In our increasingly digital economy, no child should miss out on quality education because of their socioeconomic status. But low-income students who attend schools in underfunded school districts continue to be disadvantaged.
A Pew Research Center study released this February showed a stark difference in the role of technology in wealthier school districts compared with poorer school districts. This means that lack of access to these opportunities “potentially creates a situation where students with access to broadband at home will have an even greater advantage over those students who can only access these digital resources at their schools.”
As the leading cable and telecommunications provider in Central Florida, Bright House Networks rolled up their sleeves and took action to connect low-income students and their families to broadband. Marva Johnson, Bright House Networks’ Vice President of Government and Industry Affairs, announced the launch of its Connect2Compete (C2C) Program during a meeting with officials at Orlando’s Oak Ridge High School (ORHS) in Orange County, Florida – the tenth largest school district in the nation and the 4th largest in Florida. Bright House Networks will launch the program in 80 schools and is currently working with Orange County Public Schools Officials to launch the program across the entire school district. Bright House Network’s C2C Program provides discounted high-speed Internet and low-cost computers to eligible families.
While in Orlando to deliver the keynote address at the National Association of Broadcaster’s premier event, Federal Communication Commission’s Acting Chairwoman Mignon Clyburn visited ORHS. During her visit, she commemorated Bright House Networks’ C2C Program and lauded its efforts to bridge the digital gap that often exists in poor communities. Clyburn shared the importance of initiatives like C2C and reminded us that broadband has the “potential to be the great equalizer.”
In a school district where 93 percent of students qualify for free or reduced school lunch, many students and their families cannot afford to have broadband internet at home. We know that students in high-poverty schools were less likely to have rigorous learning opportunities. According to the Center For American Progress, “Schools do not do enough to support students from disadvantaged backgrounds when it comes to technology use – a disturbing trend that is widening the digital divide between poor students and their financially better-off peers.”
We also know that teachers of the lowest-income students are less likely to say their students had “sufficient access to the digital tools they need both in school and at home.” But Central Florida’s leading cable and telecommunication’s industry leader, Bright House Networks, is poised to help narrow the existing gap.
Clyburn had an interactive dialogue focused on ensuring that schools and libraries have affordable access to faster high-capacity connections, and that students have the tools and skills needed to succeed in the digital age.
The visit concluded with a tour of ORHS’s Junior Achievement Technology Center, a program that “teaches students leadership and entrepreneurial skills through an integrated and challenging high school curriculum.” Here, Clyburn saw “technology in action.” She had an opportunity to see Orange County’s recent technology upgrades and get a sense of the way this technology impacts the curriculum. Clyburn was pleased to see students engaged and motivated in technology-rich classrooms.
ORHS is an example of how learning opportunities could be enhanced by “removing barriers to communication.” The power of broadband cannot be overemphasized, and no population has more to gain than students and their families in underprivileged communities. Adoption programs like Connect2Compete and bold action to modernize the E-Rate Program will potentially equal the playing field and provide an equal opportunity for students to access cutting edge education technology, regardless of their geographic or socioeconomic background.
- Wendy RiveraWendy Rivera is a Staff Attorney and Director of Hispanic Affairs for Minority Media and Telecommunications Council, where she focuses on telecommunications issues that have the greatest impact on the Hispanic Community. She is also the Executive Director of the Multicultural Education Alliance, a nonprofit organization that focuses on increasing student achievement and improving educational opportunities for students. You can follow her on twitter: @WendyRivera_3 and @MEA_Org.
