Connections for Classrooms Grant Program annual report, 2016 December

Connections for Classrooms Grant Program Annual Report
December 2016 Sam Rauschenberg Steve Korwan

Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report

Executive Summary

Connections for Classrooms (CFC) is a competitive grant program joining multiple state agencies around the common goal of ensuring Georgia schools and classrooms have the high-speed broadband access required for digital and blended learning. The program has provided more than $81 million in grants from the following two sources.
Bond funds appropriated to the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE)
State general funds appropriated to the OneGeorgia Authority at the Department of Community Affairs (DCA). The Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA) manages the funds.
The program is part of a broader statewide effort to expand classroom high-speed broadband access in response to Governor Deal's Digital Learning Task Force recommendations, as well as the GaDOE's efforts to enable personalized learning for Georgia students.
The effort complements the expansion of the University System of Georgia's (USG) PeachNet network to connect every Georgia Local Educational Agency (LEA) to its high-speed network. The partnership between USG and GaDOE ensured that all district central offices have 100 megabits per second per school of bandwidth as of July 2015. Connections for Classrooms offers schools the opportunity to increase network infrastructure to effectively utilize the increased bandwidth at the classroom level.
To align with the task force recommendations and prioritize funding, the grant application and award criteria have prioritized funding districts that will leverage the technology to implement digital learning, where students have "some element of control over the time, place, path, and/or pace" of learning.1

Table 1: CFC Summary by Round

Round 1 2 3 4

Amount Awarded $37 million $25.3 million $15.1 million $4.0 million

Participating LEAs 104 136 62 33

Eligible Expenditure Tiers 1, 2, and 3 E-rate Category 2 E-rate Category 2
Digital Learning Devices

1 Definition as outlined in the Digital Learning Task Force recommendations and adapted from Digital Learning Now! and the Florida Virtual School. https://gosa.georgia.gov/what-digitallearning

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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report

In 2014, CFC provided approximately $37 million in funds for Local Education Agencies (LEAs) to upgrade broadband infrastructure at the district, school, and classroom levels. Round 1 reimbursements are ongoing.

In late 2014, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) infused $2 billion into Category 2 of the federal E-rate program to focus on building out school- and classroom-level network infrastructure. With these changes, Georgia districts became eligible for as much as $188 million in Category 2 funds over the next five years.

Given this change, Rounds 2 and 3 shifted focus to exclusively provide funds for the LEAs' E-rate local match instead of directly funding infrastructure, allowing schools to leverage federal funds towards their infrastructure needs alongside their grant money. Round 2 fully funded the "local match" for all LEAs that applied for Round 1 grants but still had unfunded school-level

Over the last two years, $77 million in state-funded grants to 159 LEAs has enabled them to receive $129 million in federal E-Rate funds for school network infrastructure. This is a total network infrastructure investment of $206 million.

infrastructure needs. Approximately $25.3

million was awarded to 136 LEAs, enabling LEAs to receive more than $90

million in E-rate funds.

Round 3 applications opened to all LEAs with remaining E-rate Category 2 eligibility in summer 2015 and closed in October 2015. 62 LEAs applied. Governor Deal announced $15.1 million in Round 3 awards in 2016, which enabled districts to receive $36.8 million in E-rate funds.

Overall, the program has enabled many Georgia districts, state schools, and state charter schools to make critical upgrades to their network infrastructures, upgrades that are critical for 21st century digital learning. In total, over the last two years, $77 million in state-funded grants to 159 LEAs has enabled them to receive $129 million in federal E-Rate funds for school network infrastructure. This is a total network infrastructure investment of $206 million.

With the remaining $4 million in funds, the grant program shifted focus for the most recent round to funding digital learning devices, such as laptops and tablets, in rural, high-need districts that are poised to implement digital learning. Fiftyeight districts applied for $11.9 million in fall 2016. After applications were scored by independent reviewers, 33 rural, high-need school districts received $4 million in grants in December 2016.

This annual report provides an overview of 2016 Connections for Classrooms program activities for stakeholders across the state.

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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Figure 1: Map of Connections for Classrooms Rounds 1-3 Awardees
Gray districts did not apply for or receive a CFC award.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Figure 2: Map of Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program Grantees
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Table of Contents
Executive Summary ...................................................................................................................... iii Table of Abbreviations................................................................................................................ viii Background on Connections for Classrooms ................................................................................1
Digital Learning Task Force Recommendations...........................................................................1 Round 1 Summary ........................................................................................................................2 Round 2 Summary ........................................................................................................................3 Grant Activities.............................................................................................................................5 Connections for Classrooms Round 3.........................................................................................6 Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program ............................................................................9 Going Forward ..............................................................................................................................12 Appendix A: Connections for Classrooms Grant Award Amounts by Round ........................13
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report

Table of Abbreviations

AFY

Amended Fiscal Year GOSA

CFC DCA DLTF FCC
FY GaDOE

Connections for Classrooms Department of Community Affairs Digital Learning Task Force Federal Communication Commission Fiscal Year Georgia Department of Education

LEA LOI MBPS USAC
USF USG

Governor's Office of Student Achievement Local Education Agency Letter of Intent
Megabits Per Second
Universal Service Administrative Company Universal Service Fund University System of Georgia

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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Background on Connections for Classrooms
Digital Learning Task Force Recommendations
Connections for Classrooms (CFC) is part of a broader statewide effort to extend high-speed broadband access to Georgia classrooms. In 2012, Governor Nathan Deal recognized the growing need for statewide strategies that implemented highquality digital learning in the state as a means to increase student achievement. As a result, he formed the Digital Learning Task Force (DLTF) to examine the state of digital learning and develop recommendations for areas of focus and improvement. The task force met eight times from November 2012 to December 2013 and developed three broad categories of recommendations: infrastructure, digital content and courses, and blended and competency-based learning.
Concerning infrastructure, the report recognized that schools must have the necessary broadband and network infrastructure to support digital learning, resulting in the following two recommendations:
Recommendation 1: Increase statewide broadband capacity to schools, ensuring that Georgia's schools are able to utilize 21st century technology in classrooms.
Recommendation 2: Increase districts' ability to expand wireless connectivity and device availability within schools, allowing them to fully leverage increased broadband capacity.
To meet Recommendation 1, the state focused on creating a K-12 Network through the expansion of the University System of Georgia's (USG) PeachNet backbone. Completed in July 2015 through a strategic partnership between the University System of Georgia (USG) and the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE), the backbone expansion connects every Georgia Local Educational Agency (LEA) in order to supply 100 megabits per second (Mbps) of broadband connectivity for each school.
The expansion of PeachNet and the assurance of 100 Mbps for all schools required further investments to ensure that the increased bandwidth could be fully leveraged in Georgia classrooms, meeting Recommendation 2. To help alleviate some of this burden, in early 2014 the GaDOE administered an initial, bondfunded $7 million grant program to school districts for equipment that would connect the LEA's central office to the PeachNet backbone (e.g., firewalls and filtering). All LEAs that applied for funding received a tiered allocation based upon the amount of bandwidth expected to be received through the K-12 Network.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
While the initial grant assisted LEAs in connecting to PeachNet, significant network infrastructure gaps remained at the district, school, and classroom levels. To address those needs, Governor Deal proposed and the General Assembly approved a $37 million appropriation in the Amended Fiscal Year (AFY) 2014 budget. These funds created a partnership between three state agencies: GaDOE, the Governor's Office of Student Achievement (GOSA), and the OneGeorgia Authority. $14 million in bond funds were appropriated to the GaDOE, and $22.5 million in general funds were appropriated to the OneGeorgia Authority, which were to be administered by GOSA. In spring 2014, the Connections for Classrooms Grant Program, housed at GOSA, was formed to oversee the competitive grant process and administer the program. Round 1 Summary Announced in May 2014, Round 1 offered competitive grants to all Georgia local education agencies (LEAs) to upgrade broadband infrastructures and enhance their abilities to facilitate effective digital learning. LEAs submitted an application that consisted of educational and technical components. High-scoring applications clearly articulated detailed technical plans for infrastructure upgrades, while also demonstrating a clear strategy to leverage digital learning to provide students with some measure of control over the time, place, path, and/or pace of their education to improve student achievement. Round 1 primarily focused on purchasing and installing equipment needed to ensure the increased bandwidth reached classrooms (e.g., firewalls, routers, filters, cabling, ports, local area network, wide area network, and wireless access points). School needs were divided into tiers to determine eligibility. The CFC grants funded infrastructure at the Tier 1 (District), Tier 2 (School), and Tier 3 (Classroom) levels. These tiers are illustrated in the figure below.
Figure 2: Diagram of CFC Tiers
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
146 LEAs--143 districts, 2 state charter schools, and 1 state school--applied for more than $198 million. In October 2014, Governor Deal announced awards to 104 LEAs (102 districts, 1 state charter school, and 1 state school), totaling $37 million. All Tier 1 needs were fully funded, and Tier 2 funds were partially funded on a sliding scale based on the application score. The six highest scoring LEAs (Thomas, Peach, Tattnall, Ben Hill, Laurens, and Georgia School for the Deaf) received full funding for their Tiers 1 to 3 requests once their Tier 3 award funds were combined with expected Category 2 E-rate funds [See the E-rate Overview box on p. 5 for more details on how the local match is determined]. Appendix A includes a list of final award amounts by grant round.
With the exception of the top six winners who received E-rate match funds, all Round 1 projects were successfully closed out by June 30, 2016. GOSA is actively conducting site visits each month with Round 1 grantees to ensure that the equipment and installation reimbursed are implemented as outlined in the approved contracts. In total, $5.9 million of the original grants was not spent and therefore has been rolled forward into subsequent award allocations. Many Round 1 grantees received grants in later rounds, which are detailed in the following sections.
Round 2 Summary
While Round 1 made significant progress, more than $160 million in infrastructure needs from applicants remained unfunded. As a result, in the amended FY2015 budget, Governor Deal proposed and the General Assembly approved an additional $30 million to the OneGeorgia Authority for additional network investment.
Instead of directly funding infrastructure needs as in Round 1, these funds were devoted to ensuring districts maximize federal infrastructure funds through the Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) E-rate Program, which provides discounted rates for school internet access and telecommunication needs. In 2014, the FCC infused $2 billion in additional funds to focus on Category 2 services, which align with CFC Tiers 2 and 3, making federal funds available to more districts than in the past. LEAs that receive Category 2 E-rate funds must fund a "local match" of the cost before being able to expend federal E-rate funds, which creates a barrier for many districts [See the E-rate Overview box on p. 5 page for more details on how the local match is determined]. As such, the goal of CFC Round 2 was to fund the "local match" of approved Category 2 equipment and services for remaining infrastructure needs from Round 1 applicants.2
2 While Round 2 funds have been awarded, LEAs are still in the process of receiving funding confirmation from E-rate. Once they receive approval, they submit required documents to GOSA and request reimbursement.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report

Round 2 funded the "local match" for all LEAs that applied for Round 1 grants but still had unfunded schooland classroom-level infrastructure needs (Tiers 2 and 3). On May 5, 2015, Governor Deal announced $25.4 million in Round 2 grant awards to 134 districts and two state charter schools. Funds could only be

Impact: Easy Online Administration of Georgia Milestones
In 2014, Thomas County Schools received a CFC grant to upgrade broadband and wireless network capacities at its two elementary schools, Garrison-Pilcher and Cross Creek.

used for E-rate Category 2 items in

These upgrades enabled a system-

FY15 and/or FY16 E-rate Funding

wide, one-to-one instructional device

Years or for previous years if the

initiative.

LEA had a previous Priority 2 E-rate funding commitment for which it had not been able to provide its local match and the equipment or services aligned with the current Category 2.3 Grantees were only eligible to receive funds up to their maximum

The network upgrades, along with cross-team collaboration and carefully planned procedures, enabled the district to administer more than 80% of their Georgia Milestones tests online last year, ahead of state expectations.

eligible "local match" for their remaining needs.

Testing disrupted far less instruction than in prior years since

Once award amounts were determined, LEAs submitted a Letter

computer labs could now be used for instruction in non-tested subjects.

of Intent (LOI) claiming their award Paraphrased from GOSA's case study on

amounts and specifying the E-rate funding cycle(s) in which funds would be used as well as the estimated amounts to be used for each cycle. Once LEAs receive funding approval from E-rate, they are required to send their USAC

Thomas County Schools' CFC Implementation: "How do you successfully administer Georgia Milestones online?" Available at: https://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia .gov/files/related_files/document/Thomas_ County_Brief_FINAL%2012202016.pdf

Form 471 and Funding Commitment

Decision Letter, which confirm both the E-rate federal funding and local match

required. 133 of 136 LEAs accepted their Round 2 awards (132 districts and 1

state charter school). Appendix A includes a list of final award amounts by grant

round.

As of December 1, 2016, 62 LEAs submitted documentation for reimbursement of E-rate FY15 Category 2 expenses, and none had yet submitted documentation for reimbursement of E-rate FY16 Category 2 expenses. LEAs have until

3 In conjunction with the Round 3 award announcements, GOSA announced that it will allow Round 2 awards to be used for the FY17 E-rate funding cycle.

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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
December 31, 2017 to request reimbursement for the local match funding in FY16. Grant Activities The remaining sections of the report provide details of grant program activities during the 2016 calendar year. The Round 3 awards, announced in January and May 2016, focused on network infrastructure as in the first two rounds. In summer 2016, applications opened for the fourth round, the Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program, which pivoted to focus on enabling rural, high-need districts that are poised to implement digital learning to purchase laptops, tablets, or other mobile devices used for instruction.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report

E-rate Overview

The Federal Communication Commission's (FCC) E-rate Program was "mandated by Congress in 1996 and implemented by the Federal Communications Commission in 1997." The Universal Services Administrative Company (USAC) administers the program to provide discounted services, such as internet access and broadband infrastructure, to eligible schools and libraries. E-rate funds are generated from telecommunications service providers through the collection of a fee from consumers referred to as a "Universal Service" fee on their phone bills.

The E-rate program is divided into two separate categories of funding. Category 2 services (internal connections, managed internal broadband services and basic maintenance of internal connections) align with Tiers 2 and 3 in the CFC program. Therefore, only E-rate Category 2 eligible items, as determined by USAC, were approved for funding in Round 2 of CFC.

When the FCC infused $2 billion in additional funds to focus on Category 2 services in 2014, it made all LEAs in the country eligible for $150 per student or a minimum of $9,200 per school, subject to each district's discount rate. The discount a school receives from the E-rate program is determined based on the poverty level and urban/rural status of the school. It ranges from 20-85 percent (e.g. a rural school with a high percentage of students in poverty will receive a higher discount than an urban school with a lower percentage of students in poverty). The remaining percentage after the discount is considered the "local match," which the CFC program has funded for grantees. As an example, a school with 1,000 students and an 80% discount rate is eligible for $150 x 1,000 or $150,000.00. The E-rate program would provide $120,000 (80%), and the local match would be $30,000 (20%).

Unfunded Tier 2 and 3 Needs (Based on CFC Round 1 application) $150,000.00

Example School

E-Rate Discount (Determined by
FCC)

Local Match (Portion paid by
school)

80%

$30,000.00

Federally Funded Portion
(Portion paid through the E-rate
program) $120,000.00

Connections for Classrooms Round 3
In June 2015, GOSA opened applications in Round 3 of the grant program to provide roughly $8.2 million in awards to Georgia LEAs with remaining E-rate eligibility, which would enable districts to receive $14 to 18 million in federal Erate funds. Applicants could request funding for the 2015, 2016, and 2017 E-Rate funding cycles, with funding available through December 31, 2018.

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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Since USAC reviews districts' E-rate applications from a technical perspective, the Georgia grant application was revised to focus primarily on digital learning plans and requested only a high-level technical description of infrastructure. More specifically, the application included the following elements:
Brief description of network infrastructure plans, Digital learning implementation plans, Alignment with state and district technology plans, and Professional learning plans for effective digital learning implementation.
As with Round 1, applicants were required to describe how the increased connectivity would enable the LEA to implement digital learning, defined as "learning facilitated by technology that gives students some element of control over time, place, path and/or pace," to improve student outcomes. Applications closed on October 29, 2015, and 62 LEAs applied for $15.2 million in grants. Each application was scored by two independent reviewers with expertise in digital learning using a 50-point rubric. Any review with more than a ten-point spread between reviewers resulted in a third review, which was then averaged with the other two scores.
On January 19, 2016, Governor Deal announced $8.2 million in awards to 47 districts and 1 state school. Given the limited funds, only 9 of the 48 grantees were fully funded. With this limitation in mind, Governor Deal included an additional $9.4 million in his AFY16 budget during the 2016 legislative session, which the General Assembly passed in the budget. Once the budget was signed, Governor Deal announced an additional $6.9 million in Round 3 grants to fully fund the E-rate local match for all Round 3 applicants.
In sum, the combined $15.1 million in Round 3 funds enabled the LEAs, which include 60 districts, one state school, and one state charter school, to receive $36.8 million in federal E-Rate funds, making the total investment of $51.9 million in school network infrastructure. Appendix A includes a list of final award amounts by grant round.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
CFC Impact Enabling Video Instruction at Georgia School for the Deaf
The Georgia School for the Deaf (GSD) is a state-operated residential school in Cave Spring for students who are deaf and hard of hearing. Among the 102 students at GSD, the majority reside at school with a small number of day students from local school districts. GSD students are racially and ethnically diverse, and 68 percent qualify for free or reduced price lunch. Many of the students who enroll at GSD arrive with significant language challenges and may be multiple years below grade level.
GSD provides a bilingual education program of American Sign Language (ASL) and English. ASL is the students' first language and is necessary to support their educations in English. Because ASL is a visually-based language that relies on gestures, facial expressions, and head and body movements to convey meaning, videos provide important learning opportunities for students. Interrupted or lagging video makes it impossible to follow the meaning of what is being said. Thus, the lack of network capacity created a significant barrier to student learning both inside and outside the classroom at GSD.
GSD received CFC grant funds in 2014 that, in partnership with federal E-Rate funds, upgraded the school to the highest capacity wireless arrays available. This has enabled the following.
GSD's network is now accessible for both classroom instruction and independent learning in academic buildings and dormitories.
There are fewer interruptions to classroom time to allow videos and other content to load.
GSD teachers are able to realize the school's digital learning goals, including use of hybrid, flipped and distance instructional models, expanded content, and alternative assessment.
Paraphrased from GOSA's case study on Georgia School for the Deaf's CFC Implementation: "Online video: A critical tool in improving academic outcomes among deaf students." Available at: https://gosa.georgia.gov/sites/gosa.georgia.gov/files/related_files/document/Georgia_ School_for_the_Deaf_Brief_FINAL%2012202016.pdf
Awardees followed the same process with Letters of Intent to reserve funding. As before, GOSA enters into a contract with awardees once they receive and submit E-rate funding confirmation (USAC Form 471 and Funding Commitment Decision Letter).
As with prior rounds, GOSA staff conduct monitoring visits to a number of grantees each month to ensure that purchased equipment is in line with their contracts. In addition, in fall 2016, GOSA anonymously surveyed grantees for
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
feedback on the grant process to strengthen the program. The results of the survey are summarized below.4
100% agreed or strongly agreed that their questions to CFC staff have been handled in a timely, informative, and helpful manner.
100% reported that their reimbursements were received in a timely manner (if they had already requested reimbursement).
100% reported that GOSA communication, including grant program documentation and e-mails, were useful, beneficial, and easy to understand.
Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program
In the first three rounds of the Connections for Classrooms Grant Program, $77 million in grants were awarded to 159 LEAs for district and school network upgrades. As a result, all districts that applied for grant funds now have, or will soon have, wireless internet access to their classrooms. However, many schools, particularly those in rural and high-need areas, lack resources to purchase sufficient devices to fully leverage the increased connectivity and enable students to authentically participate in digital learning. In addition, the need for digital learning devices has been evident throughout the grant program. In the fall 2015 survey of grantees, 86% of respondents reported that future funding should be devoted to student devices.
With this in mind, GOSA announced a new round of competitive grant funding in July 2016, the Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program. This round enabled rural, high-need districts that are poised to implement digital learning to purchase laptops, tablets, or other mobile devices used for instruction.
Due to limited funding, this round included competitive application submission and review process to determine awards. Strong applicants clearly described how this grant will enable them to change instruction to implement digital learning, specifically facilitating learning with technology that gives students some control over time, place, path, and/or pace. In addition, they demonstrated their needs for devices, outline their device selection/deployment/maintenance plans, and provide assurance of network preparedness to support devices. The applications included the following sections:
Description of current device inventory and statement of need, including a description of how the LEA has exhausted other possible options;
Device selection/deployment/maintenance plans; Assurance of network preparedness for effective device usage;
4 91 grantees responded to the survey.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Digital learning plans with a clear link to student outcomes; and Instructional staff readiness plans. Eligibility for this round was limited to the 72 LEAs determined to be both rural and high need, using the criteria explained below. Who was eligible for the Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program?
High-Need: LEAs located in one of 71 Tier 1 counties using the Georgia Department of Community Affairs' annual job tax credit tiers. These counties represent the counties with the highest unemployment rate, lowest per capita income, and highest percentage of residents whose incomes are below the poverty level in the state. In addition to being districts with high student need, the economic conditions make it less likely that these districts are able to bridge the device gap with BYOD policies and local purchases. For more information on the tiers, click here.
Rural: LEAs serving less than 25 students per square mile. These LEAs must spend proportionally more funds per pupil since they serve a more dispersed population and do not have the economies of scale of larger districts. In addition, students are more likely to spend longer times on buses and have more limited dual enrollment opportunities, making digital learning more important.
The three State Schools were also eligible. In addition, state charter schools that are located in a Tier 1 County and have an attendance zone in which all LEAs were eligible for the grant were also eligible.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Eligible LEAs could apply for up to $75 per student. These funds were not intended to purchase a $75 device per student. Rather, as a whole, the total eligible funding amount should be used according to the LEA plan for devices that will best serve the students. All devices must be compliant with the minimum standards for online testing through the Georgia Milestones Assessment System. GOSA received applications from 58 of 72 eligible LEAs by the November 1, 2016 deadline, totaling $11.9 million in requested funds. External reviewers scored the applications using a similar process as in prior grant rounds. On December 21, Governor Deal announced that 33 rural, high-need districts would be awarded nearly $4 million to purchase laptops and tablets. Districts have until February 24, 2017 to submit a Letter of Intent to accept the grant award.
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Connections for Classrooms 2016 Annual Report
Going Forward All grant program reimbursement requests, across all grant rounds, must be received by December 31, 2018. Over the next two years, grantees will continue to request reimbursements for approved expenditures as set out in the applicable guidelines for the round in which funds were awarded. In addition, GOSA will continue to conduct site visits to ensure that implementation aligns with the contract. In conjunction with this annual report, GOSA contracted with an external evaluator, PCG Education, to write a series of five case studies on implementation. These case studies are available on the CFC Program Report and Case Studies page.
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Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

Appendix A: Connections for Classrooms Rounds 1-3 Grant Awards by LEA

LEA Name
Appling County Atkinson County Atlanta Public Schools Bacon County Baker County Baldwin County Banks County Barrow County Bartow County Ben Hill County Berrien County Bibb County Bleckley County

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

69,725.86 19,815.90 1,423,831.43 10,070.69
158,960.20 392,819.35 905,709.64
95,259.00 134,555.06 155,686.70 134,363.81
58,468.16

77,760.00 -
1,125,720.00 39,976.83 -
123,322.50 84,480.00
189,082.78 -
41,915.50 -
69,700.00

35,752.50
20,803.17
200,767.22 208,509.60 37,278.37 530,205.00 -

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

147,485.86

440,640.00

588,125.86

55,568.40

202,597.50

258,165.90

2,549,551.43

6,379,080.00

8,928,631.43

70,850.69

243,119.98

313,970.67

-

-

-

282,282.70

698,827.50

981,110.20

477,299.35

337,920.00

815,219.35

1,295,559.64

1,559,400.00

2,854,959.64

303,768.60

834,038.40

1,137,807.00

134,555.06

393,638.97

528,194.03

234,880.57

378,906.11

613,786.67

664,568.81

3,004,495.00

3,669,063.81

128,168.16

278,800.00

406,968.16

13

LEA Name
Brantley County Bremen City Brooks County Bryan County Buford City Bulloch County Burke County Butts County Calhoun City Calhoun County Camden County Candler County Carroll County Carrollton City Cartersville City

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

102,585.65 171,814.74
131,173.98 168,406.45 72,982.06 428,677.20 92,681.15

99,450.00 153,750.00
338,812.50 105,193.82 147,470.05
62,599.35 76,747.50
14,962.50
30,059.60 143,291.14
43,404.99

46,642.50 143,866.18 145,209.95 113,820.00 31,350.40 281,908.86 -

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

202,035.65

397,800.00

599,835.65

325,564.74

153,750.00

479,314.74

46,642.50

264,307.50

310,950.00

338,812.50

790,562.50

1,129,375.00

380,233.99

373,590.00

753,823.99

292,680.00

1,170,719.98

1,463,399.98

62,599.35

354,729.65

417,329.00

245,153.95

434,902.50

680,056.45

113,820.00

455,280.00

569,100.00

87,944.56

84,787.50

172,732.06

-

-

-

61,410.00

245,640.00

307,050.00

853,877.20

1,700,800.00

2,554,677.20

136,086.14

173,619.97

309,706.10

14

LEA Name
Catoosa County Charlton County Chatham County Chattahoochee County Chattooga County Cherokee County Chickamauga City Clarke County Clay County Clayton County Clinch County Cobb County Coffee County Colquitt County Columbia County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

202,675.29 456,418.95
5,259.23

58,983.00 47,130.00 460,148.32 25,980.00 61,560.00

258,717.00 -

317,700.00 249,805.29 916,567.27
25,980.00 66,819.23

1,270,800.00 188,520.00
1,840,593.27 103,920.00 348,840.00

1,588,500.00 438,325.29
2,757,160.54 129,900.00 415,659.23

1,151,999.63 1,448,307.46

887,589.50 3,487,896.59

2,335,896.96 5,823,793.55

107,929.30 549,593.03
-

102,600.00 276,345.00
1,181,160.00

-

210,529.30

-

825,938.03

-

-

- 1,181,160.00

102,600.00 1,565,955.00
6,693,240.00

313,129.30 2,391,893.03
7,874,400.00

74,900.00

29,655.00

-

104,555.00

168,045.00

272,600.00

1,126,944.38 -
126,709.38 173,654.50

44,872.50 126,624.64 706,057.25

2,282,137.13 -
77,517.86 1,181,692.75

3,409,081.51 44,872.50
330,851.88 2,061,404.50

3,423,205.70 254,277.50
1,156,807.50 1,887,750.00

6,832,287.20 299,150.00
1,487,659.38 3,949,154.50

15

LEA Name
Commerce City Cook County Coweta County Crawford County Crisp County Dade County Dalton City Dawson County Decatur City Decatur County DeKalb County Dodge County Dooly County Dougherty County Douglas County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

60,558.93

43,470.00

-

104,028.93

173,880.00

277,908.93

112,978.04

93,690.00

-

206,668.04

374,760.00

581,428.04

- 1,302,780.00

- 1,302,780.00

1,954,170.00 3,256,950.00

94,968.04

37,800.00

-

132,768.04

214,200.00

346,968.04

78,863.40

31,852.17

-

110,715.57

180,495.63

291,211.20

-

-

-

-

-

-

524,729.00

168,435.00

-

693,164.00

954,465.00 1,647,629.00

65,756.60

17,058.83

127,681.76

210,497.19

366,159.41

576,656.60

-

65,026.80

320,777.00

385,803.80

257,202.53

643,006.33

17,864.50

72,264.99

-

90,129.49

409,501.61

499,631.10

8,426,097.35 2,949,380.00

- 11,375,477.35 11,797,520.00 23,172,997.35

-

93,810.00

-

93,810.00

375,240.00

469,050.00

21,391.02

29,407.50

-

50,798.52

166,642.50

217,441.02

-

-

-

-

-

-

1,036,357.80

562,722.64

209,477.36 1,808,557.80

3,088,800.00 4,897,357.80

16

LEA Name
Dublin City Early County Echols County Effingham County Elbert County Emanuel County Evans County Fannin County Fayette County Floyd County Forsyth County Franklin County Fulton County Gainesville City Gilmer County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

88,765.50
168,776.12 427,560.00

33,852.00 17,392.50 174,918.33 66,637.50

13,195.50
89,874.44
-

135,813.00
17,392.50 433,568.89 494,197.50

266,602.50
98,557.50 617,849.81 377,612.50

402,415.50 115,950.00 1,051,418.70 871,810.00

-

-

81,828.27

81,828.27

463,693.53

545,521.80

381,233.80 19,360.65
740,985.00 162,115.45

26,743.89 87,870.00 638,268.75 288,060.00

13,193.61 -
845,456.25 -

421,171.30 107,230.65 2,224,710.00 450,175.45

226,312.53 351,480.00 1,483,725.00 1,152,240.00

647,483.83 458,710.65 3,708,435.00 1,602,415.45

-

152,400.00 1,126,297.20 1,278,697.20

852,464.80 2,131,162.00

12,610.00 1,196,026.50
67,338.70

25,783.00 1,273,636.60
68,457.74

74,970.00 1,000,000.00
55,922.26

113,363.00 3,469,663.10
191,718.70

403,012.00 3,410,454.90
497,520.01

516,375.00 6,880,118.00
689,238.71

17

LEA Name
Glascock County Glynn County Gordon County Grady County Greene County Gwinnett County Habersham County Hall County Hancock County Haralson County Harris County Hart County Heard County Henry County Houston County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

54,144.00 -
240,865.50 -
150,756.20

17,100.00 213,417.80 192,990.00
49,342.50

166,062.20
94,397.13
-

71,244.00 379,480.00 433,855.50
94,397.13 200,098.70

68,400.00 1,517,920.00
771,960.00 534,917.07 279,607.50

139,644.00 1,897,400.00 1,205,815.50
629,314.20 479,706.20

1,531,427.15

255,675.25

- 1,787,102.40

1,022,700.98 2,809,803.38

151,299.85 565,189.48
11,352.02 -

44,038.73 230,291.60
27,210.00 70,115.76

157,681.23 -

353,019.81 795,481.08
38,562.02 70,115.76

806,879.85 921,166.40 108,840.00 397,322.62

1,159,899.66 1,716,647.48
147,402.02 467,438.38

-

94,912.80

133,282.20

228,195.00

532,455.00

760,650.00

180,728.00
109,443.81

56,970.00
404,764.69

49,462.00 -
1,231,920.00 -

49,462.00 237,698.00 1,231,920.00 514,208.50

197,848.00 227,880.00 4,927,680.00 1,619,058.75

247,310.00 465,578.00 6,159,600.00 2,133,267.25

18

LEA Name
Irwin County Jackson County Jasper County Jeff Davis County Jefferson City Jefferson County Jenkins County Johnson County Jones County Lamar County Lanier County Laurens County Lee County Liberty County Lincoln County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

-

-

51,240.00

51,240.00

204,960.00

256,200.00

79,112.00

152,711.70

-

231,823.70

610,846.80

842,670.50

80,581.30

63,106.51

-

143,687.81

252,426.03

396,113.84

407,249.40

65,722.50

-

472,971.90

372,427.50

845,399.40

-

37,070.13

-

37,070.13

37,070.13

74,140.25

19,312.99

41,039.23

-

60,352.22

232,555.65

292,907.87

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

48,736.72

23,315.93

140,066.05

212,118.70

614,668.03

826,786.72

274,793.55

75,930.00

-

350,723.55

303,720.00

654,443.55

-

49,890.00

-

49,890.00

199,560.00

249,450.00

1,505,147.99

-

- 1,505,147.99

323,711.96 1,828,859.95

-

-

377,040.00

377,040.00

565,560.00

942,600.00

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

19

LEA Name
Long County Lowndes County Lumpkin County Macon County Madison County Marietta City Marion County McDuffie County McIntosh County Meriwether County Miller County Mitchell County Monroe County Montgomery County Morgan County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

-

70,705.17

19,852.64

90,557.81

362,231.24

452,789.05

- 119,498.60

99,772.00

219,270.60

877,082.38 1,096,352.98

-

15,893.68

23,631.34

39,525.02

158,100.08

197,625.10

-

13,549.67

-

13,549.67

76,781.44

90,331.10

211,409.09

141,240.00

-

352,649.09

564,960.00

917,609.09

267,587.19

87,848.70

176,431.30

531,867.18

1,057,119.98 1,588,987.16

-

-

-

-

-

-

416,829.48

92,902.50

-

509,731.98

526,447.50 1,036,179.48

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

58,711.17

-

58,711.17

332,696.64

391,407.81

-

8,722.65

-

8,722.65

49,428.35

58,151.00

-

51,277.50

-

51,277.50

290,572.50

341,850.00

-

10,505.80

6,000.00

16,505.80

66,023.20

82,529.00

-

5,463.16

59,712.63

65,175.79

360,224.20

425,399.99

141,277.50

93,750.00

-

235,027.50

375,000.00

610,027.50

20

LEA Name
Murray County Muscogee County Newton County Oconee County Oglethorpe County Paulding County Peach County Pelham City Pickens County Pierce County Pike County Polk County Pulaski County Putnam County Quitman County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

- 165,915.00

-

165,915.00

940,185.00 1,106,100.00

- 933,810.00

-

933,810.00

3,735,240.00 4,669,050.00

263,998.50

568,620.00

-

832,618.50

2,274,480.00 3,107,098.50

-

115,423.65

218,000.00

333,423.65

500,135.47

833,559.12

-

28,135.25

36,664.00

64,799.25

259,197.00

323,996.25

501,876.20 1,139,107.92

560,812.08 2,201,796.20

2,549,880.00 4,751,676.20

1,247,152.33

-

- 1,247,152.33

333,000.00 1,580,152.33

59,391.12

31,792.50

-

91,183.62

180,157.50

271,341.12

- 128,160.00

-

128,160.00

512,640.00

640,800.00

44,378.60

107,640.00

-

152,018.60

430,560.00

582,578.60

-

-

150,300.00

150,300.00

350,700.00

501,000.00

- 166,575.00

-

166,575.00

943,925.00 1,110,500.00

324,173.79

39,630.00

-

363,803.79

158,520.00

522,323.79

317,575.04

60,952.50

-

378,527.54

345,397.50

723,925.04

-

-

-

-

-

-

21

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

LEA Name
Rabun County Randolph County Richmond County Rockdale County Rome City Schley County Screven County SCSC-Atlanta Heights Charter School SCSC-CCAT School SCSC-Cherokee Charter Academy SCSC-Coweta Charter Academy SCSC-Fulton Leadership Acad. SCSC-Georgia Connections Academy SCSC-Georgia Cyber Academy SCSC-Ivy Prep Academy at Kirkwood for Girls School

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

28,696.75

51,736.60

-

80,433.35

206,946.38

287,379.73

32,547.76

7,591.87

-

40,139.63

43,020.61

83,160.24

1,170,643.50

668,526.36

25,831.52 1,865,001.38

3,891,642.14 5,756,643.52

-

120,711.50

363,548.50

484,260.00

1,937,040.00 2,421,300.00

172,918.50

136,170.00

-

309,088.50

771,630.00 1,080,718.50

105,998.91

39,480.00

-

145,478.91

157,920.00

303,398.91

144,188.05

50,827.50

-

195,015.55

288,022.50

483,038.05

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

5,145.15

-

-

-

5,145.15

#N/A

#N/A

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

22

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

LEA Name

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

SCSC-Ivy Prep Young Men's Leadership Academy

-

-

-

-

-

-

SCSC-Ivy Preparatory Academy School

-

-

-

-

-

-

SCSC-Mountain Education Center

96,964.75

6,173.19

33,863.00

137,000.94

170,433.41

307,434.35

SCSC-Odyssey School

-

-

-

-

-

-

SCSC-Pataula Charter Academy

-

-

-

-

-

-

SCSC-Provost Academy Georgia

-

-

-

-

-

-

SCSC-Utopian Academy for the Arts Charter School

-

-

-

-

-

-

Seminole County

-

-

-

-

-

-

Social Circle City

-

-

-

-

-

-

Spalding County

91,906.90

224,242.50

-

316,149.40

1,270,707.50 1,586,856.90

State Schools-Atlanta Area School for the Deaf

-

-

3,915.00

3,915.00

22,185.00

26,100.00

State Schools-Georgia Academy for the Blind

-

-

-

-

-

-

State Schools-Georgia School for the Deaf

30,958.41

-

-

30,958.41

13,005.00

43,963.41

Stephens County

231,021.20

106,631.16

8,249.13

345,901.49

473,269.71

819,171.20

Stewart County

-

-

-

-

-

-

23

LEA Name
Sumter County Talbot County Taliaferro County Tattnall County Taylor County Telfair County Terrell County Thomas County Thomaston-Upson County Thomasville City Tift County Toombs County Towns County Treutlen County Trion City

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

585,380.69

101,340.00

-

686,720.69

574,260.00 1,260,980.69

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

4,005.00

-

4,005.00

22,695.00

26,700.00

669,844.09

-

15,975.97

685,820.06

453,517.50 1,139,337.56

-

31,125.00

-

31,125.00

176,375.00

207,500.00

-

-

22,430.25

22,430.25

127,104.75

149,535.00

29,527.26

31,207.50

-

60,734.76

176,842.50

237,577.26

309,883.34

-

73,077.07

382,960.41

292,308.28

675,268.69

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

62,820.00

62,820.00

355,980.00

418,800.00

173,950.00

171,180.00

-

345,130.00

970,020.00 1,315,150.00

-

12,268.12

-

12,268.12

69,519.32

81,787.44

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

63,755.37

19,891.76

-

83,647.14

29,837.65

113,484.78

24

LEA Name
Troup County Turner County Twiggs County Union County Valdosta City Vidalia City Walker County Walton County Ware County Warren County Washington County Wayne County Webster County Wheeler County White County

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

-

20,932.50

20,932.50

118,617.50

139,550.00

62,729.20

34,107.96

-

96,837.16

136,431.84

233,269.00

22,917.30

74,800.76

102,071.74

199,789.80

1,002,277.47 1,202,067.27

88,359.00

72,300.00

-

160,659.00

289,200.00

449,859.00

- 264,030.00

-

264,030.00

1,056,120.00 1,320,150.00

-

60,189.00

-

60,189.00

240,756.00

300,945.00

623,397.16

172,920.00

-

796,317.16

691,680.00 1,487,997.16

51,689.90

14,287.50

-

65,977.40

80,962.50

146,939.90

55,151.02

44,834.40

-

99,985.42

254,061.63

354,047.05

126,280.70

19,366.40

76,577.00

222,224.10

383,773.60

605,997.70

16,910.24

9,022.50

-

25,932.74

51,127.50

77,060.24

-

14,583.30

-

14,583.30

82,638.70

97,222.00

8,125.54

18,259.38

97,090.62

123,475.54

461,400.02

584,875.56

25

LEA Name
Whitfield County Wilcox County Wilkes County Wilkinson County Worth County TOTAL

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

CFC Round 1 CFC Round CFC Round

Award

2 Award

3 Award

Total State Funds
Awarded

Total Federal E-Rate Funds
Enabled

Total State and Federal Funds

- 393,150.00

-

393,150.00

1,572,600.00 1,965,750.00

13,663.72

22,532.93

-

36,196.65

127,686.62

163,883.27

268,265.61

34,470.00

-

302,735.61

195,330.00

498,065.61

-

-

-

-

-

-

118,239.66

53,098.58

32,783.57

204,121.81

398,167.86

602,289.66

37,007,710.47 25,370,491.92 15,133,934.31 77,512,136.70 129,127,487.07 206,639,623.77

26

Connections for Classrooms Annual Report

Appendix B: Digital Learning Device Rural Grant Program Award List

LEA ID

LEA Name

Amount Requested

Percentage Funded*

Amount Awarded

732

Tattnall County

750

Washington County

733

Taylor County

735

Terrell County

745

Thomaston-Upson County

643

Decatur County

740

Treutlen County

681

Jefferson County

699

Meriwether County

749

Warren County

635

Colquitt County

609

Ben Hill County

632

Clinch County

687

Laurens County

734

Telfair County

686

Lanier County

753

Wheeler County

640

Crisp County

697

McDuffie County

665

Grady County

605

Baldwin County

650

Echols County

711

Peach County

729

Sumter County

617

Burke County

634

Coffee County

653

Emanuel County

612

Bleckley County

751

Wayne County

627

Chattooga County

610

Berrien County

720

Randolph County

701

Mitchell County

$ 266,475.00 $ 227,100.00 $ 102,954.06 $ 104,025.00 $ 303,116.27 $ 359,916.00 $ 82,818.00 $ 192,075.00 $ 201,522.00 $ 39,200.00 $ 669,745.44 $ 226,861.00 $ 96,480.00 $ 462,267.40 $ 121,500.00 $ 124,992.00 $ 70,840.00 $ 290,955.00 $ 300,675.00 $ 323,850.00 $ 397,050.00 $ 56,990.00 $ 267,975.00 $ 336,450.00 $ 302,400.00 $ 546,825.00 $ 303,075.00 $ 176,046.00 $ 388,800.00 $ 201,975.00 $ 219,600.00 $ 67,275.00 $ 173,250.00

100% $ 100% $ 100% $ 100% $ 100% $ 100% $ 100% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 50% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $ 25% $

266,475.00 227,100.00 102,954.06 104,025.00 303,116.27 359,916.00 82,818.00 96,037.50 100,761.00 19,600.00 334,872.72 113,430.50 48,240.00 231,133.70 60,750.00 62,496.00 35,420.00 145,477.50 150,337.50 161,925.00 198,525.00 14,247.50 66,993.75 84,112.50 75,600.00 136,706.25 75,768.75 44,011.50 97,200.00 50,493.75 54,900.00 16,818.75 43,312.50

TOTAL TOTAL

$ 8,005,078.17 N/A

$ 3,965,576.00

*Only applicants scoring 60 or higher on the scoring rubric received funding. Twenty-five additional districts applied for funding but received a score below 60 and therefore did not receive funding.

27

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