'Good Morning America' comes to Springdale

Allegheny Valley School District’s involvement with an initiative aimed at connecting underserved students to the internet is bringing it national attention.

The ABC-TV morning show “Good Morning America” sent a crew to record interviews in Springdale and Cheswick on Monday, including a stop at Springdale Free Public Library to highlight the district’s involvement with the Project 10 Million program. The interviews are scheduled to be broadcast this week, possibly as early as Wednesday morning’s edition of “Good Morning America.”

The program, launched by T-Mobile, offers free wireless hotspots and free high-speed data for underserved student households. The goal is to get 10 million internet-connected devices to students who need it over the next five years.

Brett Slezak, technology supervisor for Allegheny Valley School District, said need for the program is great because the pandemic has made remote learning the new norm but many area students have no connectivity or are under-connected.

“It’s all happened very fast. I heard about Project 10Million when it came out a couple of weeks ago and applied to be a part of that program because many of our families are in need. Through the application process, someone at T-Mobile passed our information on to ABC and ‘Good Morning America,’” Slezak said.

Slezak said he received a phone call that he thought was a scam.

“I wondered, ‘Why would ‘Good Morning America’ be calling on a Thursday night to talk to me?’” he said.

It turns out that GMA was interested in learning more about the district’s needs. And while it may not have involved a live shot with Robin Roberts, George Stephanopoulos or Michael Strahan, it’s not every day that one of the country’s top-rated network morning news shows sends a camera crew to a small borough in Western Pennsylvania.

Slezak made sure to connect the crew with the Springdale library, which has partnered with the school district since June, when it became the first public library in Allegheny County to reopen since the start of the pandemic. The library has offered virtual programs, STEM kits for students to take home and tutoring.

Dana Muller, the library’s children’s librarian, said she was nervous as the camera rolled and ‘Good Morning America’ producer Sarah Lang asked her questions over the phone.

“They kept telling me it was okay and I didn’t have to be nervous,” Muller said. “Everyone was very calming and relaxing. They said, ‘If you mess up it’s OK.’ They asked about things like the needs of our students.”

Slezak said that while he is still working with T-Mobile to finish up the application, he has learned that the district has received preliminary approval for over 100 free mobile hotspots. As for the GMA interview, he said it was interesting.

“It was fun and it’s a point of pride. It’s nice to have people hear our story,” Slezak said. “We’re a tight-knit community here in Allegheny County. What makes me proud is that we’re a small district. We have just over a thousand kids in the district and to have our voice be put on a platform like that is something to be proud of.”