Students, Schools Navigate the Inequity of the Digital Divide

From metropolitan areas in the western US to the rural counties of the Northeast, public school districts that have closed their doors must educate students who have unequal access to digital learning means.  Austin Beutner, superintendent of the Los Angeles Unified School District, said his district continues to reach its 700,000-plus students through one of two approaches or a combination of both. The first approach involves the digital learning environment/platform Schoology. This method, while the standard for the district, can’t help certain students. About one-quarter of the student body lacks Internet access at home, and the district is roughly one-third short of having enough devices for every student. “It identifies a real challenge in education with sufficient funding,” Beutner said, before adding, “I wish we were funded like Stanford University is.” The second approach is a new partnership with PBS SoCal and KCET that will allow students to consume age-group-specific educational content on the air, regardless of broadband access. PBS is working to “deliver a satellite feed that other public media stations can use,” according to a press release. “It’s an open source,” Beutner said. “We are offering it to other districts in California, and many are adopting.” 

In Carroll County, a rural area of New Hampshire, a lot of virtual learning will be “asynchronous” due to connectivity issues across the state, said Meredith Nadeau, superintendent of schools for School Administrative Unit #13, which encompasses three small districts. “The digital divide is very evident in places like ours,” Nadeau said. “I hope that the future of our children isn’t determined by their geography and that we find out a way to provide that access to our children regardless of where they live.”