In an effort to grant students access to schoolwork on athletic, club and field trips, District 219’s Technology Department will be implementing Wi-Fi accessible buses. The D219 School Board unanimously voted to approve the proposal and will be piloted this semester.
The district selected 12 buses for Verizon Cellular Data units with 5-G Wi-Fi Hotspots. One Wi-Fi unit services a maximum of 100 students, as required by CIPA (Child Internet Protection Act). Each bus will be equipped with two additional units, which will be used as needed.
“So, last Spring, I asked the School Board if they would like to participate in this opportunity and they unanimously voted yes to this pilot project. The idea was to put this service on Activity, Sports, and Field Trip vehicles. So, we have 12 full-size buses outfitted with Wi-Fi and we have 12 devices available for checkout from the Athletic Directors and the Assistant Principals of Operations for use on small buses and District passenger vans,” Chief Technology Officer Philip Hintz said.
In 2024, the FCC [Federal Communications Commission] declared Wi-Fi was E-Rate eligible on school buses, and agreed to pay 50% of the Wi-Fi implementation cost for D219. With the discount, the installation costs $21,000 per year. Hintz claimed D219 took advantage of the discount in hopes that students benefit academically.
“The reason we put them on these buses was because we wanted to give students the opportunity to complete their homework while traveling to and from events or games across the Chicagoland area or even the state if a team goes down to state competitions. This way students would not have to wait until they got home from these events, that many times go very late into the evening, to start their homework for their classes,” Hintz said.
As a result of receiving access to assignments, student athletes are encouraged to stay active in their academics. Athletic Director Dana Krilich believes time management is key for athletes to balance sports and grades.
“I hope the addition of Wi-Fi on buses will provide a useful tool to our Wolfpack student athletes. On nights they have meets/games/matches they get home late and still need to work on homework/study for quizzes etc. With having this capability, I hope it is easier for a student to utilize the bus ride to or from a competition to work on what they need to work on for school,” Krilich said.
Late buses will also offer Wi-Fi access to students involved in after-school clubs and activities.
“I don’t have a lot of info on this, but I was excited to see it…any students who stay late after school for clubs will now be able to access Wi-Fi on their way home if they take the late bus,” Student Activities Director Caitlin Lucci said.
