Funding, Grants & Awards

Georgia Schools Win Grants for Blended Learning Infrastructure

• By Leila Meyer
• 01/26/16

Forty-eight local education authorities (LEAs) in Georgia have won more than $8.2 million through the state's Connections for Classrooms grant program.

This is the third round of the Connections for Classrooms grant program, which has provided more than $70 million in grants to 157 LEAs since it began in 2014. The LEAs receiving the round-three grants include 47 school districts and one state school.

To be eligible for the third round of grants, LEAs had to have remaining E-rate eligibility for school- and classroom-level network upgrades after the first two rounds of grants. They were also required to describe their network infrastructure plans and how the upgrades would support digital and blended learning programs with the goal of improving student outcomes. By qualifying for the Connections for Classrooms program, the 48 LEAs are also eligible to receive $16.8 million in federal E-rate funds, for a combined state and federal investment of $25 million in school and classroom network infrastructure upgrades.

The Connections for Classrooms program is a collaborative funding effort between the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), the Georgia Department of Education (GaDoE) and the OneGeorgia Authority. The three organizations established the program as "part of a broader statewide effort to expand classroom high-speed broadband access in response to Governor Deal's Digital Learning Task Force recommendations as well as the GaDOE's efforts to enable personalized learning for Georgia students," according to information on the GOSA site.

Further information about Georgia's Connections for Classrooms grant program is available on GOSA's site.