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The Natchez-Adams School District is one of 45 school districts in the nation to be awarded a national Creating Learning Connections grant.

Through the grant, Frazier Elementary School and West Elementary School will receive 350 laptop computers. The school district will also receive a $4,000 stipend to help address home internet connectivity for students in need.

The grant was announced on social media earlier this week and at Tuesday’s school board meeting. The grant has been provided to address issues of the digital divide intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“This is a great help in overcoming the impact of learning losses due to the COVID-19 crisis,” NASD Public Relations Coordinator Tony Fields wrote on the school district’s Facebook page Monday afternoon.

Delivery of the devices is expected this fall, Fields told board members Tuesday.

Forty-five school districts in 17 states received the grants, Field said. Three other school districts in Mississippi in addition to NASD were also awarded grants. Those school districts are Moss Point Schools, the Quitman School District and the Tunica County School District.

In all, Intel Corporation, the LEGO Foundation, CDW-G partnered with First Book to provide a total of $5 million in personal computers, software and other resources. First Book is a nonprofit that provides new books, educational resources and other essentials to educators serving children in need.

The LEGO Foundation also donated $2 million worth of materials to support science, technology, engineering, arts and math learning. Intel Corporation also awarded $41,500 in resource grants to purchase new books and other educational resources.

As part of the total grant, nearly 15,000 devices will be delivered to school districts to be used by undeserved students.