Shaheen, Hassan and Kuster Announce Nearly $1 Million Grant to Fall Mountain Regional School District to Strengthen Remote Learning Capabilities

Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Maggie Hassan (D-NH) and Representative Annie Kuster (NH-02) today announced that the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) awarded $995,158 to the Fall Mountain Regional School District. Specifically, the grant was awarded by the USDA Rural Development Agency’s Distance Learning and Telemedicine Grants Program, and will bolster the ability of the school district to provide distance learning services to the students it serves in Cheshire and Sullivan Counties during the COVID-19 pandemic. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Shaheen supports funding for this program at the USDA each year in government funding legislation.

“Whether they are learning remotely or in an in-person setting, Congress needs to do everything it can to ensure students continue to receive the best education possible despite the obstacles created by the pandemic,” said Senator Shaheen. “This grant will expand the capability and capacity of the Fall Mountain Regional School District to provide distance learning services to students, helping to ensure families and schools can overcome the challenges created by the COVID-19 crisis. Securing the federal resources our schools need to help students reach their full potential will continue to be a top priority for me in the Senate.”

“We need to help schools get students and teachers safely back into classrooms, but we also need to ensure that schools have the resources that they need to support students who choose to remain remote or who are participating in hybrid learning,” Senator Hassan said. “This significant federal grant will help Fall Mountain Regional School District better support students learning remotely, and I will continue fighting to ensure that students in communities across New Hampshire have what they need to succeed.”

“The COVID-19 pandemic has put our communities to the test and created additional barriers for our Granite State students, teachers, and staff in rural areas,” said Representative Kuster. “As we continue working to recover and rebuild from this pandemic, it is critical that our students and educators in New Hampshire have access to the resources they need, including distance learning services. I’m pleased that the Fall Mountain Regional School District in Cheshire and Sullivan counties is receiving this grant to help ensure students continue to receive a high-quality education during this public health crisis. In Congress, I’m focused on advancing legislation to equip our schools with the resources they need to continue serving our communities.”

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