All Students No Longer Have Wi-Fi Access at Framingham High

Last Wednesday, days before midterm exams were to be administered at Framingham High, all wi-fi access outside Framingham Public School district issued devices was terminated.

That meant that teachers or students using personal tablets or laptops no longer have access to the Internet or their Google documents. Only approved Framingham Public Schools issued computers or Chromebooks can connect to the wi-fi.

And access is not expected to return for months, according to the district’s technology director.

“The public access to the internet through FPS-PUBLIC has experienced significant increase in devices and bandwidth over the past 30 days,” wrote Framingham Public Schools Director of Technology George Carpenter

“This increase has had a negative impact on performance and a significant increase in bandwidth consumption,”said Carpenter in an email that went to staff. “To ensure that access to learning and administrative sites/resources from FPS owned and managed devices remains acceptable, we have disabled access through the FPS-PUBLIC wifi network. All FPS owned/managed devices will continue to have wireless access through our secured network. We have taken this step to ensure stability and ensure successful results during the assessment windows over the next 2 months. This will be in-place until further notice.”

The new change means if you walk into Framingham High or any other Framingham Public School you can not log into the wi-fi system.

One student, who contact Framingham Patch last Thursday, said he and his friends had made plans to have a study session before their biology midterm at the Framingham High Library last week after school. The problem not one member of the group of five students could access their Google document notes on their personal computer or tablet.

Another student said her history teacher could not complete the midterm review session last week, as his presentation on his computer crashed three times in one class because the wi-fi was “unstable.”

But the issue has been going on at the high school, since the return from winter break said other students.

Maria told Framingham Patch she went to the Framingham High Writing Center to get help with her essay before the term ended, and she could not connect to the wi-fi to show her essay, using her iPad.

Editor’s Note: The students asked not to be identified, and Patch agreed to the request.

High School students and staff are not the only ones experiencing wi-fi issues in the district.

Framingham Patch has received calls, texts, and emails from students and staff at Fuller Middle, Walsh Middle, Hemenway Elementary, and McCarthy Elementary in the last two weeks complaining about wi-fi access issues.

Town Meeting approved $2 million in technology upgrades for the Framingham Public Schools over the past couple of years.

Framingham Public Schools Chief Operating Officer Ed Gotgart told Framingham Patch the technology department confirms ”we now have 100% wireless in every school.”

Gotgart said “there are still be some trouble spots, particularly in the High School, but they are being addressed and do not constitute a major problem in any school. We continue to work on those problems as they are identified and will continue to do so as needed.”

Besides the trouble spots, Framingham High staff and students are now also being denied access to the Internet at school, if they do not have a district-issued laptop, tablet or other device.

“This is ridiculous,” said one National Honor Society member, who asked not to be identified. “We should have access to the Internet to study, get documents, and complete our assignments.”

According to the district’s website, a letter went home in English, Spanish, and Portuguese to students/parents notifying them of the change in the district’s policy to access wi-fi on January 14.