The Federal Communications Commission has awarded Harmony Public Schools a $539,000 grant to connect low-income students with access to computers and the internet.
Harmony Public Schools is a statewide public charter school system with campuses serving pre-kindergarten through grade 12 students in 23 cities across the state, including Greater Houston, DFW, San Antonio, Austin, El Paso, Waco, Lubbock, Odessa, Bryan, Beaumont, and the Rio Grande Valley.
Harmony’s curriculum places a heavy focus on STEM skills, Character Education, project-based learning, and college readiness.
The grant, a part of the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Act, will immediately supply 1,000 Harmony households with WiFi hotspots to engage in online learning, if needed, or participate in Harmony’s free 24-hour online tutoring service, TutorMe.
The grant also will allow Harmony to purchase and distribute 1,000 Chromebooks to students who don’t have computer access at home.
Keeping students academically connected to their school studies and socially connected to their school friends have been key parts of Harmony’s response to COVID-19 since the beginning of the pandemic. In the initial weeks of the pandemic, Harmony distributed roughly 4,000 computers and internet access devices to families. The STEM-focused school system also supplied science teachers and even some students with at-home 3D printers to help produce more than 8,000 face shields for local emergency workers at a time when such equipment was in short supply.
Harmony Public Schools is currently accepting applications for both the 2022-23 school years for students and team members.
