Gov. Bob Wise Comments on President Obama’s “ConnectED” Plan to Provide Schools with High-Speed Internet Access

Washington, DC – Today, President Obama announced “ConnectED,” a plan to provide 99 percent of the nation’s students with next-generation broadband and high-speed wireless in schools and libraries within five years. The plan would also ensure that every educator in America receives support and training to use technology to help improve student outcomes. In response, Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, made the following statement:

“The effective use of technology is the only way to put every student in the fast lane to college and career readiness. That is why it is appropriate that President Obama chose Mooresville, North Carolina—located just 30 minutes north of the NASCAR Hall of Fame—to announce his ConnectED initiative. It is also why the Alliance featured Mooresville in the first-ever Digital Learning Day and included Scott Smith, Mooresville’s chief technology officer on the Alliance’s Project 24 Team of Experts.

“In today’s ultra-fast, super-competitive global economy, all students and teachers need to be up to speed and connected to the information superhighway. Currently, however, far too many are stuck in proverbial traffic jams or idling at on-ramps because they lack access to high-speed internet connections.

“With today’s announcement, President Obama makes it possible for every school to build on the ‘Mooresville momentum’ and ensures that all students are on the same track, moving at the fastest possible speed, and heading toward higher standards and better learning outcomes.”

More details on President Obama’s ConnectED initiative is available at here.

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The Alliance for Excellent Education is a Washington, DC–based national policy and advocacy organization that works to improve national and federal education policy so that all students can achieve at high academic levels and graduate from high school ready for success in college, work, and citizenship in the twenty-first century. www.all4ed.org

Save the date for Digital Learning Day 2014: February 5.

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