New York City (NYC) public school children who receive breakfast and lunch from the government are also borrowing computer devices for their homeschooling program. Photo credit: upi.com
COVID-19 Education News: Public school children in the US borrow laptops and IPads for online homeschooling
75% of New York City’s public school children are in low-income households without internet access or computer devices
The City also has about 114,000 homeless students in shelters and cramped homes likely sharing a single room with five family members needing online remote learning.
New York City officials leave some school buildings open for such families to pick up meals in the morning and other struggling residents to do so in the afternoon.
Public school children in New York City in the US are borrowing computer devices (175,000 laptops and Chromebooks and 66,000 iPads) from the government for their online homeschooling amid coronavirus pandemic.
The number of needed computer devices to be borrowed to public school children roughly equalling the total number of students in the city with disabilities.
Mayor of New York City, Mr. Bill de Blasio, announced on Saturday that schools would, by the end of April, distribute about 200,000 more computer devices to families.
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About 75% of the New York City’s public school children are in low-income households without internet access or computer devices (laptops, Chromebooks and iPads) for online homeschooling which qualifies them for free or reduced-price lunches.
The online homeschooling is now a necessity to help bridge knowledge-gap in schoolchildren as schools are closed due to coronavirus pandemic. New York City is the epicenter of coronavirus pandemic in the US.
The New York City also has about 114,000 homeless students, who have had to adapt to online remote learning using the computer devices (laptops, Chromebooks and iPads) in shelters and cramped homes where they might share a single room with five family members.
New York City officials leave some school buildings open for such families to pick up meals in the morning, as well as for New York City residents who are finding it difficult to make ends meet to get food in the afternoon.
Mr. Bill de Blasio said last week that the city had distributed over 2.6 million meals to residents through open school buildings since late March and the city is also currently operating 57 “regional enrichment centers,” where essential employees can leave their children while they work.
All these efforts notwithstanding, it was asserted that many schoolchildren with advanced special needs will fall behind academically and socially.
As New York City’s education leaders have insisted on continuing online homeschooling in the country; and not just the city, struggles to wipe off the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has not been any contention that online learning is an equal substitute for being in a physical school classroom.
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