FLORENCE, SC (WBTW) – Florence School District 2 students returned to school on Wi-Fi equipped school buses.
In February, the district used $40,000 in grant money to equip its 12 buses with Wi-Fi access for students, deeming the project, “The Mobile Study Hall.”
Some of the bus rides within the district can take up to an hour for students, and the Wi-Fi allows them to study or catch up on homework, so they can have more time with family once they’re finally home.
“On the school bus going home, we feel that time could be spent in a more productive way,” explains FSD2 Superintendent Neal Vincent. “By having Internet and allowing them to work. And when they get home hopefully it frees them up to have more family time so they can spend time with their family and friends.”
When students get home, they will also soon have access to the Internet as the district plans to distribute Wi-Fi mobile hotspots.
One Florence District Two parent says the home internet service in the Pamlico area can be spotty and not completely reliable. With the mobile hotspots, as well as the buses equipped with Wi-Fi, every student will have access to the Internet at all times.
“It’s something that we could really use,” says Pamplico parent Marie Bellflowers. “So a lot of our children do not have Internet service. A lot of our children aren’t able to get this work done if it wasn’t for the Wi-Fi on the buses or the boxes that go home.”
In the next two weeks, families will get an email about their need for internet access, and from there the Wi-Fi hotspots will be distributed.
