oct. 15.

HOW TO APPLY

According to a release, an application will be backpacked home to every student by the Montclair School District and is available online here.

Also, the Montclair Center Business Improvement District will make applications available at local businesses, and the Montclair African-American Clergy Association and the Montclair Clergy Association will distribute applications and brief their spiritual leaders and congregations about the initiative.

In addition, a coalition of Montclair Public Library (MPL), Montclair Art Museum (MAM), Montclair State University (MSU), United Way of Northern New Jersey, The Salvation Army Montclair Citadel, Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex (IHN), Montclair Film Festival (MFF), Improving Montclair Achievement Network Initiative (IMANI), Succeed 2Gether and other Montclair organizations will come together and offer their respective headquarters to serve as “Application Centers,” providing parents another way to obtain the free Wi-Fi application.

“Our community partners will play a vital role in making sure that families who need Wi-Fi access, but cannot afford it, are aware of this opportunity,” stated MKF President Shelly Lombard. “Children who don’t have access to technology are at a real disadvantage in our increasingly digital world. MKF’s Wi-Fi initiative is a chance for all of us to come together, put the focus back on children, and drive better educational outcomes for all of them.”

DISTRIBUTION INFORMATION

The Montclair Public Library will host a series of seminars for those families who apply for the hot spot devices. These MKF events will be custom-designed and led by representatives of Montclair State University’s computer science and information technology staff.

Updated timeline for the MKF WiFi Initiative:

• September 10th – October 15th: Free WiFi applications will be available District-wide.
• October 15th: Due date for applications.
• October 15th – December 15th: Purchasing and processing of devices by MKF.
• January 2016: Communication to enrolled parents regarding dates for device distribution seminar events.
• First Quarter of 2016: Series of device distribution seminar events take place at the Montclair Public Library, with technical support provided by Montclair State University’s Computer Science and Information Technology Team.

APPLICATION CENTERS FOR FREE WIFI

• Montclair Public Library (MPL), 50 South Fullerton Avenue
• Montclair Art Museum (MAM), 3 South Mountain Avenue
• Interfaith Hospitality Network of Essex (IHN), 46 Park Street
• The Salvation Army Montclair Citadel, 13 Trinity Place
• Improving Montclair Achievement Network Initiative (IMANI), 73 South Fullerton Avenue
• United Way of Northern New Jersey, 60 South Fullerton Avenue
• Montclair Film Festival (MFF), 8 Hillside Avenue
• Succeed 2gether, 11 Pine Street

Send Montclair news tips and press releases to eric.kiefer@patch.com