Coronavirus for kids without internet: Quarantined worksheets, learning in parking lots

 In the Symmes Valley Local School District in Lawrence County, in southern Ohio, Superintendent Darrell Humphreys estimates that less than 15% of his 800 students have “good internet,” capable of streaming video. The rural district has Wi-Fi in its two-building campus, when it’s open. But within a 30-minute drive there is no McDonald’s or other fast-food place that has an internet hot spot. In fact, “a large part of the district doesn’t even have cellphone service,” Humphreys said. Instead, assignment packets, about 20 pages each, have been mailed to each student’s home. It’s an honor system that he hopes will be taken seriously. In Southwestern City Schools, outside Columbus, 58% of the 22,000 students are considered economically disadvantaged. About 150 satellite-driven portable Wi-Fi devices have been sent to families. And 15,000 Chromebook laptops also have been handed out. For those still lacking wireless, parents park outside schools, enabling their kids to capture one from a school for homework or online classes, said Sandy Nekoloff, schools spokeswoman. The problem stretches beyond rural America.