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Schools

Forsyth County Schools Offers Free Wi-Fi Directory

The directory was created by Forsyth County Schools in partnership with the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce.

Students now have access to an online directory that provides a list of free Wi-Fi hotspots sponsored by organizations and businesses in Cumming and Forsyth County and an interactive map to find those hotspots.

Forsyth County Schools created the directory in partnership with the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce.

“The free Wi-Fi directory for students will be an invaluable resource to students that are learning on-the-go with their mobile devices or may not have Internet access in their homes,” said Buster Evans, superintendent of Forsyth County Schools in press release.

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The free Wi-Fi directory was recommended by a Task Force, made up of school and district staff, parents, and business and community leaders.

The BYOT (Bring Your Own Technology) Equity Task Force, formed during this school year, identified some challenges the majority of the district’s secondary students were facing. While these students had mobile devices, they were unable to use their devices once they left the school’s wireless network because many students did not have a home computer with broadband access.

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But thanks to the business community, many of those challenges have been lifted with the availability of free Wi-Fi.

“We have an extremely supportive network of organizations and businesses in Cumming-Forsyth County that understand how important it is for students to stay connected for continued learning opportunities," said Evans.

The three Forsyth County Public Libraries and the chamber are the first free Wi-Fi sponsors. Business owners that want to be added to the Free Wi-Fi Directory are encouraged to visit the sign up page of the FCS website.

All sponsors will receive a 5 x 7 "free Wi-Fi" static cling (similar to the image in this article) to display in a prominent location at their business from FCS.

“Creating a free Wi-Fi directory is a natural expansion of services that support our community’s high quality of life standard,” said James McCoy, president and CEO of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. “By working together to identify and map free Wi-Fi locations, we will create a cloud of coverage that not only benefits students, but those that also live and work in our community."

The free Wi-Fi directory is available on the school district and school websites.

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