City Announces Expansion of ‘Chicago Connected’

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Education

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Education

Mayor Lori E. Lightfoot announced a series of key developments to the ‘Chicago Connected’ initiative on the anniversary of the first-of-its-kind program, including an extension of internet service for graduating CPS seniors attending City Colleges of Chicago in the fall, the launch of a digital literacy training platform, and a one-year impact review issued by Kids First Chicago. These announcements build on Mayor Lightfoot’s launch of ‘Chicago Connected,’ an initiative to provide free high-speed internet access to 100,000 Chicago students and their households for four years, on June 25, 2020.   

In April 2020, Kids First Chicago, an education advocacy group and core ‘Chicago Connected’ partner, collaborated with the Metropolitan Planning Council to release a report titled ‘Digital Equity in the Coronavirus Era.’ The report highlighted the stark reality of the digital divide, indicating that 1 in 5 children in Chicago lacked access to reliable in-home internet, with even larger gaps in predominately Black and Latinx neighborhoods on the city’s South and West sides. ‘Chicago Connected’ was launched to address this critical need.   For more information, please visit cps.edu/chicagoconnected.  To access the Year One Impact Report, please visit kidsfirstchicago.org/chicago-connected-year-review

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