The Seine River School Division has made significant strides in helping all students gain online connectivity.

Superintendent Michael Borgfjord says the issue of adequate internet in his division has been one of the most notable struggles for his division since COVID-19 forced all students to continue the school year from their homes.

Students who received laptop donations will be able to keep them even after the pandemic ends.“One of the biggest difficulties is in the east end of our division,” he describes. “In the Ste. Anne, La Broquerie, Marchand, Woodridge, and Richer area there are a lot fewer families with a reliable internet connection and that poses a bit of a challenge.”

To address this problem, the SRSD IT team has been working tirelessly to boost outdoor wifi at all schools in the division and adding hotspots to communities that might not have immediate access to those schools. Additional sites have been arranged at the Woodridge Community Centre and the Marchand Community Club and further access points will be implemented early next week at the Ross Community Centre and the general store in Ste. Genevieve. 

However, as Borgfjord explains, The issue is not exclusively unstable internet but also a lack of devices that can connect to the web.

“A number of our schools have to have hard packages delivered to families who do not have the appropriate technology.”

Borgfjord says his division is currently in the process of filling that gap too; ensuring all students have an equal opportunity to learn. On that front, he notes, the division has received major support.

Jennifer Stefansson, a former SRSD trustee, donated 45 laptops as well as several desktop computers through a private initiative funded by Richardson International and New Flyer Industries. The computers will be permanent gifts to the families and will not need to be returned to the division once the pandemic is over.

“That was a very generous and really kind offer,” Borgfjord says.

Thanks to these donations and the tireless efforts of Seine River's IT team, every student in the division now has some degree of connectivity. Borgfjord expects that situation will only continue to improve as the weeks in self-isolation stretch on.