Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants in Mississippi
(Grant description from "RUS Success Stories")

1994 Grant Award:

Mississippi Authority for Educational Television (MAETV)

Name of RUS Borrowers Serving Area: Delta Telephone Company (MS 531)
Bay Springs Telephone Company, (MS 506)
Franklin Telephone Co., Inc (MS 532)
Calhoun City Telephone Company (MS 504)
Counties: Bolivar, Warren, Choctaw, Jasper, Lawrence, Yalobusha, Tippah, Pearl River, and Stone Counties

The economic, social, political and technological future of Mississippi depends on the education of its people. In order to prepare students to meet the demands of society in the next century, greater educational opportunities must be made available to all segments of the population. Many isolated and small rural schools in Mississippi lack the facilities to provide the educational opportunities needed for global (competition. These poor, rural areas of the state have difficulty attracting and retaining instructors in subjects such as foreign language, mathematics, and science. Often, the small number of students to be served by special or advanced courses makes if financially infeasible to hire a teacher. Rural community members have been unable to take advantage of the ever-growing array of professional and personal enhancement opportunities because of their distance from urban areas and major universities.

Such was the case in a nine county area, stretching from the Mississippi Delta to the gulf coast of Mississippi, until the Mississippi Authority for Educational Television (MAETV) applied for and was awarded a Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grant of $271,929 in 1994. The schools involved in the project are located in some of the poorest districts of the state by defraying the cost of the equipment for this project. The design of this network provides advanced telecommunications access to rural school districts and communities within the state. The intent of the project is to improve both the quality of life and the economy in rural areas.

MAETV, headquartered in Jackson, will link 20 rural schools in eleven districts through a mobile uplink satellite, creating a distance learning telecommunications network. By providing the equivalent of one teacher per school through distance learning technology, the system’s 20 schools will benefit from a direct savings of $570,000 per year. The addition of satellite technology has provided rural schools and communities access to direct, interactive distance learning credit courses for over 12,000 students. Specifically, 1300 high school students will have access to college and university programs both in and out of state and 700 teachers will have opportunities for staff development. Satellite transmitted programs available for community development opportunities and new trends in business and industry will benefit 192,000 residents, business and industry personnel.