EDUCATION
School closures are leaving students without
home computers or Internet behind
BY KATIE REILLYhen new York CitY Closed sChools
to combat the coronavirus outbreak and
ordered remote learning for its more than
1 million students, English teacher Steph-
anie Paz wasn’t worried about how she
would virtually teach her ninth-graders
to take notes in the margins of their books or how they
would discuss each other’s essays without being in the
same room. Her biggest concern was whether they would
have the basic technology needed to access their virtual
lessons.
Paz teaches at a school in the Bronx, where she says
more than half her students did not have a computer or In-
ternet at home when the transition to online learning was
announced in mid-March. The school handed out laptops
to some students but did not have enough for everyone
before remote learning began on March 23, so others got
paper learning packets.
“I am concerned that, in 2020, all of our students don’t
have access to technology or Internet at home,” Paz says.
“I worry that, as a district, we haven’t prioritized that. And
as a nation, we haven’t prioritized that.”
She is right to be concerned. As the virus that causes
COVID-19 spreads, the nation’s K-12 schools and col-
leges have been forced to weigh health recommendations
against the needs of students, many of whom are caught in
the digital divide separating those who have Internet ac-
cess and those who do not. About 15% of U.S. households
with school-age children lack high-speed Internet access,W
THE ONLINE
LEARNING DIVIDE
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