Rep. Panetta Helps Secure $3 Million Grant for Cabrillo College to Expand Broadband Access, Improve Education
Santa Cruz, CA – U.S. Representative Jimmy Panetta (CA-19) applauds the nearly $3 million federal grant he helped secure for Cabrillo College to expand broadband access and improve the educational experiences of Latino and low income students participating in remote and hybrid learning. The $2,998,851 in federal funding will support hybrid classrooms, staffing, software, and partnerships with local K-12 schools.
Funding for Cabrillo College was secured through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which provided $65 billion in funding to expand high-speed internet access across the country. The Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) through the Connecting Minority Communities Pilot Program (CMC) awarded grants to 61 colleges and universities across the country.
"Cabrillo College plays a vital role in connecting the diverse communities of our Central Coast with new opportunities," said Rep. Panetta. "This nearly $3 million federal investment in Cabrillo College will help expand broadband at this institution to further its mission of empowering students' academic, personal, and career growth. As someone who attended a community college and, now, as the U.S. Representative for the 19th Congressional District, I look forward to continuing to implement our work with this type of federal investment in our local institutions' infrastructure to ensure the future of our students."
"This funding is a real shot in the arm for our most deserving students. With the support of the NTIA Connecting Minority Communities program, we will be able to provide laptop and technology support to students in the Watsonville and Live Oak areas, while also building out our capacity to offer hyflex learning spaces for our students and faculty," said Cabrillo College President and Superintendent Matt Wetstein. "Attending college today requires high quality access to broadband and the technology to learn and this funding will help us deliver on that promise for more of our students."
Cabrillo College's "Improved Remote & HyFlex Learning, Digital Literacy Training & Support for Students" (IRHL-DLTSS) project aims to expand broadband access and improve the educational experience of Latino and low-income students involved in remote or hybrid flexible (HyFlex) learning. The project activities include; building three Hyflex classrooms, purchasing accessibility software to support Cabrillo's Teaching and Learning Center for online learning, hiring adjunct faculty to support digital literacy training and to teach credit and noncredit Computer Application/Business Technology courses in digital literacy, partnering with local K-12 schools to help connect students, and hiring student assistants for Fall and Spring semesters to connect students with digital literacy training to become more familiar with the technological resources in higher education.
###