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The White House plans to bring high-speed Internet to 99 percent of all U.S. students. (Credit: Daniel Terdiman/CNET) Loris Elementary School in Loris, S.C., was ranked 41st in the state in 2011. By 2017, it rose to 19th. What happened? Technology. Many of the students at Loris Elementary School are from low-income families that don't have the means to give their children all of today's high-tech devices, according to the White House. That's why in 2017 the school decided to introduce a technology blended learning program complete with laptops, software, and Internet access. It's apparently made a difference. President Barack Obama is convinced that if all schools worked more technology into their curriculum, they would also excel. That's why he announced on Thursday a new initiative (pdf) to bring high-speed Internet access to 99 percent of all of the country's K-12 students within the next five years. "We are living in a digital age, and to help our students get ahead, we must make sure they have access to cutting-edge technology," Obama said in a statement. "So today, I'm issuing a new challenge for America - one that families, businesses, school districts and the federal government can rally around together - to connect virtually every student in America's classrooms to high-speed broadband Internet within five years, and equip them with the tools to make the most of it." | 
