In the meantime, the gap has largely been filled by nonprofit and advocacy organizations like LeanLab. The organization tapped sources for giving earlier this year and helped fund the purchase of 869 hotspots and 1,528 devices.
When schools closed in mid-March, Kansas City was confronted by the region’s deep digital divide. LEANLAB Education has long cultivated a network of educators, policymakers, funders, researchers, and entrepreneurs across the region. Witnessing how many students lacked access to the most basic components of online learning—devices and internet access—LEANLAB and their partners across the metro region took immediate action.
KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - The city manager’s office in Kansas City is working on a plan to provide low-cost or free internet connection for everyone in Kansas City. The council passed that resolution last month. But the first day of school is only a month away and there are still thousands of students without the means to learn from home.
An in-depth analysis of where the digital divide is in Kansas City, MO, where the current COVID-19 pandemic impacts existing connectivity, and how to begin closing the gap.
Kansas City’s digital divide will soon be narrower thanks to a LEANLAB Education effort that already has secured $467,360 in funding to help 17 local charter schools purchase technology and WiFi hotspots for students who might be at risk.
To date, the charter schools have used the funding from education nonprofit SchoolSmartKC to purchase 592 laptops or tablets and 719 internet hotspots for students impacted by the sprawling city’s disparity of access — made more clear amid COVID-19 precautions that shut down schools, LEANLAB said Friday in a press release.
Nearly three weeks ago, roughly 15,000 students in Kansas City Public Schools left for spring break with paper packets containing two weeks' worth of work.
Starting Monday, thousands of students will return to school — not to attend classes, but to pick up devices and digital hot spots to complete the semester at home.
Katie Boody Adorno, The LeanLab - Most educational institutions simply weren’t designed for the virtual learner - and now with schools closed, we find parents suddenly thrust into the role of teacher, educators left scrambling to update curriculum and students without access to internet or computers. Enter LeanLab Education, a bridge-building nonprofit that helps span the gap between schools and technology. In the wake of COVID19, Katie and her team marshaled lists of vetted, highly reputable resources in a multitude of areas, including digital access, educator technologies and parent support to help jumpstart educational efforts with as little disruption as possible. They have now turned their attention to assessing connectivity needs and device needs across 22 school districts to ensure access for all students. To date, they have identified 11,000 families without internet connectivity and 2,500 students who need devices and are working to connect these families with vendors who can help. To access the resource list, and read more about LeanLab Education, visit leanlabeducation.org/coronavirus-resources.
To learn more about digital access inequities and see how you can help, visit LEANLAB Emergency Connectivity Covid-19 Response.
“So we’re hearing about 25% to 30% of kids without consistent internet connectivity at home,” Founder and CEO of Leanlab Education Innovation Katie Boody said.
Leanlab Education Innovation is a non-profit that has identified more than 11,000 metro families without internet. The metro’s 22 school districts still need a collective 2,300 devices to give to students.
Last week, the Center on Reinventing Public Education released an initial database of district responses to COVID-19, which tracked how districts were serving the basic needs of their students and families in the face of school closures.
Since then, states have sharpened their guidance to districts as they confront the prospect of long-term remote learning. At least seven have announced they would be closed for the remainder of the school year. Others, like Minnesota, extended the period of time physical schools would be closed, sharpened expectations for schools and teachers to ensure that learning continued, and clarified that schools would be in session, albeit remotely, in the coming weeks.
“We were able to survey, essentially, 78,000 students in five days — which is kind of unheard of, but I think that speaks to the demand,” Boody, founder of LEANLAB, said of the education redesign organization and accelerator’s response to an immediate and expanded need for online learning tools in area classrooms — many of which will be shuttered until at least August.
“Teachers are preparing to continue their lesson plans remotely but the decision to close school is difficult. I spoke to the founder of LEANLAB Education and the principal at Crossroads Preparatory Academy about their efforts to keep students learning from home.”
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