A 9-year-old student attending an elementary school in Roswell, New Mexico, goes to his closed elementary school to do his homework via the building's WiFi because he doesn't have internet access at home.
Schools in the Roswell Independent School District are conducting classes online due to the Covid-19 pandemic
Angel Endecott says her son Jonathon turns ten next month and is a very independent child. They live near the school and Jonathon has been walking to and from school on his own since last year.
Endecott, who works in the home health field, lost both of her jobs at the same time due to Covid-19. She returned to one of jobs , but was unable to pay for internet.
She said her son was happy when she told him to go to school to connect to the internet.
“It was like going back to school normally and being able to be like a normal kid again,” the student said. Being outside the school building gives him that feeling, even though he is not around his classmates or teachers.
Endecott said their home is directly across the street from the school, so she and her husband were not concerned about their son's safety
“The principal, the secretary and some teachers come to check on him and see if he needs anything,” he said.
A teacher who works at the school complex said she was very upset when she saw Jonathon outside the school earlier this month. She shared a photo of Jonathon with a friend, who posted it on Facebook after getting the necessary permission from his mother.
The post was shared widely online , and someone who saw it offered to pay for the Endecott family's internet for a year.
The woman who posted the photo on Facebook created a GoFundMe account to raise money to help other children gain access to the internet and be able to take their online classes.
Jonathon told CNN that he is able to talk to his friends and classmates over the internet and that being in the school building feels more like being in school. He said his favorite subject is science.
His mom said he was excited to go to school and wasn't with his parents all the time. He said he would like to continue going to school even after his family regained internet access, but the school said he would need to have a guardian with him.
