As parents and kids prepare for the start of their remote school year, many school districts, like Seattle Public Schools (SPS), are looking for ways to deliver devices to children to assist with learning such as laptops and iPads. Cue, Alaska Airlines.

Today, with the help of Alaska Air Cargo and its network, we moved 12,000+ iPads and cases from Boston to Seattle that will go to SPS students in Kindergarten through second grade.

“This is a great example of our community coming together to problem-solve and to provide solutions that have such a positive impact on so many of our students and families,” said Denise Juneau, superintendent of Seattle Public Schools.

“We are glad to have this opportunity to partner with the Seattle School District to ensure that kids have the tools they need to hit ground running for remote learning. This was a great opportunity to demonstrate our core values of caring and giving back to our communities,” said Torque Zubeck, Managing Director, Alaska Air Cargo. “I’m especially thankful for our employees in Boston. They jumped into action and worked with the school district, Apple and their logistics group to make this happen.”

Closing the gap.

Last year, SPS launched a program to provide a laptop or iPad for each student. They distributed over 25,000 devices to schools beginning with high school and middle school students, students experiencing poverty and or homelessness, and any other students who didn’t have access to a device at home.

Due to the pandemic, they’ve accelerated that program from a three year roll-out to just under three months, so K-2nd graders have the same opportunity—turns out Alaska was the missing link they needed to deliver the goods.

“Beginning a new academic year in the middle of a pandemic is a daunting feat for students, parents, and teachers, especially when not all students have the tools and support to succeed,” said Diana Birkett Rakow, vice president external relations at Alaska Airlines. “We’re honored to support SPS students, teachers, and administrators working hard to enable equity in learning this year. We’re also humbled by how much work there is yet to do to close the digital divide and grateful to all who’re contributing to support these efforts across the entire region.”

Since the COVID-19 outbreak, Alaska has supported communities across America through donating travel for first responders, transporting PPE and freight and giving food and grants to food banks and shelters to support people in need. Follow our efforts on the blog.