"Oakland Undivided" Raising $12.5M To Connect All Students With Internet
By Matt Bigler KCBS All News 106.9FM and 740AM
The Oakland Unified School District is partnering with the City of Oakland, the Oakland Public Education Fund and Tech Exchange to launch an ambitious plan to close the digital divide and get more Internet-ready computers into the hands of students.
Going to school remotely is hard enough even when you have a computer and high-speed Internet at home. Imagine not having either.
Jessica Ramos, an 11th grader at Skyline High School in Oakland, doesn't have to imagine.
"My family does not have the Internet and I cannot finish my work, which lowered by grades, and I missed some deadlines to finish some scholarship applications," Ramos said.
Ramos is not the only one, either.
"I know many seniors who were signing up for scholarships and missed the deadline because of not having a computer at home or not being able to afford the Internet," Ramos said.
It's estimated that about 17,000 students in Oakland do not have access to high speed Internet, and 5,000 students have no Internet at all. That's why the school district is launching a $12.5 million fundraiser to get Internet-connected computers into the hands of all public school students.
"You cannot be an active member of society without having access to the Internet," Oakland Unified Superintendent Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell said.
So far, about $2 million has been raised towards "Oakland Undivided."
The overall goal is to get at least one computer in every student's household.
"We are encouraging companies and individuals to also donate gently-used technology that Tech Exchange can put through our refurbishing operation and be part of the solution for providing computers and Internet," Tech Exchange Executive Director Seth Hubbard said.
Cash donations are also being accepted.
The district has already distributed all of its Chromebooks to students and is boosting the WiFi strength at schools so families can drive up and download assignments.