Get Connected Now: A Conversation with School Leaders and Policy Makers about Expanding Rural Broadband Access

At the most recent National Forum to Advance Rural Education in November of 2020, editor Devon Brenner led a panel discussion about current and future efforts to expand broadband access for rural schools and communities with Brandon Presley, Public Service Commissioner for the Northern District of Mississippi; John Conradi, executive director of Connect Americans Now; and two Mississippi school leaders, Wayne Rodolfich, superintendent of the Pascagoula-Gautier School District, and Tyler Hansford, superintendent of Union City School District and chair of the Mississippi Rural Education Association. Their conversation is excerpted here. Some portions have been edited for cohesiveness and clarity.