Jonathan Endecott, 9, from Roswell sat outside his elementary school because he doesn't have internet access at home. Photo / Supplied
Jonathan Endecott, 9, from Roswell sat outside his elementary school because he doesn't have internet access at home. Photo / Supplied
Heartbreaking images show a fourth-grade student having to sit outside his school in New Mexico so he can access the internet WiFi to compete online learning tasks.
Jonathan Endecott, 9, from Roswell district, would daily sit outside his elementary school, closed due to the coronavirus pandemic, because he doesn't have internet access at home.
Pictures show Jonathan lying on the concrete looking at his laptop - or sitting with it propped up on a cardboard box - outside an elementary school classroom so he can take part in remote classes.
Jonathan Endecott, 9, from Roswell sat outside his elementary school because he doesn't have internet access at home. Photo / Supplied
Schools in his district are only conducting lessons online because of the pandemic.
Jonathan's mother, Angel Endecott, told KRQE News 13 that she lost both her jobs because of the pandemic and the family couldn't afford the internet.
But Jonathan is "very independent", she said, and decided to walk to school to use the internet there.
"He was like, 'Yeah, I need to be back on the school property, and I could be like a normal kid again'," she told CNN. "Him just being outside of the building gives him that, 'Hey, I'm at school' feeling even though he's not around other classmates or teachers."
The family don't live too far away from the elementary school so Jonathan's parents felt comfortable with him spending the day there, she said.
"The principal, the secretary and a few teachers, they do come outside to check up on him and see if he needs anything," she said.
But seeing the youngster outside the building, day after day, had an effect on one teacher. She ended up sharing a picture of him online.
Jonathan Endecott, 9, from Roswell sat outside his elementary school because he doesn't have internet access at home. Photo / Supplied
Jonathan Endecott, 9, from Roswell sat outside his elementary school because he doesn't have internet access at home. Photo / Supplied
"This young boy has no internet at his home. He has been getting up and walking to school every day to connect to the school WiFi from outside the school. He sits there every day from 8:00-2:45," Sabrina Talbott Harbour wrote.
"When I taught in Roswell some of my kids had DIRT floors. No cars, no heat, no water and no food. The only hugs may have come from teachers or their friends. Their only food may have come from school.
"I had a cabinet with deodorant, soap, a couple changes of clothes etc for kids who didn't have access to such things and would give them time to go to the restroom to get cleaned up and presentable.
"This isn't ok. The kids will be better off in school. The kids are suffering socially, academically, mentally and physically," Harbour added.
Jonathan, pictured with mother, Angel, having received the good news they now have internet. Photo / Supplied
The image sparked a fundraising campaign to help the family with their finances.
One person has already offered to pay for the family's internet for an entire year and now Jonathan's mother has set up a GoFundMe account to help them with other expenses.
"We have always lived paycheck to paycheck. With God's help we have always managed to get just enough to live with what we had to pay for. When Covid hit. At first it didn't affect my employment. About 2 months ago that changed. I lost my weekly paying job," Angel wrote.
"I can't express enough my thanks for the help the community has already given us with our internet," she said. "We will also gladly take donations like materials for the bathroom or anything anyone would like to help with."
