In 2022, Google Fiber provided a $30,000 grant to the West Des Moines Community Schools Foundation to advance their initiative to expand STEM programming in all West Des Moines Community Schools (WDMCS) elementary schools. This support was directed to Western Hills Elementary School, where principal Jenna Presley has launched a new STEAM lab this fall. STEAM programming taps into children's natural curiosity and creativity, and Western Hills staff and teachers have been evaluating and planning the best ways to engage the entire student body to explore the world through this new resource.

For our dedicated team at Western Hills Elementary School, getting back to school is our favorite time of the year. Each of our students, from pre-K through sixth grade, comes from a different background and learns in different ways, so we’re constantly looking for opportunities to better reach students, enhance their learning experience and set them up for success both inside and outside the classroom. 

This year, we are proud to offer a brand new, interactive STEAM lab to our students with resources that span across ages and grades. STEAM incorporates all the great attributes of STEM – science, technology, engineering and mathematics – while incorporating arts into the mix, including visual, language and physical arts. Many students have greater aptitude and affinity for either arts and humanities or mathematics and science, and STEAM brings these together while tapping into students’ natural curiosity and creativity.

Several WDMCS elementary schools offer some STEM/STEAM programming to their students, so when we were presented with this opportunity by Google Fiber, we knew our students would greatly benefit from these types of learning resources.

Our staff has been incredibly intentional with the grant from Google Fiber. We not only needed a physical space in the school, but also a way to create access to the resources and activities so teachers could check them out from the lab and bring them into their classrooms. Much more than a play space, we wanted to create an interactive and exploratory space that fosters hands-on learning, hones underlying strengths and student learning targets, and finds ways to connect these resources within existing lesson plans. 

We have worked for months to make this program and lab as accessible as possible. After going through a professional development and training seminar this summer, each of our teachers worked with staff to evaluate lesson plans for opportunities to incorporate our new STEAM resources. A few of the tools students get to experience and learn with this year include:

• BeeBots programmable robots introduce the concept of coding and emphasize measurement and multiplication skills

• Spirobots introduce the practical application of robotics to students 

• Merge Cubes interactive digital canvas enhance learning potential and opportunities 

These tools are just a few of the many our staff will utilize to explore and leverage new learning methods and opportunities with our students. At Western Hills Elementary, we are big proponents of voice and choice, and we strive to offer a variety of resources for both our staff and students that foster engagement, learning and excitement while here at school. 

Thanks to a generous donation from Google Fiber, our team is proud to bring these new exciting STEAM resources and lab to our staff and students. This is just the beginning. We know this lab will grow and shift as the tools and resources become more ingrained in our lesson plans and offerings, and we are excited to create new ways to bring out the genius in all of our students. 

Posted by: Jenna Pressley, Principal, Western Hills Elementary School 

It’s already been a busy summer for Google Fiber in Middle Tennessee with big announcements in Franklin and Smyrna — and it’s getting even hotter. Today, the Murfreesboro City Council approved a license agreement which will enable us to bring fast, reliable internet to one of the fastest growing cities in the country.

Our engineering team is getting to work on network design, which is the first step in our construction process, and we’ll be working closely with the City of Murfreesboro on permitting throughout the project. We expect to kick off construction early in 2024 and plan to serve our first customers in Murfreesboro later in the year. Residents who are interested in staying up to date on the construction process and service availability can sign up here. 

Thank you to the Mayor and City Council for their leadership. They had a clear vision of ensuring access to high speed internet for residents and local businesses. Google Fiber is looking forward to being a part of Murfreesboro’s connected future.

Posted by Ryun Jackson, Government & Community Affairs Manager

GFiber trabaja con organizaciones de todo el país para conectar a más personas con los beneficios de Internet de calidad. En Austin, Latinitas ayuda a las mujeres jóvenes a desarrollar las habilidades necesarias para vivir en un mundo digital. La directora de comunicaciones, Salwa Yordi, comparte su historia.

Nuestra misión en Latinitas es empoderar a todas las niñas para que innoven a través de los medios de comunicación y la tecnología. Brindamos programación en persona y virtual para que las estudiantes se expresen, desarrollen habilidades tecnológicas, aprendan sobre su cultura y descubran su voz única. Cada verano la Latinitas organiza “Campamento Latinitas” para niños de ocho a 18 años para facilitar clases sobre creatividad digital y codificación. Sin duda, se necesita Internet confiable de alta velocidad para apoyar adecuadamente a estos estudiantes y sus proyectos innovadores.

Como conexión comunitaria de Google Fiber, Latinitas ha confiado en nuestro servicio Google Fiber para brindar actividades enriquecedoras y recursos educativos que se han integrado perfectamente en las actividades de nuestro campamento, incluidos talleres de transmisión en vivo con oradores invitados de alrededor de todo el país. Además, para abordar la brecha en las habilidades de alfabetización digital dentro de la comunidad latina, Google Fiber ha sido un socio destacado en la financiación de clases digitales para padres de Latinitas durante los últimos años.

Según la Liga Nacional de Ciudades, solo el 65% de las personas Hispanas que viven en los Estados Unidos tienen acceso a una forma de conexión de banda ancha en comparación con las personas Blancas (80%) y Negras (71%). En Texas, más del 15% de los hogares carecen de banda ancha en cinco condados del centro de Texas (Bastrop, Fayette, Lee, Caldwell y Mason), según estimaciones de la Oficina del Censo de EE. UU. de 2017 a 2021. Además de la falta de acceso, también hay una falta de habilidades digitales dentro de la comunidad Latina. Para abordar esta necesidad, Google Fiber ha sido un socio constante en la financiación de las clases digitales para padres de Latinitas durante los últimos años.

Por primera vez, cada campista en Latinitas tiene la capacidad de interactuar con profesionales de la industria en sesiones virtuales en tiempo real, participar en talleres dinámicos y colaborar en proyectos multimedia sin interrupciones debido a la conectividad. Además, la confiabilidad de Internet también ha facilitado la investigación en línea, permitiendo a las niñas a profundizarse en áreas de interés y ultimamente desarrollar su confianza.

Latinitas se compromete a fomentar una generación de líderes expertos en tecnología. Este es un compromiso a largo plazo. Conectar a nuestra comunidad garantiza que la misión y la visión de nuestra organización permanezcan accesibles para todos, y estamos agradecidas por socios como Google Fiber que están ayudando a nuestras futuras generaciones a prosperar.

Publicado por Salwa Yordi, Directora de Comunicaciones de Latinitas

GFiber works with organizations across the country to connect more people to the benefits of quality internet. In Austin, Latinitas helps young women develop the necessary skills for living in a digital world. Communications Director Salwa Yordi shares their story.

Our mission at Latinitas is to empower all girls to innovate through media and technology. We provide in-person and virtual programming for students to express themselves, develop tech skills, learn about their culture, and discover their unique voice. Every summer the organization hosts “Camp Latinitas” for kids ages eight to 18 to facilitate classes on digital creativity and coding. Without question, reliable high-speed internet is necessary in order to adequately support these students and their innovative projects.

As a Google Fiber Community Connection, Latinitas has relied on our Google Fiber service to provide enriching activities and educational resources that have been seamlessly integrated into our camp activities, including live streaming workshops with guest speakers from around the country. Furthermore, to address the gap in digital literacy skills within the Latino community, Google Fiber has been a remarkable partner in funding Latinitas Digital Parents classes for the past few years.

According to the National League of Cities, only 65% of Hispanic individuals living in the United States have access to a form of broadband connection compared to white (80%) and Black (71%) individuals. In Texas, more than 15% of households lacked broadband in five Central Texas counties (Bastrop, Fayette, Lee, Caldwell and Mason), according to U.S. Census Bureau estimates from 2017 to 2021. In addition to the lack of access, there’s also a lack of digital skills within the Latino community. To address this need Google Fiber has been an ongoing partner in funding Latinitas Digital Parents classes for the past few years. 

For the first time, every camper at Latinitas has the ability to interact with industry professionals in real-time virtual sessions, participate in dynamic workshops and collaborate on multimedia projects without disruption due to connectivity. Additionally, the internet's reliability has also facilitated smooth online research, empowering kids to delve deeper into areas of interest and ultimately building up their confidence. 

Latinitas is committed to fostering a generation of tech-savvy leaders. This is a long-term commitment. Connecting our community ensures the mission and vision of our organization remains accessible to all, and we are thankful for partners like Google Fiber who are helping our future generations thrive.

Posted by Salwa Yordi, Communications Director at Latinitas     

Greetings from Texas — where everything is bigger, including our Austin fiber network, which has grown in leaps and bounds since you last heard from us. It’s not just bigger, it’s also faster. As of today, customers across Austin can sign up for 5 Gig which comes with symmetrical upload and download speeds up to 5,000 mbps, an included Wi-Fi 6 router, up to two mesh extenders, a 10 Gig Fiber Jack, and professional installation for $125 month.

And 5 Gig will be available in a lot more places as new construction areas are connected to our network and we open sign-ups for service in new neighborhoods. We’ve continued to grow our network within the City of Austin, and we’ve also begun serving customers in several Travis County neighborhoods located just outside of Austin’s city limits. And we’ll be kicking off construction in both Round Rock and West Lake Hills in the coming months.

We also recently announced expansion to Rollingwood, and our team is in conversations with many other surrounding communities about bringing GFiber to their residents and businesses. We’re working to bring better internet to more people across Central Texas, and hope to have more to share soon.

Our investment in the Austin community has continued to deepen as our network has grown. GFiber’s Gigabit Community program, in collaboration with the Housing Authority of the City of Austin (HACA), continues to expand — launching three new communities over the last two years serving hundreds of additional households in need with free gigabit internet, along with devices and digital skills training. This brings the total number of Austin families served by the program to over 1,300. 

Next up is Espero at Rutland, which will support our community's goal to transition our homeless neighbors into long term housing.

Our Community Connections program, which kicked off in 2013, also continues to grow — GFiber now provides gigabit internet to more than 50 local community organizations and institutions in Austin at no cost. Since our last city update, we’ve connected 18 new Community Connections, including: 

• Austin PBS

• Texas Rio Grande Legal Aid

• The ARC of the Capital Area

• Boys and Girls Clubs of the Austin Area

• Ballet Austin

• McCallum High School

• Central Health - East Austin

• Latinitas 

As our network reaches new neighborhoods and cities, more organizations become eligible for this program, and we’ll continue to help them meet their internet needs so they can serve their constituencies and their missions.

Along with these two primary programs, Google Fiber continues to work with local organizations to increase access to quality internet and to build digital literacy and STEM skills across Austin. 

Working with Foundation Communities, Google Fiber is providing gigabit internet to those transitioning to permanent housing. Additionally, we’re supporting Community Tech Network’s efforts to get more Austinites enrolled in the Affordable Connectivity Program, a federal program that provides $30 a month for internet service to those who are eligible.

However, internet access without the ability to navigate the online world won’t get you anywhere. Recent partnerships with amazing local organizations working to ensure everybody has the digital skills they need to thrive include: 

• Avance-Austin, a recent NTEN Catalyst Award-winner for their outstanding digital inclusion work in our community

• Austin Free Net, which has for decades worked to ensure all our neighbors have access to technology and the skills to use it

As you can see, we’ve got a lot going on in Austin — and it’s all speeding up (literally!) with 5 Gig coming online now. Additionally, we’ll start testing 20 Gig service in Austin later this year.

If you are looking for how to keep up on what’s happening in your neighborhood, you can sign up for updates here. And follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn) to get the latest news from throughout the Central Texas region. 

Posted by John-Michael Cortez, Government & Community Affairs Manager

What a year it’s been for Google Fiber in Kansas City! 

On July 26, we celebrated our 11th “launchiversary” of sign ups in KCK and KCMO. I remember that day well, as the first employee in and can’t believe how much we’ve grown over the last decade plus. 

We started in a few neighborhoods, and now cover a majority of the KC metro area. In the past year alone, we announced expansion Parkville, Liberty, Riverside, and, just yesterday, Independence. This adds to the portfolio of Kansas City communities that benefit from our award-winning internet. 

Kansas City has also been paving the way for Google Fiber’s new multigig products - 5 Gig launched here on Valentine’s Day, making KC customers the first to have access. Additionally, UMKC’s School of Computing and Engineering are field testing 20 Gig speeds (read more about how they are using that to power real-time 3D development and reimagine the power of virtual reality).

Since the very beginning, we’ve worked with local organizations to make an impact across our community.Over the past year, we’ve upgraded service to the WWI Museum and Memorial to help them manage a major KC event (spoiler alert: they decided to keep the 5 Gig) andhelped America’s National Negro Leagues Baseball Museum tell its story and expand its legacy to an even wider audience. ; Our 2022-23 KC Digital Inclusion Fellow, Erika García Reyes of Revolución Educativa, helped nonprofit professionals boost digital equity in our community. 

• We’ve also worked with many incredible partners on digital equity issues: PCs for People provided laptops for more than 70 residents within the Urban Neighborhood Initiative and our existing Gigabit Communities

• KU Center for Digital Inclusion, in partnership with UMKC, provided a digital navigator who will hold office hours at public libraries and community centers to help support and build digital literacy skills for women leaving incarceration in the KC metro area 

KU's Center for Digital Inclusion accepts the Excellence in Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Award from the University Economic Development Association