When the 6,000 plus students in Montrose stepped into their classrooms in the fall of 2019, little did they know they were now connected to the most advance internet network in the country. Elevate’s 100% fiber network was now powering all schools within the Montrose County School District with 1 Gig internet.

Prior to this, students and families who needed to get online found themselves in dire straits. That’s why when Elevate first began providing service in the Town of Olathe, the Black Canyon Boys and Girl Club worked with us to create a safe space for local students to connect to the internet. An early adopter of Elevate, the Club opened their doors to local students, setting aside a room for them to access online resources and stay on par with their urban counterparts. And now that both the Olathe Elementary and High School are receiving 1 Gig internet too, it’s easier than ever for students to connect.

Across the Montrose County School District, elementary students can join online art classes or participate in virtual math programs, middle schoolers can learn to code, and young adults can pursue educations and careers in computer programming, marketing, and website or app development from the comfort of their hometown. We may enjoy a slower pace of life here in the valley, but that doesn’t mean our children are growing up with a slower connection to the world and, ultimately, their futures.

It’s not just the students who are enjoying the benefits of Elevate. The Montrose County School District cut their internet bill by 30% and is now operating on a single closed fiber network. This allows for rapid troubleshooting and resolution of any issue along the entire network, getting students and teachers back up and learning at record speeds. And lastly, Elevate also provides weekly network performance reports to the district so that, together, we can ensure their service is at peak performance.

Knowing that our rural students have access to the same resources as their urban counterparts makes us pretty proud at the end of the day. Now, our homeschool students, high school students, overachievers, and under-achievers have an even playing field all thanks to some blood, sweat, and a bit of binary code.

And, by the start of the 2020 - 2021 school year, Elevate will also be providing internet service to all school within the Delta County School District.