$80,000 Awarded for Digital Equity Investments Across Four CCABC Jurisdictions
Valley Vision and the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) are pleased to announce $20,000 Digital Equity Leadership Grant awards to four local government jurisdictions in the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium (CCABC) region. The Local Governments in the Greater Sacramento Region receiving the Digital Equity Leadership Grant awards are:
- City of Citrus Heights
- City of Isleton
- City of West Sacramento
- Yuba County
As part of the grant award, the four CCABC jurisdictions join the list of 36 awarded jurisdictions across California committed to participating in the Local Government Best Practices Check List Project, in order to support the adoption of policies and practices, as well as accelerate progress in closing the Digital Divide in California. The project includes attending quarterly Learning Community roundtables; the concept of the Learning Community recognizes that local leaders will drive progress if supported to share their experiences to coach one another with peer accountability for measurable progress.
“The County appreciates the opportunity to commune and engage with the greater California broadband stakeholder community to incorporate best practices on broadband expansion, toward the goal of maximizing connectivity for the citizens of Yuba County. We are pleased to accept the support of the California Emerging Technology Fund in furthering the County’s broadband mission, and look forward to pursuing implementation of lessons that have been learned elsewhere. Digital inclusion and digital equity are at the forefront of economic development priorities, as their expansion has the potential to have an outsized positive impact on all aspects of participation in the modern economy.”
–Ian Scott, Yuba County Special Projects Manager
“I look forward to applying the award to best advantage for our people that reside here, local businesses that have chosen Isleton for their nexus, and the outsiders that visit this unique location. We intend to emphasize affordability and accessibility throughout the application of this award. With limited access to transportation services and basic infrastructure, beautiful semi-rural communities like Isleton must seek their future online.”
-David Kent, City of Isleton Councilmember
Local Governments will be able to use the $20,000 Grant as they see most useful to close the Digital Divide in their jurisdiction. They also will be provided information by CETF about affordable lower-cost Internet service plans and available digital literacy training resources to distribute in their digitally-disadvantaged neighborhoods.
About the Local Government Best Practices Check List Project:
The Local Government Best Practices Check List was developed and released in 2021 by CETF, Regional Broadband Consortia, and the California State Association of Counties. It sets forth 5 Best Practices for each of 5 Roles that Local Governments can play in closing the Digital Divide, promoting Digital Inclusion, and achieving Digital Equity: (1) Policy Leader; (2) Planner; (3) Regulator; (4) Consumer Purchaser; and (5) Service Provider. The Check List provides a framework for Local Governments to assess their own progress.
These 5 Roles were first delineated in a Resource Guide for Local and Regional Leaders published by CETF in 2010 in collaboration with the Orange County Business Council and updated in 2021 in partnership with Valley Vision, the fiscal agent for the Connected Capital Area Broadband Consortium.
The updated resource guide, “Getting Connected: A Broadband Deployment and Adoption Resource Guide for Local and Regional Government Leaders” highlights the Local Government Best Practices Check List, as well as broadband masterplans, ordinances, and case studies to support local government leadership in broadband deployment. The Getting Connected resource guide continues to be a valuable resource for governments, with mentions across several toolkits, including the California Department of Technology.
Grant Partnerships
Sunne McPeak, CEO of the California Emerging Technology Fund, notes: “We are grateful to Valley Vision for reaching out and engaging leading-edge jurisdictions to pave the path forward. There is so much power and innovation that emerges when we join forces to deploy high-speed Internet infrastructure and get all residents online—especially the most digitally-disadvantaged residents in low-income communities.” McPeak also expressed appreciation to the California Department of Technology (CDT) Office of Broadband and Digital Literacy for contributing valuable content about broadband deployment permit streamlining to the Learning Community. CDT Broadband Access & Deployment Advisor Maria Kelly will be participating in the Learning Community to help support the 36 Local Governments.
Valley Vision is thankful to CETF for its $80,000 investment into the region, as the region’s awarded jurisdictions will receive guidance and support on digital access best practices from the 36 awarded jurisdictions across the state, as well as flexibility in digital equity opportunities to pursue through their grant award.
Investments Towards Equity: Supporting Device Access and Digital Literacy with Leataata Floyd Elementary School
Valley Vision, joined by community partners, announced a $50,000 digital equity grant award from AT&T that is being used for support device distribution and training. The AT&T Neighborhood Transformation Grant is supporting digital literacy and access to new computers for unserved and underserved residents of two public housing projects in the city of Sacramento, Marina Vista and Alder Grove.
Additionally, the grant is supporting the development of a Community Resource Center, with access to devices for families and a laptop lending program, to be managed by Leataata Floyd Elementary School. The Community Resource Center will feature digital literacy training provided by community partners.
As part of the grant, Valley Vision acquired 133 new laptop devices through partnership a with Human I-T. The next step for the project, led by Leataata Floyd Elementary and supported by Valley Vision and the Sacramento Housing and Development Agency, includes conducting a community needs survey, launching the Resource Center, and hosting the laptop distribution event.
Supporting Leataata Floyd Elementary School
The AT&T grant builds upon the investment of the California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), to implement the School2Home project, initiated in 2015, at Leataata Floyd Elementary School, with the support of Valley Vision.
As the first elementary school in the state to join the program, School2Home helped to provide the infrastructure and support services needed to increase both student achievement and family success, including chromebooks for every student to use in school and at home; enhanced teacher professional development and training on integration of technology into instruction; increased parent engagement; and student Tech Expert Development. The COVID-19 pandemic highlighted the need for affordable high speed internet access at home, along with more devices for families.
Community Partners
Valley Vision is thankful for the support of our partners from the Office of Representative Doris Matsui, city of Sacramento Councilmember Katie Valenzuela, Sacramento Housing and Redevelopment Agency, and the Food Literacy Center, in celebrating the launch of the AT&T project grant award.