Detroit Public Schools Community District provides at-home learning access for every student
by Roz Edward
The 2020 Covid pandemic exposed glaring inequities in access to technology for students in minority communities across the country.
There are 23 counties in the United States with a population that is at least 70 percent Black. In those 23 majority-Black counties, an average 36 percent of households don’t have Internet access. In Michigan’s Wayne County which is approximately 46 percent Black and Hispanic, 25 percent of households were found not to have Internet access.
But the Detroit Public Schools District which is 83 percent black and nearly 14 percent Hispanic-Latino, the disparities in access to on-line education were much more alarming. The District reported that prior to school closings to protect students from exposure to Covid-19 during the 2019-2020 school year, only 10 percent of students were accessing the District’s online platform and learning materials.
“The District needed an at-scale, immediate response and the business and non-profit community stepped up as true advocates of children, families, and traditional public education,” said Dr. Nikolai Vitti, Superintendent of DPSCD.
DPSCD along with the DTE Energy Foundation, Quicken Loans Community Fund, Skillman Foundation, Ralph C. Wilson, Jr. Foundation, General Motors and the Kellogg Foundation addressed the historical digital divide through the Connected Futures Project, by providing students with wireless tablets through a $23 million investment.
The District has more than 100 schools and educates 51,000 children.
The Connected Futures initiative enabled more than 44,000 DPSCD students and families to receive wireless tablets and internet access for in-home use. Phase three of the Connected Futures initiative began on March 1, 2021, to expand services to 7,000 Kindergarten and 9th-grade students.
“This is an unprecedented investment to immediately address an unprecedented crisis. Inequitable access to resources is one of the root reasons why Detroiters have been disproportionately impacted by COVID19,” expalined Dr. Vitti
“This is not only an investment to address the digital divide so we can more effectively facilitate online learning throughout this shutdown, but it will rapidly accelerate our overall plan and efforts to increase the use of technology and improve student achievement over the next two years.”
The Connected Futures Project made wireless-enabled tablets available for all enrolled DPSCD students prior to the 2020-2021 school year. These devices include six months of subsidized LTE data, immediately connecting students without wired internet connections at home, and are the property of the student and family.
By the end of the subsidized data period, and prior to the start of the 2020-2021 school year, the District determined to support DPSCD families who are actively using the services for educational programming and are in socio-economic need of continued internet service. Students are encouraged to bring their devices to school to continue the narrowing of the student-to-device ratio throughout the District. Over the next two years, DPSCD will shift to a one-to-one student to device ratio where home learning will be required online, and textbooks and workbooks are replaced by laptops and tablets.
“By making our students the priority, we are creating educational opportunities that are unmatched, this is one of our next steps. We are grateful for the ongoing support of our business community,” said Iris Taylor, DPSCD Board President on behalf of the Board of Education.
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