BATON ROUGE - On Wednesday morning, the East Baton Rouge Parish School system announced that 1,000 EBR Parish families with school children will receive six months of free internet service from Cox Communications Connect2Compete program.

This organization has graciously donated $60,000 to meet the immediate needs of disadvantaged students in East Baton Rouge. 

The donation comes on the heels of Governor John Bel Edwards’ announcement to shutter schools for the rest of the 2019-2020 school year.

This means EBRPSS has been working to transform a traditional face-to-face system to one that operates entirely at a distance. 

The district is applying a hybrid approach of printed packets and online resources. 

Now, one of the biggest distance-learning challenges has also been addressed- thanks to Every Kid a King and Cox, families that lack internet access will be able to ensure their children have access to online school materials. 

Every Kid a King Fund, established by Jim and Dana Bernhard, has been key in addressing this concern.

“We know our educators are working tirelessly to engage with students, and families are doing everything they can to fill the void of their classroom teacher,” Dana Bernhard said.

“We believe it’s our duty to support these extraordinary efforts any way we can and are glad that Cox is here to support.” 

Families must fill out an application to be eligible.