 Yes, all right, let's We'll go around but first of all I want to say thank you. It's cool to be here, you know, I It's like sometimes you get lost on my to work where we're going and I was coming up from the I was coming up from Norwich, so I was heading north and there was I was on the phone and there was construction I'm interstate 89, so I went right by the exit. I was supposed to be But you know it worked out because I have never been on this road You know you cut what is it called little Wilson Road the one right out here little Miller Miller extension Miller extension. Yes Yeah, so I've never it's beautiful. Oh It was so beautiful, so you know just one of the joys of being a member of Congress in Vermont You get to get lost everyone's well and discover new roads and here at the end of it is this beautiful school It was really terrific So today what I'd like to do is go around after I introduce Commissioner Rosenwurzel She's one of my favorite people in Government in Washington. All right, you know why? She like gets the job done. She has an incredibly hard job the Federal Communication Commission has extraordinary jurisdiction and There's been a long time battle since I went to Congress in 2007 about Focusing on rural areas and the needs we have for broadband high-speed internet and She has been a pioneer and having a commitment to extending broadband to rural America And you know we had a big Really kind of a hard battle in Congress because a lot of the urban areas had higher speed internet And they just didn't they just didn't understand how it was different in most of rural America And that's by the way, whether you're a red state or a blue state, you know, it really didn't matter What was COVID? Of course, you couldn't do your homework. You couldn't go to work in many case you couldn't get a Point a medical appointment unless you had high speed internet and then one of the Areas where Jessica was absolutely the pioneer was on the importance of rural broadband for rural education and The homework gap is something that was she began talking about and that was the fact that so many kids Whose schools were assigning homework that required access to the internet didn't have it and It was really a major It was a it was a major point of bringing a lot of members of Congress Republicans and Democrats together Because all of our kids had the same challenge whether it just didn't matter what your politics were We're all concerned about the well-being of our kids and then She's pushed that to the point where we're trying to get internet on our buses And it's making a real concrete and practical difference. It was interesting talking To our bus driver Technological person Yeah, about you starting out your career Driving a school bus correct and now the technology officer here and Getting the capacity to have high speed internet on the buses So Jessica, I just want to express to you my gratitude and what a pleasure it's been I've served on committees that have worked with the FCC When I was in Congress and now that I'm in the Senate and it's just been a pleasure for me to see a public servant Who gets it and has a capacity to implement and work her way around what are you know Very difficult political times in the Congress to still get things done So I'll come back to you, but first let's go around have everybody introduce themselves Quickly hi, I'm Lisa Helm. I'm with the agency of education. I'm the state coordinator of Education technology and the state erate coordinator for schools Hi, I'm Stefan boat ride. I teach a high school history social studies electives here at Williamstone I'm Jake Bealing. I also teach high school history elective social studies here Hi, I'm Amelia. I'm a junior here at the high school Thanks for coming you guys My name is straight gates. I'm the director of technology here for the central Vermont supervisory union I'm Riley Ladner. I'm also a junior here I'm brick Nadsam, and I am the librarian here Oh Jerry Hudeck the principal of the high school my life And Matthew Fedders the school superintendent of this great school as well as five others from Northfield Williamstown Orange in Washington. That's great. And now let's turn this over to the chairwoman Jessica Rosen warsome Again, I'm embarrassing you by praising you so much, but it's just a common feeling about This extraordinary public servant that we have here in right here in The middle school right now. Oh my goodness. Williams are a lot of pressure. All right Well, you know, it's thinking it's terrific to be here for three reasons. First of all, I got to know senator Welch when he was congressman Welch and Such an eloquent advocate for the state and also the importance of broadband everywhere well before the pandemic well before it was trendy to talk about students and how they needed it and That get it factor always really appealed to me and also his willingness to work with anyone in Congress who wanted to get something done to me That's the only mode you can operate in in Washington. I've always appreciated that is my way, right? We have to figure out how to get along and you know, and I can be tough at times And the second reason I'm really happy to be here is well, I'm from New England and My family has lived off and on in Winhall, Vermont For the past 20 years. So I realize that's the southern part of the state But I have deep ties to this area of the country It's still my favorite place to be I can have that bias or at least I can tell you about it and then finally I'm really excited to be here because I think Coming out of the pandemic for the first time as a nation. We really grappled with the digital divide Congress has set aside billions of dollars to make sure that infrastructure reaches everyone everywhere We are starting to recognize that this is an infrastructure requirement on par with what we did for rural electricity a century ago And I've all long felt that was necessary But I've also long felt that we need to have a very targeted effort to make sure every student Everywhere has the internet access they need to succeed. I mean, I didn't need it when I was growing up I need a paper pencil my brother leaving me alone and But that's not true today and every child that in rural and urban America needs internet access at school and at home And we have to attack that problem in lots of ways being creative about E-Rates Thinking about rural students and how long they sit on a bus Supporting the build-out of infrastructure to some of our most remote communities And I just feel that this effort to put Wi-Fi on our school buses can make a really meaningful difference for a whole bunch of students right now and I want to do it with some urgency So I got a majority to commit to it about a week ago and next week we'll be voting on it And so we're coming up here to talk about it and get a sense of what it would look like in action And no better place to do that than Vermont. Yeah, and just so you know we've had it's the politics in Washington We're tough as you all know and that it seeps its way not just in Congress, but in some very agencies So Jessica's had a 3-2 majority. We've had a long time getting it fully complimented in I Not that this is your problem. It's our problem but your capacity to work with others and create some trust and consensus is Is is is what's so essential to us getting things done? But why don't we go around a little bit and here I'd love to hear from some of the students and you know What you contend with doing your homework and how long your bus rides are How this you think might help? So when I ride the bus home, I live on 64 So it's a good 30-minute drive just because you have to go around the woods area And I have a little sister who's seven years old, so you know she gets really distracted really easily She on the bus with you. Yeah and I Think a Wi-Fi being added to the bus can be really helpful It has access to students for parents especially to know where their kid is at all times when they like it word because I'm on the bus and I'm with them And also for like younger students who may just need something to like listen to you to like kind of Stay calm because a bus environment can be very stressful overwhelming for many students, especially younger ones So I think it will be really good. It's great. I have like an hour ride but or hour long bus ride and I really do take my academic seriously So I love having as much time as I can To work on my school work and I feel like it would be very important to put in like these technologies on the buses because An hour is a really useful time. That's a lot of time. It's two hours to in front. Yeah And also some students have to leave earlier to get buses for sports games Or over to Norfield. Yeah, and so that's cutting out of class time And so if we can have them Work on the bus that would be a lot of time that they could have to make up and not fall behind With their classes because last year I saw that there's a lot of people who were falling behind in their classes at the end of the day Who are having to leave for other things? So how long is your bus ride? It's an hour. I was actually her neighbor Anybody else just want to talk about Well, sure I can't speak for all teachers in the building but for me myself I sign nothing on paper due to the pandemic and even now that COVID's kind of coming back There's been a lot of students that have been out and I like them to be able to access to learning digitally at any time But from the pandemic almost it's immediate onset We saw that there were some Wi-Fi issues at home And I've heard about Wi-Fi issues just kind of patchiness because it's sprawled Vermont And so being able to work on the bus. I think for a lot of kids it's going to be downright revolutionary we use an online platform called Schoology and Students would be able to access not only there various types of learning but a different types of documents videos I mean really the full classroom experience just coming to and from school. So it's a great idea I mean to go to go with that Stefan. I know that one of my advisees She her living situation is such that she doesn't have any Wi-Fi at home and Last school year I would see her coming in For the last like half hour of the day and just like printing stuff off Because everything is being assigned digitally now She would be printing off webpages and webpages and webpages so that she could read them at home Oh, I see. Yeah Now was that a an expense issue or was it a cost issue or was it an availability issue for her? I believe that it was a Cost issue. Yeah So that so being able to spend that extra Long bus ride. I don't know exactly how long she had but having that little bit more time to and from school To be able to access this work. I'm also not having to print out Webpages Ferociously at the end of the day before going home. Yeah, and that's if you can print them out. I mean if you're assigned a Ted talk to watch, you know, like you can't print out a Ted talk I mean you can print out the transcript, but it's lost in translation. Obviously, so it'll be it'll so you can stream on this then So it's like a Ted talk you're gonna have the technology right so people that don't have access They'd be able to get that On the bus and then read the rest of it So I have only a very brief time in Vermont. I'm actually originally I worked in New York for a number of years Yeah, I moved up here. I will say that Any sort of travel time that students have if they have the capability of being able to access their Classwork during that time. It also helps to just like I worked in midtown, Manhattan So we had students coming from the Bronx from Brooklyn. They would have 45 minute subway rides, but they had access to better Telephone connections because of the urban setting right so if they could have access their homework that it then would Allow that hour transition and some students go slightly beyond an hour depending on the bus route We're then once they get home They would then be able to spend time with their family and those types of people to also do other things where it's not Here's an hour block where I'm waiting to then have access to then Maybe have a couple hours before I go to bed at the end of the night, you know So it helps to kind of make that more meaningful and to also give them that ability to sit there and Have access to it for the hour that they would normally not have much to do So let me just ask the students a little bit because you know you get out of school to kind of find the hangout But but a bus isn't necessarily the best place to hang out, you know, I never had to ride a bus and the old days I had to walk to school You know But um The I'll ask the question of some skeptics that you'll just surf the net to supposed to use it for homework activities But even that seems like if it's a calming situation if it helps calm the transition So you have better time with your friends Just speak to speak to us a little bit about that how you see it playing out I'm trying to think sorry I think it will like how like you're asking like how Having more time on the bus to do homework and then having time to socialize. Yeah. Yeah, I think it'll play out really well I mean as juniors we all are All of us are very academic focus, so we're all very focused on getting our grades up towards colleges So I mean Natalie and I we would try to hang out, but we both take AP classes So we have a ton of homework, but having access it on the bus right home gives us plenty of time to get it done How much homework would you say you have? So for our AP English class we have To read it like we have reading ones to do which are usually a paper But then we have essays to write which we have the week to write and we do ours online Just because it's like easier for most students She's just like not have to write it down hand-writing wise Which would take up to an hour hour and a half but having access on a Bus to be able to do I think would give a lot more time for people to be able to socialize and Which would help into the mental health strategy, so I think this would really help Students Mentally be happier after getting homework done and then being able to socialize with family and friends and just like sports If I would like what Bradley Wagner was saying you'd be able to do your sports to and be able to stay Caught up. So I mean it just makes so much sense. It's instead of that being dead time I You mean me think like people that might say oh, you know, they'll just be on snapchat or they'll be you know YouTube and like this is a I mean as a librarian like this is about access I guess and So what if they're on snapchat like like if that I mean in this in a community like this If you if they don't have access at home right like this is leveling the playing field and whether that's Academically or socially or whatever it is. It's giving everybody access to the same thing and I do believe and you guys should I shouldn't be talking but But like yeah, like Are they going to plug into their homework the entire bus ride probably not But like we're talking about like 13 14 15 year olds, right like I'm 35 I'm going to plug in for the full hour But if they need to They can and if they want to get in touch with like like oh everybody's watching this cool video I want to do it too. We have great Stuff filter here Well, actually the filtering filter will be the same network correct you rate funds correct it So on school on school devices it will still be filtered But the the issue of equity is exactly what you're bringing up So whereas students who had you could afford an iPhone and a data plan and the parents can pay for that And they'd be on their own personal device of the way home for students who don't have that ability They now can get out their school device and have connectivity to some not all the content But you know to things that they some of it could be educational something to be Entertainment or just they could be doing their homework, but it does give them an opportunity where they never had that opportunity And to add to the conversation You know what we saw from the agency of education when the pandemic hit and we had to all go remote Not all of our schools were on one-to-one meaning we had a one divide and and so obviously federal funds came in and did help with That but the way we're doing education as you were saying is changed Yeah, and so we I mean having a device or access that connectivity You know is so important and I was looking up figures for the state E-rate in the history of the program. There's been more than fifty three million dollars dispersed here in Vermont and Trace smiling because we it's a very carved-out niche for this fund, but just so important in terms of Helping districts to have that connectivity and we've seen over the inception of the program that demand for the funds has steadily You know grown year over year on average. We see a growth of about three point five million And so it's it's it expanding to the school buses. It's just a great recognition that We're learning all the time. Yeah, you know, it's interesting Not all my colleagues. They're worried about the expansion and I went back and I looked that during the Bush administration We actually funded not just broadband and internet connections, but also voice connections in schools Technology was different back But that we used to actually fund wireless phones on the school buses for safety purposes Yeah, yeah, yeah, and so It's really interesting that made sense then we're just doing the same thing now because what makes sense in the moment We're in where everyone needs a one-to-one device Yeah, is that we turn that into connected time for homework and especially for the students who don't have access at home I'm just curious in this community How much you sense that there are students or maybe you have some friends who have limited access at home Um Yeah, I mean after the flood especially I know a good a good amount of students, especially down on our main Who lost their homes which means that they lost most of their access to? Wi-Fi and I know a lot of Williamson is a great community, but we also have a lot of people that are unable to have access to internet or to higher advanced technology because of income and I will say I think Teachers might be able to add on to this more, but I think a majority a good non-majority But a good amount of students at both the elementary and the high school Have it hard to be able to have access to it and especially with Which you guys were saying ever since like COVID we've just been online, right? So it's just like yeah, you'd be correct on being like it's a lot of students are unable to have access to the things that they need to have access to to Be proficient throughout school and then throughout college if they decide to go in Well, and I think what you have proposed and we are all hopefully will get past and journey is it's really about flexibility in learning and access and that recognition we don't all learn the same way Whether we're on snapchat. Maybe they're discussing the latest assignment possibly not but they could be and Having that access just becomes so important and and people don't stand out because they don't have There have been a lot of great federal programs through the pandemic that have come through the affordable connectivity program for example That are seeking to do that. But what you also find in homes Is the bandwidth they may have in that home doesn't accommodate the entire family and so you don't have good access and so Offering it as another option, especially on a school provided device gives that student that exclusive opportunity to learn Peter we have about five more minutes You know, I just want to say one thing about the snapchat in cobit So much You know, I I just want to express my appreciation the teachers the school board and to the students Yet, we didn't just and I didn't go through a situation in school where we were online for a couple of years You know, it's just unreal and so much of the school is also learning to socialize learning how to navigate how to accept other people that are different how to respect other people And that's a lot of interaction. So that tool if you're deprived it, which is you know It is pervasive in our society. So you're not having access to it really Compounds the isolation that I think everyone experienced you guys uniquely So I just want to express my gratitude for you for getting through that because we none of us face that It's a whole new situation and it's called on a lot of special effort by the teachers by community leaders So I think it's really important what you're doing Thank you No, and it's cool what you did because it's uh, you guys should have some pride in in your you know being able to get through that When that that wasn't asked of your parents Your grandparents so It's nice to be here with Jessica In these buses where there's going to at least be something Be something you need and it's going to be provided Uh So it's just it and I you know what I love to listening to you talk about with your community and your concern for other people Who didn't have the circumstances you had. I mean that that is so beautiful Seriously, it's just and it's like the most important thing in life. You know you help other people So, um, it's so nice to be in this community. It's just great This is a fabulous community. I I'm just starting my third year in it We have world-class teachers and world-class students and they they have the ability to compete in a global market, right this um Expansion of e-rate gives them more opportunity to access The information they need to be those competitors Well, you know, I think this what makes you and I happy We're in washington our job is to try to do things that have policies that make a difference back home So you can be successful and you know, just you've done even the FCC have done such a good job on that This is exciting. We've talked about this for a while And uh, there's a lot of noise But we're staring at a bus. It's very shortly going to be outfitted like this Then hopefully you can be a model for the rest of the country, especially rural communities Or I think this is especially meaningful And by the way, just when I say david share here from Congresswoman ballot In haley where you Right here from senator sanders and the bernie and becca And I are working, you know hand-in-hand On all these issues and we're full partners and And so I just want you to know you've got the full support of all three of us We're small but might Just like williams Just like williams down exactly No, it's exactly right We've got a board member over there. Do you want to say anything? No, I would just say we have a couple of them. Couple. Yeah, that's right. So you've got to support this, you know You're trying to be Conducted a school board being was not easy It's certainly not Approach it doesn't approach the problems that seem to have it But we were I was using a high speed advertise this high speed satellite and We were knocked off constantly popping on and it was And when I was connected had to make a decision we had to make it It was a vote. I I put up a finger because no one could hear anything I had to say And I said, well you can I see us I see us So Madam, I'd like to a few moments afterward to just Explain something that I see as a problem. We don't have to go into it here now. You don't mind. No, probably No, just I you know, I certainly agree. I think running virtual board meetings was nothing compared to running a virtual school And you know seeing you know and understanding kids struggling at home with either the lack of of internet access or the lack of Of fast enough internet to do what you need to do which is still very much a struggle in our community You know the final word here. I just want to emphasize something jessica you said We're all america can't be second-class america. It's just can't be so, you know We made a decision in this country when electrification was coming through and the decision was not an economic one It was a it was a political and social one And it was that we were going to electrify Places where there wasn't a lot of profit to be made by getting electricity to the last farm on the dirt road and What we've been pushing for uh bernie and beca and jessica in the lead Uh is to have that commitment when it comes to broadband because it is so essential I mean you can't be a modern person. You wouldn't have a future without your access. No, sir You know, you know that and it's not just because you want to do youtube or other things and why shouldn't you want to do that? Right, but it's because you know that you can't be in the world Without an essential tool. So, uh, this is an ongoing challenge For me, it's also an area though where outlet division did none of us like really you've seen in washington It's an area where we can work together because when I when I talk to my Republican colleagues and I ask them how's internet where you are in the rural areas They get I I get it's like i'm talking to me here. You know what I mean? So then we are talking about a common Challenge and they generally want to do what's good for the folks they represent as I do So it's a way of bringing us together. So I just thought I think it's great what you've done here and the implementation part is hard You know, we get the policy and come up with somebody and that's a big battle But when you it actually comes down to the williams town williams town middle school And how do you get the bus and how do you get the technology and how do you put it in there? And then how do you get the school board to be supportive when It's really you know, it's the work of building community that And this is an essential tool And it's just a thrill for me to be here and to see the good work that you all have done And I know for you it must be because again really she's been the pioneer here Yeah, I um I saw early school buses in rural southern california For the kids of migrant workers on a superintendent who put them on wi-fi on the buses I saw it in rural new mexico with your colleagues, and you just look at that and you say You could do this everywhere Yeah, it's technically possible. We're creative enough right. We just have to press forward Get things done in washington and then leave it in the hands Of people who really make it happen. So thank you for what you're doing Yeah, it's it's it's really inspiring for the both of us to be here to see the good work you've done You know cooperation is better than conflict, right? You get things done. So thank you all Thank you You want to take a big group picture? Can we do that? Let's try to do that You too you got the school board you guys. Yeah, you guys have the hardest job in politics Do you want to do it?