Partnership for CT to provide laptops to 60k students

Yvette Melendez, right, addresses fellow members of The Partnership for Connecticut board of directors, including Gov. Ned Lamont, second from left, at the group's second meeting, held at Yale University, Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, in New Haven, Conn. The partnership is working to narrow the focus of the education nonprofit, which is funded partly by taxpayer funds and by contributions from Dalio Philanthropies, the family foundation of the founder of the world's largest hedge fund. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

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Yvette Melendez, right, addresses fellow members of The Partnership for Connecticut board of directors, including Gov. Ned Lamont, second from left, at the group's second meeting, held at Yale University,

... more Photo: Susan Haigh / Associated Press

Photo: Susan Haigh / Associated Press

Yvette Melendez, right, addresses fellow members of The Partnership for Connecticut board of directors, including Gov. Ned Lamont, second from left, at the group's second meeting, held at Yale University, Monday, Dec. 16, 2019, in New Haven, Conn. The partnership is working to narrow the focus of the education nonprofit, which is funded partly by taxpayer funds and by contributions from Dalio Philanthropies, the family foundation of the founder of the world's largest hedge fund. (AP Photo/Susan Haigh)

less

Yvette Melendez, right, addresses fellow members of The Partnership for Connecticut board of directors, including Gov. Ned Lamont, second from left, at the group's second meeting, held at Yale University,

... more Photo: Susan Haigh / Associated Press

Partnership for CT to provide laptops to 60k students

The Partnership for Connecticut has pledged to provide laptops to as many as 60,000 students in the state within the next month, joining the statewide response to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic that has closed schools and businesses throughout the state.

Program eligibility is limited to the high schools serving a majority of students eligible for free or reduced-price meals, known as Alliance Districts, and the distribution of laptops will be prioritized for students who demonstrate the most need.

"This is why we have organizations like the Partnership ... being innovative, being quick, we cannot afford to let our kids lose three, six months of education," said Gov. Ned Lamont. "We're working on this crisis on the social level, on the health care level, and I'm just glad this Partnership is thinking about what they can do now."

If there is remaining inventory and resources, then program eligibility may expand to include high schools where more than 40 percent of students qualify for free or reduced-price meals but are not considered Alliance Districts.

The Partnership for Connecticut will partner with the state Department of Education and individual school districts to distribute the computers as soon as possible.

kkrasselt@hearstmediact.com; 203-842-2563; @kaitlynkrasselt

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