How Oakland used data to get students online during COVID-19

Learn how Oakland Unified School District closed the digital divide, and how you can leverage good data to provide equity access in your district.

When schools closed in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, it cast a harsh light on the digital divide in our communities. For schools, providing equitable learning opportunities meant finding a way to connect every student to the internet and devices for digital learning—a task easier for some districts than others. 

Equity was a particular challenge for the Oakland Unified School District, serving about 50,000 students, when switching to 100% distance learning in March 2020. Half of their students don’t speak English at home and 75% qualify for the free and reduced lunch program. “COVID really exacerbated the issue of the digital divide that was already present,” says Jordan Mickens, Public Policy Fellow at the Mayor’s Office for the City of Oakland. 

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