TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL) — The Oasis Center of Tallahassee is one of six new lift zones powered by Comcast that will allow parents and students to connect to free wifi both inside and outside of the facility.
It's an initiative to help close the digital divide made more apparent as families struggle to keep up with the demands of digital learning during the pandemic.
"The way that they set up the educational plan here in Leon County, that's not going to change. There's only going to be an increased need for connectivity," said Eric Clark, executive director of the Foundation for Leon County Schools.
Lift zones help meet that need not only by providing wifi, but also by creating hubs of interactivity that can help support the new learning models children are adapting to in schools.
"Looking at the gaps that were created through those kinds of nontraditional ways of teaching that we've experienced," said Apalachee Ridge Technology Center tech coordinator Christic Henry, "they've recognized that it's going to take partnership with the communities and places that people can come and connect to learning facility in a congregation that will kind of begin the process of curing some of these gaps."
The Apalachee Ridge Technology Center is also a lift zone. Henry is looking forward to how the newly available technology can help them move forward between now and the start of the next school year.
"In the summer we hope to offer some pre-GED classes, we hope to do some community engagement opportunities to really start programming the space," Henry said.
Lift zones also give students and families access to hundreds of hours of digital skills content to help families and site coordinators navigate online learning.
The Tallahassee Lift Zones are located at:
- Apalachee Ridge Technology Learning Center
- Boys & Girls Clubs of the Big Bend – Sunrise Place Club
- The L.I.F.E. Center
- The Oasis Center for Women and Girls
- Pinewood Community Center
- Springfield Community Center
