I’m from New York City, but my adopted state is sunny Georgia, where my grandmother was born. A sharecropper’s daughter, she grew up on a farm in Schley County, where she received a fifth grade education. Education for the children of rural families in my grandmother’s day were limited and often felt to be unnecessary. And today, 100 years later, educational challenges still exist.

Twenty percent of the rural population did not finish high school, according to Economic Research Service data collected from 2012-17. One way to impact educational change in rural communities is increased access to online programs offered by schools and colleges across the country. One problem: there is a digital divide in rural communities as compared to urban communities and internet access is a challenge.

The FCC is working to close this digital divide. Funding to support the deployment of high-speed broadband service to 110,000 homes and businesses in rural America – which represents 17% of my state – is being offered to broadband providers. These providers find the cost of deploying service in sparsely populated rural areas high, so the FCC’s Connect America Fund has identified $67 million in annual support that will help. Another option could be tax credits to providers who expand service in rural areas or provide discounted services to under-served families in these areas.

As the digital divide closes, educational opportunities such as online courses and accessibility to educational content on the web, will help rural students succeed -making Georgia smarter, stronger and more productive.