‘Big burden’ for schools trying to give kids internet
When the coronavirus pandemic shut down schools, educators had to figure out how to get kids online. Fast.
In a patchwork approach born of desperation, they scrounged wireless hot spots, struck deals with cable companies and even created networks of their own.
With federal relief money and assistance from state governments and philanthropists, they have helped millions of students get online for distance learning. Still, a year into the pandemic, millions of others remain without internet because of financial hurdles and logistical difficulties in getting students what they need.
There will soon be more money for schools to provide internet, as well as programs that aim to make internet more affordable. The $1.9 trillion stimulus package that President Joe Biden signed Thursday contains $7 billion for distance learning. Advocates working to address the digital divide say the new funding will be groundbreaking for schools’ efforts to connect students.
In Chicago, philanthropy paid for nearly half the $50 million, four-year Chicago Connected program, which pays for kids’ home internet if they qualify for reducedprice lunches. Chicago Public Schools, the country’s third-largest district, is on the hook for $25 million.
About one-fifth of the 242,000 students who are eligible have gotten internet.
Cherelle Bilal said her free Chicago Connected internet service was crucial to helping her four kids actually attend school, even though they still struggle with staying focused in a virtual classroom. Before, “it was horrible,” she said. Her existing service was inadequate.
“We would be kicked out of our Zoom calls,” she said. “It just glitched; we couldn’t hear sometimes.”
Schools were working well before the pandemic to address the challenges presented by the digital divide, which disproportionately affects Black, Latino and Native American students and those in low-income households. The shift to distance learning dramatically raised the stakes.
Common Sense, a nonprofit that advocates for internet access, estimates that of the 15 million schoolchildren who lacked sufficient internet when the pandemic hit, 2 million to 5 million have been connected. But many programs have end dates.
In Philadelphia, for example, a $17 million program to connect as many as 35,000 students that relies on philanthropists and federal stimulus funds will run through summer 2022. Baltimore City Schools is paying for Comcast home internet or a T-Mobile hot spot for low-income students through September.
About two-thirds of newly connected households got hotspots, typically small boxes that generate internet on the go, estimated Evan Marwell, CEO of Education Super Highway, a nonprofit focused on getting schools internet. The rest came mostly from deals with cable companies like Comcast. A few districts launched or expanded their own networks.
Schools had to take a lead because the federal government has failed to make internet available and affordable, said Blair Levin, an Obamaera Federal Communications Commission official.
“The schools were so stressed,” Levin said. “It was not easy. It was a big burden.”
States have also played a large role in connecting students, funneling money to schools or organizing purchases themselves. Connecticut paid for hot spots and devices. Alabama gave families vouchers for internet service. North Dakota identified students without internet access.