LEARN
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2016 Grants Challenge

Connect with Promise: Providing Internet Connectivity & Devices to Families in Public Housing

Idea by EveryoneOn

EveryoneOn, in collaboration with AT&T. will facilitate Internet connectivity and devices for families living in public housing within Los Angeles’ designated Promise Zones.

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Please describe your project proposal.

Since 2012, EveryoneOn has been connecting people in the U.S. to low-cost Internet, devices, and digital literacy training. Internet connectivity is critical to learning and educational advancement today, especially when 80% of children need the Internet to do their homework and 90% of college applications are filled out online. In collaboration with AT&T, we will facilitate Internet connectivity and devices for families living in public housing within Los Angeles’ designated Promise Zones.

Which of the LEARN metrics will your proposal impact?​

College completion

College matriculation rates

District-wide graduation rates

Proficiency in English and Language Arts and Math

Early education

Student education pipeline

In what areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?

Central LA

South LA

Describe in greater detail how your proposal will make LA the best place to LEARN?

Technology has changed the way we do business, pursue education, find jobs, and communicate. Yet in the country that invented the Internet, nearly one in five Americans (64 million), disproportionately from low-income and minority communities, are not connected to the Internet at home, forcing them to use inconvenient public sources to access basic services. The global impact of the digital divide lies in how it compounds and deepens other social inequalities. For example, 80% of K-12 students need Internet to do homework, 90% of college applications are filled out online, and 90% of job applications are hosted online. An unemployed person who has Internet at home will be employed over seven weeks faster, due to availability of online job search platforms and advice, which translates into over $5,000 in additional income over a year. Across the realms of education, employment, and beyond, the means of advancement are digital in this day and age. This is especially true for families living in public housing who, on average, live at 50% of the poverty line.

EveryoneOn is committed to eliminating the digital divide by making high-speed, low-cost Internet, computers/tablets, and free digital literacy training accessible to all unconnected people in the U.S. By employing a dynamic strategy through Connect with Promise, we plan to connect households living in public housing, a population that is dramatically underserved and the least likely to be connected. If we can eliminate the digital divide within public housing, we can transfer this strategy to end the divide in other low-income populations, and use connectivity to create social mobility for all.

Connecting people to the Internet creates opportunities for lifelong learning. Internet connectivity is imperative in providing all Los Angeles students with access to early education programs, the capability to graduate from high school and be college and career ready, and acts as a key tool in parents ability to be engaged and empowered to direct their children’s learning. Today, the ultimate vehicle for opportunity is through the Internet.

Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.​

EveryoneOn on will track the number of low-income people in public housing who receive devices and get connected to the Internet at home, tracking outcomes in education post connectivity. In short, not only will we track the actual number of Internet adoptions, but the benefits of which these adoptions yield long term results in regards to educational progress and economic mobility. Through local data collection, on the ground surveys, standardized questions, and real time evaluations, we will be able to analyze the effectiveness of our outputs versus outcomes, measuring our findings against comparable data. Rigorous monitoring and evaluation for EveryoneOn thus far has yielded useful insights which have guided our overall operations. In addition, we plan to highlight success stories to help show the real life impact that digital inclusion provides.

How can the LA2050 community and other stakeholders help your proposal succeed?

Money

Publicity/awareness

Education/training

Technical infrastructure (computers etc.)

Community outreach

Network/relationship support