Since our founding in 2012, we have been singularly focused on upgrading the Internet infrastructure in K–12 public schools so that all students can take advantage of the transformational power of digital learning. We use a data-driven approach to address the barriers that keep school districts from getting the speed they need. Through our federal advocacy work as well as our district and state programs, we are enabling high-speed Internet access in every K–12 classroom in America. Take a look at our progress so far.
Timeline Express

November
EducationSuperHighway Founded
Tech entrepreneur, Evan Marwell founded EducationSuperHighway to ensure all students in America, regardless of their zip code, have robust, reliable high-speed Internet access.

September
SchoolSpeedTest Launched
EducationSuperHighway partnered with 30 states and gathered more than 800,000 school speed tests. The speed test results reveal that close to 63% of schools in the U.S. need an upgrade.

June
President Obama announces ConnectED
The ConnectED initiative aims to connect 99% of America’s students to high-speed broadband to enrich K-12 student education through individualized learning and digital content and empower teachers with the best technology and training.

May
$10 Million Raised, Funders Include Gates and Zuckerberg
The funding is led by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Startup:Education fund and the Gates Foundation, the charitable group led by Microsoft’s Bill Gates and his wife Melinda. See a full list of funders.

January
50 of America’s Top CEOs and 100 EdTech Leaders Sign-On to Support Internet in Schools
Led by EducationSuperHighway, the top executives from 50 diverse companies and EdTech organization came together to urge the FCC to modernize the E-rate program to help bring high-speed broadband to schools in the U.S.

April
Releases Landmark Analysis On E-rate Spending
Published Connecting America’s Students: Opportunities for Action, an analysis of E-rate spending that offers key insights for expanding educational opportunity.

June
Partnership with Virginia Announced
Governor Terry McAuliffe announced a partnership between the Commonwealth of Virginia, the Virginia Department of Education, and EducationSuperHighway. Recognizing that broadband access in Virginia schools is critical to creating a stronger workforce and a more competitive economy, the partnership aims to connect all K-12 students across the state

July
FCC Takes First Step to Modernize E-rate Including $5B for Wireless in Schools
The FCC releases a modernization order that takes the first steps toward streamlining the E-rate program and focuses on expanding funding for Wi-Fi networks in elementary and secondary schools and libraries across America.

August
Announces State K-12 Broadband Partnership with Arkansas
EducationSuperHighway partners with Arkansas’ Office of the Governor and the Arkansas Department of Education to develop a plan to lead the nation in meeting the ConnectED goal of connecting all students to high-speed broadband in the state.

November
Network Essentials for Superintendents Aims to Help School Districts Launch Upgrades
EducationSuperHighway releases Network Essentials for Superintendents, an actionable guide for superintendents and district leaders looking to upgrade their school district’s network to support digital learning.

January
FCC Takes Historic Action to Complete E-rate Modernization and Connect Millions of Students
The FCC announces a modernization order bringing the total yearly funding to schools and libraries for Internet connections and operating subsidies to $3.9 billion, ensuring that all of America’s schools and libraries are connected to high-speed broadband within the next five years.

February
Releases Guide for School Districts Looking to Upgrade Wi-Fi
The district consulting team develops and publishes the School Wi-Fi Buyer’s Guide an online resource designed to help school district technology leaders learn about and purchase Wi-Fi equipment.

April
Founder and CEO Evan Marwell Named ‘Visionary of the Year’
Evan Marwell, our founder and CEO, is named the San Francisco Chronicle’s Visionary of the Year. Evan was honored for his unwavering dedication in pursuing a solution “employing new, innovative business models and practices” for school broadband access nationally.

May
Virginia School Districts Pilot Program Leverages Data Transparency
EducationSuperHighway leads a pilot program to help district leaders openly share bandwidth and cost data. Five out of the fifteen participating districts work with providers to negotiate 500% more bandwidth for only 15% more cost, allowing all five to meet a connectivity level

July
Arkansas Upgrades First School District to High-Speed Broadband Network
Fort Smith Schools became the first Arkansas school district to connect to the state’s newly upgraded K-12 education network, which increased bandwidth speeds to 200 Kbps per student—more than 40 times its prior speed of 5 Kbps per student, for roughly the same

August
Fiber Toolkit Helps School Districts Upgrade
Our district consulting team releases the Fiber Toolkit that helps school leaders determine the right type of fiber connection and provides actionable guidance on funding, procurement, and implementation.

September
Montana Governor Steve Bullock announces partnership
The Office of the Governor and the Montana Office of Public Instruction partner with EducationSuperHighway to connect every K-12 classroom in the state to high-speed Internet.

October
New Mexico announces plans to bring high-speed Internet to every classroom in the state by 2018
Governor Susana Martinez announces partnership with state agencies, including the Public Schools Facility Authority, the Public Education Department, and the Department of Information Technology, to work with EducationSuperHighway to develop a plan for building the infrastructure required to deliver high-speed Internet.
November
Mark Zuckerberg Gives $20 Million to Help Schools Get Faster Internet
Mr. Zuckerberg and his wife, Dr. Priscilla Chan, donate $20 million to help fund EducationSuperHighway’s mission. With this donation, the couple hopes to accelerate school district adoption of the high-speed broadband infrastructure needed to support customized digital learning programs.

October
Releases 2015 State of the States Report on School Connectivity in America
The 2015 State of the States report shows tremendous progress has been made, an additional 20 million students have been connected, and 40 governors across the country committed to connecting the 21 million students who still don’t have the speeds they need.

June
Releases Compare & Connect K-12 Beta
Compare & Connect K-12 creates transparency for K-12 broadband speeds and pricing and empowers school leaders to make smart network purchasing decisions to get the most bandwidth for their broadband budgets.

March
Texas Governor Abbott Announces Partnership with EducationSuperHighway
EducationSuperHighway’s partnership with the Governor’s Office, the Texas Education Agency, Education Service Centers, the service provider community, and schools across the state to ensure scalable, robust, and affordable access to high-speed broadband for all Texas school districts.
April
Hosts the first K-12 Broadband and Digital Learning Policy Academy
Six states participate in the K-12 Broadband and Digital Learning Policy Academy designed to help states bring high-speed Internet access to all their students. The academy is led by a partnership between the National Governors Association and EducationSuperHighway.

May
Darby School District in Montana upgrades network, 33x more bandwidth
EducationSuperHighway’s fiber consulting program helped the small rural district in Western Montana upgrade to high-speed fiber, providing their students with 33x more bandwidth for digital learning.

August
Grows number of state partnerships to fifteen
We partner with governors and state agencies to accelerate K-12 upgrades. State partners now include: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Montana, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Virginia, Wyoming.
October
Hosts second K-12 Broadband and Digital Learning Policy Academy
Leaders from six states reconvene for the second K-12 Broadband and Digital Learning Policy Academy workshop. The Academy is led by a partnership between the National Governors Association and EducationSuperHighway.

November
Launches full version of Compare & Connect K-12
Compare & Connect K-12 creates transparency for K-12 broadband speeds and pricing and empowers school leaders to make smart network purchasing decisions to get the most bandwidth for their broadband budgets.

January
Releases 2016 State of the States report on school connectivity in America
The 2016 State of the States report shows continued progress, 10.4 million more students were connected in 2016, and 42 governors committed to connecting the 12 million students who still don’t have the speeds they need.

July
Ninth State Reaches 100% Connectivity
Arkansas becomes the ninth state to reach 100 percent high-speed connectivity in all its public schools. The state joins Hawaii, Kentucky, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Vermont, West Virginia and Wyoming in this milestone.
August
States Leverage Matching Funds
More than 20 states are now taking advantage of funding for special construction charges for high-speed broadband that meets the FCC’s long-term connectivity targets.

September
Releases 2017 State of the States report
The 2017 State of the States report shows continued progress. 4.3 million more students were connected in 2017 and 46 governors committed to connecting the 6.5 million students who still don’t have the speeds they need.

January
E-rate turns 20
Policymakers and advocates gather in Washington D.C. to celebrate 20 years of the FCC’s E-rate program, which since 2014 has connected over 39 million students to high-speed Internet in the classroom.

May
Alaska Announces Partnership with EducationSuperHighway
Governor Bill Walker and the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development (DEED) partners with EducationSuperHighway to launch the Alaska K-12 Broadband Initiative to bring high-speed broadband to all public schools across Alaska.
May
Thirty State Partnerships
Since 2016, our state partners have expanded from fifteen states to thirty states. Our new state partners include: Alaska, California, Connecticut, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Washington, and Wisconsin.

June
Washington Launches their Digital Learning Access Grant Program
Washington launches their Digital Learning Access Grant Program after receiving federal funding to leverage the E-rate program. The Digital Learning Access Grant Program will manage the funds to bring broadband connectivity to schools lacking connectivity.

September
Releases 2018 State of the States report
The 2018 State of the States report shows continued progress. 5.4 million more students were connected in 2018 and 49 governors committed to connecting the 2.3 million students who still don’t have the speeds they need.

April
EducationSuperHighway Receives Honorable Mention
EducationSuperHighway Receives Honorable Mention in Fast Company’s 2019 World Changing Ideas

October
The Classroom Connectivity Gap is Now Closed
In the 2019 State of the States report, EducationSuperHighway celebrates the unprecedented bi-partisan effort by federal, state and school district leaders that made digital learning a reality in nearly every K-12 classroom across the country.