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It’s a homerun heard around the Big Apple.
NYC public schools are getting brand-new laptops with the help of T-Mobile — Mayor Eric Adams announced Monday alongside Yankees stud Jazz Chisholm Jr.
The city is donating a whopping 350,000 Chromebooks to underserved K-12 students — which will be equipped with free LTE and 5G network provided by phone carrier T-Mobile in an effort to “Bridge the Digital Divide.”
“350,000 students in 1,700 schools will receive Chromebooks with 5G internet access and optimized educational programs for free. That’s 350,000 future writers, teachers, mathematicians in the making,” Adams said Monday at DeWitt Clinton High School in The Bronx.
He was joined by DOE Chancellor Melissa Aviles-Ramos and Matthew Fraser, his chief technology officer.
The devices will be doled out first to schools with device coverage needs — then to students in temporary housing and high-poverty areas.
“We’re committing to completing the distribution of these devices across the school year. So by the end of this school year, every single student will have received a device,” said Aviles-Ramos.
The commitment follows a larger February agreement between the Adams administration and T-Mobile — in which Hizzoner designated the company as a major wireless carrier in the Big Apple in exchange for discounted cellular service for city employees.
The money saved on city-issued cell plans is being used to fund the new Chromebooks, which will cost $327 million, including capital costs and operational expenses for four years, according to Adams’ office.
Yankees all-star second baseman Chisholm Jr. stood beside the mayor Monday to voice his support for the program.
“I’ve been in New York for two years now, and this is like the seventh school I’ve visited, and this is the seventh time we’re doing this,” said Chisholm, who was born in the Bahamas.
“So I love giving back. I love giving back to the community because this reminds me of where I grew up.”
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