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[Page H3696]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VALLEY GROVE SCHOOL DISTRICT AND BROADBAND CONNECTIVITY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Pennsylvania (Mr. Thompson) for 5 minutes.
Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commend
Valley Grove School District of Venango County, Pennsylvania, for truly
going above and beyond to connect with their students during the COVID-
19 pandemic.
Due to coronavirus, we saw school doors close across the country.
Many parents found themselves in unexpected homeschooling situations,
and the teachers of Valley Grove School District rose to the occasion.
In an effort to connect with students during the quarantine, teachers
and administrators created VGTV, a YouTube channel to share video
lessons and updates with children and families.
Videos can range from a music class piano lesson to a banana bread
tutorial from home economics or the early childhood education teachers
reading storybooks.
Teachers from all grades have gotten involved to contribute something
to VGTV. J.G. Resig, a high school teacher, said the project ``started
out just as a morale boost to stay in contact with our students and let
them know that we still care about them, even though we are stuck at
home.''
Third grade teacher Julie Plumer has used her everyday surroundings
to create informative videos for her students. For example, Ms. Plumer
has created a variety of videos about baby chickens she had been
raising to teach students about what it takes to raise and to care for
animals.
Content varies, but the thing that each of these videos has in common
are the dedicated educators behind the camera.
None of this work would be possible, however, without reliable
broadband connectivity. As coronavirus has transitioned most classrooms
to distance learning, the importance of broadband infrastructure has
never been more apparent.
Connectivity is something that many of us take for granted. While
there is broadband available in many areas of the United States, more
than 21 million Americans, including more than 800,000 Pennsylvanians,
lack access. It is imperative that we do what we can to address this
critical digital divide.
The CARES Act provided $100 million for the ReConnect Pilot Program,
which provides grants for the costs of broadband infrastructure
development and improvement in rural areas. The CARES Act also provided
$25 million for the Distance Learning, Telemedicine, and Broadband
program.
These funds will certainly have an impact on distance learning in the
age of coronavirus, but broadband connectivity is crucial regardless.
We need to continue to make rural broadband and reliable broadband
infrastructure a priority long after coronavirus is a thing of the
past.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the dedicated educators of Valley Grove School
District for going the extra mile to support their students during
these extraordinary times.
They are hometown heroes.
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