Over the summer, Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative installed a fiber connection to the school that will allow the district to access higher Internet speeds. More students will also be able to use the network at one time, according to school officials.
Superintendent Kevin Blankenship said he approached the electric cooperative about the project because of the growing use of technology in the classrooms.
“This is very beneficial with our 1-to-1 program,” Blankenship said. “It was really limited last year. Before, we’d have 100 students online and it would be really slow.”
Bruce Giffin, general manager of Illinois Rural Electric Cooperative, said the fiber network will provide Internet, television and telephone services throughout the town.
“Kevin approached me and asked what we could do and we did research … and came to the conclusion that we could be successful in our goal of getting the fiber network to the schools,” Giffin said.
Only the school’s services are online right now, but Giffin said an expansion to the town should be complete in about a month.
“They thought there was a need for everyone in the community, so that’s what they are doing,” Blankenship said.
The upgrade is already making a difference.
“We’re not having any problems getting all the kids online,” Blankenship said. “Now, they can get on, streaming or doing what they have to do.
An upgrade is being done to the system’s backbone structure as well.
“We have the exterior structure in place, but our interior structure has to be updated to accommodate the new system,” Blankenship said.
While the exterior work did not cost the district, Blankenship said he is waiting for confirmation of a grant to fund the cost of the interior upgrade — which will include placing new fiber connections from the central technology hub throughout the buildings. Once the grant is confirmed, Blankenship said the district’s technology department can start and finish the project in just one or two weeks.
“This has been a great opportunity for us,” he said. “Not a lot of schools our size, particularly in our area, have the opportunity to have a fiber connection.”
©2015 the Jacksonville Journal-Courier (Jacksonville, Ill.) Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
