Youth Connecting Communities: From Digital Divide to Digital Opportunity

More than 40 percent of Wisconsin's students attend schools in rural communities. Many rural schools face unique challenges, often related to economic need, when planning for the future. The digital divide grant received from the Corporation for National and Community Service offered rural communities a new opportunity to address persistent difficulties. The grant equipped hundreds of young rural leaders with leadership skills and entrepreneurial and technology training. The young people then shared their new skills with their schools and communities, initiating projects to bridge the digital divide. This publication describes the programs developed by the 14 participating districts and the impacts each project made. Some examples are a middle school class that taught a weekly computer class to senior citizens at a local retirement center. Students in a school district received training to become community technology consultants. As part of a 3-year project, they then developed a village website.