Boy, 9, Walks To Closed School Each Day To Use WiFi As He Doesn’t Have Internet At Home

A nine-year-old boy was left with no choice but to walk to his closed school every day in order to access WiFi amid the coronavirus pandemic. 

The health crisis forced the closure of schools across the globe, and while some are now starting to reopen, those in Roswell, New Mexico, continue to conduct classes online.

This may not pose much of an issue for children with access to a computer and internet at home, but nine-year-old Jonathon Endecott’s family have been unable to afford internet service since his mum, Angel, lost one of her jobs in the pandemic.

When Jonathan required internet to complete his school work, his mum advised him to go to his school, which is located just across a field from the family’s home.

Angel told CNN her son was happy with the solution, explaining:

He was like, ‘Yeah, I need to be back on the school property, and I could be like a normal kid again’.

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.

Jonathan now walks to school every day, similarly to how he did when its doors were open, except now he can’t go inside. Angel described her son as ‘very independent’, and with the school being so close to their home she and her husband were happy to let Jonathan work there.

A few staff members are present at the school and Angel said the principal, secretary and teachers come outside to check up on Jonathan, though the young boy is just happy to be able to talk with his friends and classmates online.

The nine-year-old, whose favourite subject is Science, is said to have been excited to go to school each day and get a ‘little bit of a break’ from being with his family.

Though Jonathan seems satisfied with the arrangement, a teacher who works in the school district said she was heartbroken to see Jonathan outside the school earlier this month.

She shared a photo of the student with a friend, who posted it online with Angel’s permission. The post was shared widely, and one generous person offered to pay for the family’s internet service for a year to help Jonathan complete his work from home.

The person who posted the image online also set up a GoFundMe account to raise money to help other kids who have been struggling to get internet access.

While the generosity of the public is certainly welcome, Angel has said that Jonathan would like to keep going to school even after the family gets internet service again, though the school district said he’d need to have a parent with him if that was the case.

Hopefully it won’t be long before Jonathan can safely reunite with his friends and classmates in person at the school.

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