Obama Secures $750M In Pledges To Get Kids Online

From left to right, Erin Penner, 12, Grace Richards, 11, and Avery Shepherd, 12, try out new MacBook Air laptops Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, at Upton Middle School in St. Joseph, Mich. More than 200 computers were pass... From left to right, Erin Penner, 12, Grace Richards, 11, and Avery Shepherd, 12, try out new MacBook Air laptops Wednesday, Jan. 23, 2013, at Upton Middle School in St. Joseph, Mich. More than 200 computers were passed out to 6th-grade students as part of the One-to-One computer initiative supported by the St. Joseph Public Schools Foundation. (AP Photo/The Herald-Palladium, Don Campbell) MORE LESS
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ADELPHI, Md. (AP) — President Barack Obama says $750 million in new private-business commitments will help “close the technology gap” in America’s schools.

Obama announced the new funding Tuesday at a Maryland middle school. The money will be used to connect more students to high-speed Internet.

The White House hopes the pledges will help fulfill a goal Obama set last summer to have 99 percent of students in schools wired at high speeds within five years. The president says access to the Internet will help American children compete with students from around the world.

The initiative also builds on Obama’s focus for 2014 on helping more Americans join and stay in the middle class amid an economic recovery in which the benefits have come more quickly for those at the top of the income scale.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Obama announced the new funding Tuesday at a Maryland middle school. The money will be used to connect more students to high-speed Internet.

The White House hopes the pledges will help fulfill a goal Obama set last summer to have 99 percent of students in schools wired at high speeds within five years. The president says access to the Internet will help American children compete with students from around the world.

The initiative also builds on Obama’s focus for 2014 on helping more Americans join and stay in the middle class amid an economic recovery in which the benefits have come more quickly for those at the top of the income scale.

Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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