Friday, August 21, 2020 - 1:04 pm

The Middleton-Cross Plains Area School District is partnering with Charter Spectrum and Verizon to provide home access to the internet for families who qualify for free-or-reduced lunch and do not have access to the Internet through Charter Spectrum or Verizon, Director of Technology Services Jim Blodgett announced.

The Charter Spectrum broadband internet service should be faster and less expensive than the Verizon MiFi hotspots that were provided to more than 100 District families who lacked internet access in the spring, Blodgett said.

The Education Foundation is currently holding a campaign to raise $50,000 to cover the cost of the program for approximately 200 households for the entire 2020-21 school year, Director of Communications Perry Hibner said. The Foundation has already is more than 80 percent toward its goal, Hibner said.

The District will provide a Verizon MiFi hotspot device to eligible families where Charter Spectrum isn't available, Blodgett said.

District devices will be filtered for content, but personal devices on Charter Spectrum will not. Families must complete an agreement. A member of the MCPASD Technology Department will then be in contact with families.