Closing the Digital Divide: PG&E Supports Oakland Initiative to Boost Technology Access for Young Students

Charitable Contribution to Help Fund High-Speed Internet Access, Computers, Tech Support

At a time when technology dependence is so critical for the success of schoolchildren, PG&E and The PG&E Corporation Foundation (Foundation) are continuing their ongoing commitment to digital access in education. Today, the Foundation announced it is making a charitable contribution of $250,000 for #OaklandUndivided to collectively ensure that 100% of Oakland public school students have access to a home computer, high-speed internet, and culturally competent tech support.

The announcement comes as representatives for PG&E and the Foundation joined others in Oakland today to celebrate the program’s impact to date.

“We are committed to empowering underserved communities and providing students and their families with opportunities to be successful,” said Robert Kenney, chair of the Foundation board and PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory and external affairs. “PG&E and The PG&E Corporation Foundation are grateful to be able to help improve the lives of those we serve in our hometowns — especially in Oakland, where our new headquarters is located. We understand the vital role technology plays in our daily lives. And we understand how this access can help move us toward achieving equity in education and learning so that all students have the opportunities they truly deserve.”

PG&E’s support has been instrumental to the program, according to Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s office.

“PG&E’s renewed commitment to Oakland students and families shows the power of public-private partnerships; we’re so appreciative of their role in our movement to close the digital divide for good. Thanks to PG&E’s continued investment, we’re able to connect all 50,000+ Oakland public school students for the third year in a row,” said the mayor’s Director of Education, David Silver.

#OaklandUndivided launched two years ago, shortly after the pandemic began as a partnership between Oakland Unified School District, The City of Oakland, Tech Exchange, The Oakland Public Education Fund, Oakland Promise, and more than 20 other community partners to ensure that all Oakland public school students could access online learning. In the 2020-21 school year, #OaklandUndivided provided 29,000+ laptops, 10,000+ hotspots, and responded to 10,000+ requests for tech support, increasing home access for students from low-income backgrounds from just 12% pre-pandemic to 98% by the end of the 20-21 school year. 

Ongoing investment in #OaklandUndivided 

This year, PG&E will build upon the PG&E Foundation’s investments in #OaklandUndivided, an effort to ensure every student in Oakland Unified School District who needs technology at home has a computer, high-speed internet connection and technology support across multiple languages. Additionally, the program has a goal to connect 90% of Oakland’s 36,951 unconnected households to high-speed, broadband internet within the next five years.

The Foundation’s contribution builds on its past contribution to #Oakland Undivided, and Closing the Digital Divide, a California Department of Education initiative including an innovation challenge and technology literacy programs.

With students in distance learning during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lack of home computers and internet connectivity for many households — important for educational success — became even more apparent.

In 2020, the Foundation made an initial investment in #OaklandUndivided, in partnership with the Oakland A’s Foundation, to support Parker Elementary School.

In 2021, the Foundation contributed $500,000 to phase 2 of #OaklandUndivided to buy computers for students and families to use at home along with internet hot spots and technical support. This investment not only directly serves students and families across Oakland, but also encouraged other partners to join PG&E and the Foundation in investing in phase 2 of #OaklandUndivided to meet a $6 million gap to keep all students in need connected in 2021-2022.

Charitable contributions made by PG&E and by The PG&E Foundation are funded by shareholders, not PG&E customers.

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