SPOTLIGHT AP

New Mexico boy without home internet walks to school to use WiFi

By David Williams and Christina Zdanowicz, CNN Oct 23, 2020

ROSWELL, N.M. — A fourth-grader in Roswell, New Mexico, has been walking to his shuttered elementary school to do his classwork over the building's WiFi because he didn't have internet access at home. ... Schools in the Roswell Independent School District have been conducting classes online because of the COVID-19 pandemic. ... Angel Endecott says her son Jonathon turns 10 next month and is a very independent child. They live near the school, and Jonathon walked to school and home last year, when school was in session.



Fourth-grader Jonathon Endecott is shown doing classwork outside his elementary school so he could get on the building's WiFi network.

Provided to CNN

Endecott, who works in home health, lost both of her jobs at one point because of COVID-19. She's back at work at one of her jobs but wasn't able to afford internet service. ... She said her son was happy when she told him to go to the school to go online.

"He was like, 'Yeah, I need to be back on the school property, and I could be like a normal kid again,'" she said. "Him just being outside of the building gives him that, 'Hey, I'm at school' feeling even though he's not around other classmates or teachers." ... Endecott said their house is just across a field from the school, so she and her husband felt safe having him spend the day there.

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