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CMS Opens Seven Drive-Up Wi-Fi Sites For Remote Lessons

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
A CMS employee delivers remote-learning technology this spring.

Starting Wednesday, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools is offering drive-up Wi-Fi access at seven locations around the county to help students connect to remote lessons. 

CMS is still trying to get individual Wi-Fi hotspots to about 16,000 students who lack a good connection for online lessons. But in the interim, Chief Technology Officer Derek Root says the district has installed Wi-Fi access points on the outside of five schools: Hidden Valley Elementary, 5100 Snow White Lane; Renaissance West STEAM Academy, 3241 New Renaissance Way; Marie G. Davis, 3351 Griffith St.; University Park Creative Arts School, 2400 Hildebrand St.; and Starmount Academy, 1600 Brookdale Ave.

CMS will also send school buses with Wi-Fi hubs to Bloomfield Acres in west Charlotte and to Central Avenue, where the Latin American Coalition is offering its parking lot "and probably providing some translation services," Root said.

The Wi-Fi centers will be available from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, with security staff on hand. Students are asked to stay inside cars or follow social distancing guidelines while they work to avoid spreading the coronavirus.

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Ann Doss Helms has covered education in the Charlotte area for over 20 years, first at The Charlotte Observer and then at WFAE. Reach her at ahelms@wfae.org or 704-926-3859.