WiFi offered on school buses at schools

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Colleton County School District began providing Wi-Fi services to students and parents on Monday March 30.

Six buses with Wi-Fi capability were placed at several of the schools to provide the community with internet access during the schools’ closure period. These buses will be available at the following schools from 9 a.m.-12 p.m., Monday through Friday until school resumes.

Buses are parked at:

 Bells Elementary School (12088 Bells Highway, Ruffin)

 Black Street Early Childhood Center (256 Smith Street, Walterboro)

 Colleton County Middle School (1379 Tuskegee Airman Drive, Walterboro)

 Cottageville Elementary School (648 Peirce Road, Cottageville)

 Forest Hills Elementary School (633 Hiers Corner Road, Walterboro)

 Hendersonville Elementary School (6089 Hendersonville Highway, Walterboro)

Users must park their vehicles within 250 feet of the bus to use the Wi-Fi hotspot, and the internet connection provided is content-filtered to prevent access to unapproved websites. The password to access the Wi-Fi connection will be clearly placed on multiple sides of the bus for maximum visibility.

Each of these sites will be regularly patrolled by school safety staff. School facilities and restrooms will not be available for visitor use, and all those using the bus Wi-Fi must remain in their cars to comply with the Centers for Disease Control’s social distancing guidelines.

Bus driver Cynthia Sharp is happy to be there for anyone who needs assistance. Located at Black Street Elementary, Sharp’s bus is the Wi-Fi hotspot for that area. “I hope that people utilize this opportunity,” said Sharp. “This is great what the county is doing.”

The hotspots will become more important as time away from school continues. New packets for students were to be handed out this week to help them continue learning through the end of April.