With approximately a full year having passed since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the U.S., The Hill hosted a virtual summit on Wednesday to explore the state of education.
The event, “The Future of Education,” was split into two sessions, with the first titled, “Equity, Investment, and the Tools We Need to Succeed.”
Panelists included North Carolina Rep. Alma Adams, Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT); Howard University President Dr. Wayne A . I. Frederick; Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) President Dr. Anne Kress; Sarah Youssef, an NVCC sophomore and president of its Alexandria student government association; Amina Fazlullah, equity policy counsel for Common Sense Media; Dr. Dennis Cavitt, president-elect of the Council for Exceptional Children; and Maya Martin Cadogan, founder and executive director of PAVE.
Adams noted that a digital divide exists. And even when equipment is provided to students, connectivity remains a key issue.
“Many of our young people, who come from communities that don’t have the connectivity that they need, they still have difficulty,” Adams said. “They’re going off to various places, McDonalds and other places, to connect up. And so, even having access to the equipment – say, the laptops that many of our schools are providing – if you’re not able to connect that somewhere, you still have a problem.”
She said that Congress has finally taken note of the situation and has included support for broadband in many of the pieces of legislation moving forward on Capitol Hill.
Still, the challenge, she added, is vaccinating teachers for a safe reopening of schools.
