WEBVTT

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(gentle music)

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<v ->When we all had to leave on March 13th,</v>

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thank goodness we had the relationships with the students

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for us to be able to do everything online.

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Having internet at home is so important for students

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to be able to get the work done.

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It can be difficult.

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It can be really a challenge for the students

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if they don't have the internet connection.

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<v ->This school year will be different,</v>

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but I feel as though I'll be able to work through it.

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It's kind of sad this year,

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'cause I'ma miss being with all my friends.

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<v ->I can't really do good without a teacher</v>

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showing me example in person.

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I'm ready to overcome challenges

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that I know I'm gonna be facing during this school year.

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<v ->I'm ready for COVID to be over.</v>

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I'm ready to be with my friends again.

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I'm ready to come back to school with all my teachers.

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I'm ready to learn.

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<v ->Despite the obstacles,</v>

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our students today are proving

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they can rise to the challenge.

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What a great conversation from our first panel.

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Our next panel moderated by Angela Siefer,

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Executive Director

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for the National Digital Inclusion Alliance,

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will tackle known unknowns.

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What must we learn to make sure every student is connected?

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Please welcome Angela.

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<v ->Welcome to your next panel.</v>

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I am Angela Siefer.

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I'm the Executive Director

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of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance.

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And I'd like to wish everyone

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a happy Digital Inclusion Week.

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I'm super excited to be moderating this panel.

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We have some rock stars, so it should be really fun.

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We're gonna start with Curtis Valentine.

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He's from the Progressive Policy Institute.

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And then we'll go to Amina Fazlullah

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from Common Sense Media.

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And we have Scott Wallsten

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from the Technology Policy Institute.

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Can we start with each of you all saying hello?

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Curtis.

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<v ->Angela, thank you for having me again.</v>

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Again, my name is Curtis Valentine

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with the Reinventing America's Schools Project

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at the Progressive Policy Institute.

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I also sit on the Board of Education

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in Prince George's County, here where I live.

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I also teach virtually

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at the University of Maryland College Park.

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And in a previous lifetime, worked with Texas Education,

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which is the largest online virtual public school

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in the world.

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I'm glad to be here today.

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Thank you.

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<v ->And Amina.</v>

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<v ->Hi, I'm Amina Fezlullah.</v>

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Thank you for having me.

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And I'm with Common Sense Media,

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and primarily focused on digital equity.

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And the past few months,

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we've really dug into trying to understand the impact

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of digital equity in the context of distance learning

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as it impacts kids and families and educators.

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<v ->Super, thank you.</v>

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Scott.

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<v ->Oh, hi.</v>

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I'm Scott Wallsten.

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I'm President and a Senior Fellow

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at the Technology Policy Institute.

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And I thank you very much for having me here.

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I'm looking forward to the discussion.

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<v ->Awesome.</v>

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Let's get started with Amina.

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Amina, can you level set for us?

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Tell us what's going on.

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What's with kids not having access to the internet?

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How many is it?

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<v ->Yeah, so back in June,</v>

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we did a report to try to scope out the size

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of the distance learning digital divide,

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and not just for students, but also for teachers as well.

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And what we found was that there were about 16 million kids,

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K through 12 in the distance learning digital divide.

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And that's a combination of lacking access

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to adequate connectivity or a device or both.

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And there are about 400,000 students, or 400,000 teachers

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that are in the distance learning digital divide as well.

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Again, a combination of connectivity and devices or both.

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Yeah, that's a pretty significant chunk of the population.

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And we think that that has a pretty significant impact

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on how educators can actually provision distance learning,

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because they have to consider

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what technologies students actually have at home,

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how familiar they are with it,

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and then what kind of program

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that they're gonna put in place as a result of that.

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<v ->Super, thank you.</v>

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Curtis, you have a really unique perspective

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on this personally and professionally.

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You all published America's remote learning imperatives.

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Can you share with us what the findings of the report?

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<v ->Sure.</v>

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As Amina mentioned, we discovered like millions of parents,

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teachers and students are discovering

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is that our public education system was woefully inadequate

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or this woefully inadequately prepared,

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excuse me, for this pandemic.

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As we transitioned into virtual learning

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for many school districts, what they put in place

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was something to what I call sort of plug the hole

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in the boat, you know, without really the understanding

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that this boat was going to have to take us

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not only through the rest of last year,

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but moving into this year.

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And what we discovered

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is we need an entirely new mechanism, a new boat,

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a new way of going about facilitating public education.

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And there are five things that we believe need to take place

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should've taken place already

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but if not need to take place

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for us to really get to where we are to ensure

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that every child has equal access to education.

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But one is ensuring that teachers have

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proper professional development teaching in this space,

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to ensure that teachers have the proper training,

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not only to just use a technology,

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but also facilitation, pedagogy,

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student engagement, and the like.

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Secondly, the idea of parental engagement.

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For parents like myself and others

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who are working virtually, this is a very stressful time.

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And for those schools that weren't already engaged

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with parents prior to COVID,

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the need to connect with parents

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to first assess the needs of parents,

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to understand the capacity of parents to respond,

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to be supportive to their child,

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is something that again most systems were not prepared for.

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Earliest idea of how to assess student progress,

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not only throughout the shutdown of last year,

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but moving into this year

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to understand where our students are in general,

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but more specifically how to support them

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to ensure that they're not falling further behind.

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Also the idea of this point of social-emotional learning,

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this idea of being distant from your friends,

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being distant from a school environment

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that for many students

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is the only place of safety and support.

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And then lastly,

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this idea of school systems being very bureaucratic

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and really nonresponsive to how to really move quickly,

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and how districts have been able to really reform

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and give autonomy to school leaders

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to ensure that they're creating plans

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that are uniquely responsive to the needs of their students,

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teachers, and parents.

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And so to reiterate,

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I think if we all understood that as a country, as a school,

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as a country, we were not prepared for this,

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as school systems, we weren't prepared for this,

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but it's ample time and it's quite the right time for us

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to really move forward with how we ensure

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that every child has equal access to education.

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<v ->So it is fascinating to me</v>

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that in this moment of a pandemic,

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and we're trying to figure this out,

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we may actually get to some longer term solutions,

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which is, I think, what you all laid out in those answers.

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And that's, can there be a glimmer of hope?

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Maybe?

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<v ->I mean, I would say,</v>

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I think for those who've been following public education

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as far back as I have, and I've, you know,

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been doing this for a while,

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have been studying education

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going back hundreds of years in this country,

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there have been people who have been calling

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for not just sort of reform of education,

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public education, but a revolution.

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And in many ways revolutions start this way

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where people really understand what they, you know,

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what was sort of painted over in the past

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about what really is going on inside our school buildings,

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how they're run and what's needed to move forward,

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but also the gaps that are between different racial groups,

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economic groups.

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I believe that this is the time

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not only just repair the boat,

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but to create a whole new way of transporting our students

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to the next generation.

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<v ->Let's turn to Scott, because I think, Scott,</v>

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your thoughts on data totally echo what Curtis is saying

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in terms of being able to know what's going on

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in order for us to get to those greater solutions.

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<v ->Right, absolutely.</v>

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So this, I mean, you know, I suppose a good aspect of it

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is that people finally see the real effects

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of the digital divide in a way that they hadn't before.

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And so people are paying attention to it,

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in particular, with respect to kids in schools.

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But what we don't have yet is good data on this.

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And by that I mean,

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we should be taking this opportunity now

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to learn what works and what doesn't work.

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We have about 12,000 school districts around the country.

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Each one of them has put,

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has tried its own solutions for dealing

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with their digital divided distance learning problems.

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And they're all, they're doing it on the fly.

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They're doing it in real time.

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But so somebody else needs to be

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collecting information on it.

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We should have a database

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of what exactly each school is doing.

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And I'm sure in there,

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we'll find some things that didn't work at all.

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And some things that did.

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And if we collect information,

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we'll also be able to attach it later to student outcomes.

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And you know, this is a real opportunity to learn something

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and we're just not doing it.

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And things like in Montgomery County here, where I live,

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the school district is giving each kid who needs one

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a wireless hotspot and every kid gets a Chromebook.

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You know, did that work?

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Is that sufficient?

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And in principle, there should be no digital divide

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among students in Montgomery County.

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But I have a feeling that that's not true.

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I would imagine there are still issues.

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And we should be collecting this information

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to learn all of these lessons that we could take forward.

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<v ->I think it's the moment.</v>
<v ->Angela,</v>

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can I say something Angela?

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I think to Scott's point,

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I think there were two groups

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that I think did understand this

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and seen this coming up from a mile away.

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And that is the business sector

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and I think in higher education.

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You know, for years,

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students have been showing up

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at our public historically black colleges,

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ivy league schools

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with dramatically different levels of education.

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And the higher education is where all these students

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sort of come together.

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And the percentage of students were being remediated

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at the higher ed level.

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At the same time you have industries.

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And if you, I used to sit on the governor's workforce

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investment board here in Maryland,

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and sitting around the table with different entities

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around the state saying our state is not competitive

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00:11:27.040 --> 00:11:29.030
with the region and around the country,

263
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and in many ways around the world,

264
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because we are not producing the workforce necessary

265
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for the industries that Maryland is uniquely prepared

266
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and qualified to lead.

267
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And so businesses have been calling for change.

268
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Higher ed has been saying, you know,

269
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has been calling for change.

270
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And unfortunately our K-12 system

271
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has been late to the party.

272
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And it's important that, you know,

273
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all these groups come together and say

274
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this is not about picking on one institute or the other,

275
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it's you understanding that we have to work together

276
00:12:01.100 --> 00:12:03.083
in order to move this issue forward.

277
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<v ->So the opportunities for the big change</v>

278
00:12:08.180 --> 00:12:10.283
are coming from the multiple directions.

279
00:12:11.720 --> 00:12:13.430
I guess it's a question of,

280
00:12:13.430 --> 00:12:14.980
are we gonna take advantage of it, right?

281
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Do we have the attention right now of policy makers

282
00:12:18.140 --> 00:12:19.410
and the public?

283
00:12:19.410 --> 00:12:20.610
Can we change education?

284
00:12:20.610 --> 00:12:23.090
Can we change workforce development, right?

285
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Can we change all the things that will make a difference

286
00:12:25.510 --> 00:12:27.320
in folks' lives?

287
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Scott, thoughts on that?

288
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<v ->I'm not so optimistic, actually.</v>

289
00:12:33.390 --> 00:12:37.610 line:15% 
I think we, as a country,

290
00:12:37.610 --> 00:12:40.997 line:15% 
I don't think we're going to take the steps

291
00:12:40.997 --> 00:12:42.420 line:15% 
necessary to solve these problems.

292
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Because we really don't know what all the steps are

293
00:12:45.790 --> 00:12:47.600
and we're not taking advantage of the opportunity

294
00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:49.830
to learn what they should be.

295
00:12:49.830 --> 00:12:53.260
I mean, Congress and people

296
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really across the political spectrum are prepared

297
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to spend lots of money on digital divide issues,

298
00:12:58.670 --> 00:13:02.600
but nobody in the government at least seems to be prepared

299
00:13:02.600 --> 00:13:05.920
to make this sort of an evidence-based approach

300
00:13:05.920 --> 00:13:09.020
and to collect this information that I'm talking about.

301
00:13:09.020 --> 00:13:09.900
And you know,

302
00:13:09.900 --> 00:13:11.741
the process of collecting it and putting it together,

303
00:13:11.741 --> 00:13:13.910
it would be a large database,

304
00:13:13.910 --> 00:13:15.640
but you can quantify things like this.

305
00:13:15.640 --> 00:13:17.507
And the amount of money it would take to do that

306
00:13:17.507 --> 00:13:21.070
and to analyze it is such an infinitesimal fraction

307
00:13:21.070 --> 00:13:23.220
of the amount of money we're talking about spending,

308
00:13:23.220 --> 00:13:26.410
that I, you know, I think if we were to do that,

309
00:13:26.410 --> 00:13:29.190
then I would be, you know, I'd be very optimistic

310
00:13:29.190 --> 00:13:31.120
that we would actually find, we would really learn something

311
00:13:31.120 --> 00:13:32.270
and know where to put the money

312
00:13:32.270 --> 00:13:34.490
to make the best, biggest impact.

313
00:13:34.490 --> 00:13:36.030
But there's not a lot of interest in that.

314
00:13:36.030 --> 00:13:38.790
And I find that personally kind of distressing

315
00:13:38.790 --> 00:13:40.780
because we do see the,

316
00:13:40.780 --> 00:13:43.190
we see the consequences of not being prepared

317
00:13:43.190 --> 00:13:47.560
and of children who are missing out and families.

318
00:13:47.560 --> 00:13:51.080
So I would like to feel more optimistic,

319
00:13:51.080 --> 00:13:54.090
but I'm not right now.

320
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<v ->Okay.</v>

321
00:13:55.050 --> 00:13:57.310
<v ->I actually, I feel like I differ on that.</v>

322
00:13:57.310 --> 00:14:00.100
I mean, I think, and maybe I'm just starting

323
00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:04.420
at a more circumspect level of expectation,

324
00:14:04.420 --> 00:14:08.530 line:15% 
but I see an incredible moment here

325
00:14:08.530 --> 00:14:10.810 line:15% 
where we have schools taking on a role

326
00:14:11.860 --> 00:14:16.190 line:15% 
to be able to serve as an institution

327
00:14:16.190 --> 00:14:18.780
that's committed to really checking in

328
00:14:18.780 --> 00:14:21.220
at the individual level with their students

329
00:14:21.220 --> 00:14:23.070
and whether or not they're connected.

330
00:14:24.160 --> 00:14:26.350
That's something we haven't really had.

331
00:14:26.350 --> 00:14:28.993
We haven't had another institution that has such,

332
00:14:30.130 --> 00:14:34.250
you know, that's so localized that has a relationship,

333
00:14:34.250 --> 00:14:37.430
but then also the scope and scale, you know.

334
00:14:37.430 --> 00:14:39.390
And I think digital inclusion organizations

335
00:14:39.390 --> 00:14:42.100
have been doing this work for years.

336
00:14:42.100 --> 00:14:47.100
If we can bolster this effort to close the digital divide

337
00:14:47.610 --> 00:14:52.000
with the inclusion of this robust activity from schools,

338
00:14:52.000 --> 00:14:55.550
we have an institution now that potentially could do

339
00:14:55.550 --> 00:14:57.580
even if it's just a limited amount,

340
00:14:57.580 --> 00:15:00.630
a very small amount of assessment, to Scott's point,

341
00:15:00.630 --> 00:15:03.280
you know, we don't have incredible amounts of data

342
00:15:03.280 --> 00:15:07.233
on the digital divide that's really robust and refreshable.

343
00:15:08.510 --> 00:15:11.603
Schools with an assessment periodically,

344
00:15:12.580 --> 00:15:16.570
twice a year, three times a year, even if it was once a year

345
00:15:16.570 --> 00:15:19.810
would be able to get address-level data on students

346
00:15:19.810 --> 00:15:21.990
in terms of their connectivity,

347
00:15:21.990 --> 00:15:23.860
in terms of what type devices they had,

348
00:15:23.860 --> 00:15:26.650
in terms of what providers passed by their home

349
00:15:26.650 --> 00:15:29.633
and what levels of connectivity they even have access to.

350
00:15:30.480 --> 00:15:34.800
They would be able to respond through the IT support lines

351
00:15:34.800 --> 00:15:37.680
that have now been put in place in a lot of school districts

352
00:15:37.680 --> 00:15:38.970
to be able to troubleshoot,

353
00:15:38.970 --> 00:15:41.770
and that troubleshooting information could also be captured

354
00:15:41.770 --> 00:15:45.730
as data that could help schools better understand

355
00:15:45.730 --> 00:15:47.670
what products are working well,

356
00:15:47.670 --> 00:15:49.530
where the sort of pain points are

357
00:15:49.530 --> 00:15:51.183
when it comes to connectivity.

358
00:15:52.070 --> 00:15:54.160
So I, and look, you know,

359
00:15:54.160 --> 00:15:58.760
distance learning soup to nuts is a huge, huge issue, right?

360
00:15:58.760 --> 00:16:00.747
And it's not just connectivity and devices

361
00:16:00.747 --> 00:16:02.250
and then getting it up and running

362
00:16:02.250 --> 00:16:04.800
and understanding how to use it and all of those pieces.

363
00:16:04.800 --> 00:16:07.810
But you've also gotta consider all the other components

364
00:16:07.810 --> 00:16:10.520
that go along with it to be able to do distance learning.

365
00:16:10.520 --> 00:16:12.830
Not just connect to a family.

366
00:16:12.830 --> 00:16:14.340
But I think we've got this moment

367
00:16:14.340 --> 00:16:16.640
where you have an institution

368
00:16:16.640 --> 00:16:18.460
that's committed to this issue.

369
00:16:18.460 --> 00:16:22.350
If they're able to start to do annual assessments

370
00:16:22.350 --> 00:16:24.090
on this one topic,

371
00:16:24.090 --> 00:16:26.380
to add it to their student information systems

372
00:16:26.380 --> 00:16:29.073
and to, you know, enter in maybe seven new fields,

373
00:16:30.180 --> 00:16:34.360
that data's gonna be incredibly valuable for the schools,

374
00:16:34.360 --> 00:16:37.310
but also for the states and also for the federal level

375
00:16:37.310 --> 00:16:40.860
as we are trying to understand, okay, how do we,

376
00:16:40.860 --> 00:16:42.750
where do we direct our federal resources?

377
00:16:42.750 --> 00:16:45.150
Where do we direct our state resources?

378
00:16:45.150 --> 00:16:47.500
What kind of infrastructure do we have in place?

379
00:16:47.500 --> 00:16:50.510
What kind of levels of connectivity do we have?

380
00:16:50.510 --> 00:16:54.520
It's just a peek, but I think it would be incredibly useful.

381
00:16:54.520 --> 00:16:57.123
<v ->Right, I totally agree with that.</v>

382
00:16:58.110 --> 00:17:01.480
And I think if the fact that it's the schools

383
00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:03.540
now that are doing it, they're on the ground

384
00:17:03.540 --> 00:17:07.650
and it's important to them to actually make a difference,

385
00:17:07.650 --> 00:17:10.200 line:15% 
and collecting all of this data will make,

386
00:17:10.200 --> 00:17:11.420 line:15% 
would make a huge difference,

387
00:17:11.420 --> 00:17:15.580 line:15% 
but it has to be organized somehow from somewhere,

388
00:17:15.580 --> 00:17:18.524 line:15% 
and so far, we just haven't seen any interest,

389
00:17:18.524 --> 00:17:19.460
at least at the government level

390
00:17:19.460 --> 00:17:21.670
of collecting this information in a systematic way.

391
00:17:21.670 --> 00:17:24.970
And I don't expect the schools to be doing that right now

392
00:17:24.970 --> 00:17:28.300
because, you know, they're having a hard enough time

393
00:17:28.300 --> 00:17:30.600
just trying to make things work on the ground.

394
00:17:30.600 --> 00:17:32.160
And it's a lot to ask them

395
00:17:32.160 --> 00:17:35.300
to try to collect this information in a consistent way.

396
00:17:35.300 --> 00:17:37.360
I mean, I'd love for them to,

397
00:17:37.360 --> 00:17:38.193
but I think someone else should,

398
00:17:38.193 --> 00:17:41.390
you know, the government somehow needs to be organizing it

399
00:17:41.390 --> 00:17:42.960
so that we can collect all of the kind of data

400
00:17:42.960 --> 00:17:44.760
that Amina's talking about

401
00:17:45.610 --> 00:17:48.800
and learn the answers to the questions that she's saying

402
00:17:48.800 --> 00:17:50.180
and gather this information

403
00:17:50.180 --> 00:17:51.890
that we've never been able to see before.

404
00:17:51.890 --> 00:17:53.760
<v ->Yeah, I love that idea.</v>

405
00:17:53.760 --> 00:17:55.880
I mean, I think if we were to be able

406
00:17:55.880 --> 00:17:59.220
to have the federal government, you know,

407
00:17:59.220 --> 00:18:03.040
help schools prioritize this data collection

408
00:18:03.040 --> 00:18:04.860
that they're already doing, 'cause let's be honest,

409
00:18:04.860 --> 00:18:09.860
to provision resources like connectivity and devices,

410
00:18:09.890 --> 00:18:12.200
you have to collect some of this data.

411
00:18:12.200 --> 00:18:15.080
Sometimes schools are doing this on Excel spreadsheet.

412
00:18:15.080 --> 00:18:16.850
Some schools have now switched over

413
00:18:16.850 --> 00:18:18.770
to using their student information systems

414
00:18:18.770 --> 00:18:21.680
or trying to come up with something in between.

415
00:18:21.680 --> 00:18:23.850
So it's being done because they have to do it

416
00:18:23.850 --> 00:18:26.370
and they actually have to have a certain level

417
00:18:26.370 --> 00:18:28.560
of granularity to it.

418
00:18:28.560 --> 00:18:29.840
But I think there are things

419
00:18:29.840 --> 00:18:31.010
that the federal government could do.

420
00:18:31.010 --> 00:18:33.380
One, they can back the effort.

421
00:18:33.380 --> 00:18:36.153
Two, they can make sure it's a little bit easier to do.

422
00:18:37.195 --> 00:18:40.840
And then three, they can utilize that data themselves

423
00:18:40.840 --> 00:18:42.960
as they build their policies around this issue.

424
00:18:42.960 --> 00:18:46.270
<v ->Can we give a big shout out to all the local schools</v>

425
00:18:46.270 --> 00:18:48.300
and the communities surrounding those schools

426
00:18:48.300 --> 00:18:50.220
that are supporting those efforts?

427
00:18:50.220 --> 00:18:52.090
I am astounded by that.

428
00:18:52.090 --> 00:18:55.100
And I think it's something we should all be really

429
00:18:55.100 --> 00:18:58.030
you know, giving them the due kudos for figuring it,

430
00:18:58.030 --> 00:19:01.030
a lot of them, not all of them, but a lot of them have,

431
00:19:01.030 --> 00:19:03.830
are working on plans to figure out the connectivity,

432
00:19:03.830 --> 00:19:06.790
the devices, some are even going at tech support

433
00:19:06.790 --> 00:19:07.623
and digital literacy,

434
00:19:07.623 --> 00:19:11.100 line:15% 
which gosh, I wish they were all doing that.

435
00:19:11.100 --> 00:19:14.610 line:15% 
But it is, it is this moment where there are more folks

436
00:19:14.610 --> 00:19:18.430 line:15% 
working on digital equity issues than we've ever, ever had.

437
00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:22.100
Like, I joke that I'm more popular than I've ever been

438
00:19:22.100 --> 00:19:24.350
because the work that we've been doing

439
00:19:24.350 --> 00:19:27.350
is now something that lots of folks are doing.

440
00:19:27.350 --> 00:19:29.953
So I do have high hopes for the future.

441
00:19:31.400 --> 00:19:32.620
Curtis, can you tell us a bit

442
00:19:32.620 --> 00:19:34.920
about some of the findings of the study,

443
00:19:34.920 --> 00:19:37.670
the things that you think could get us

444
00:19:37.670 --> 00:19:40.833
to those great gains moving forward?

445
00:19:41.830 --> 00:19:45.470
<v ->Well, I'll say, I think with any major change</v>

446
00:19:45.470 --> 00:19:48.730 line:15% 
that happens in this country, it takes collective action

447
00:19:48.730 --> 00:19:50.020 line:15% 
and it takes individuals

448
00:19:50.020 --> 00:19:54.070 line:15% 
who are not traditionally directly impacted by that issue

449
00:19:54.070 --> 00:19:57.380
to get involved in order to push that issue forward.

450
00:19:57.380 --> 00:19:59.850
As we look at the school district

451
00:19:59.850 --> 00:20:02.900
in which my children enroll,

452
00:20:02.900 --> 00:20:05.360
my wife is a principal of a middle school

453
00:20:05.360 --> 00:20:10.360
and I'm on the school board, only about 20, 25%

454
00:20:10.737 --> 00:20:15.737
of our million-person school district county

455
00:20:15.920 --> 00:20:18.140
are actually directly affected by the school system.

456
00:20:18.140 --> 00:20:19.420
Meaning they have children in the system

457
00:20:19.420 --> 00:20:21.330
or know someone who works there.

458
00:20:21.330 --> 00:20:23.470
And so when we have conversations around public education,

459
00:20:23.470 --> 00:20:28.160
75% of the community, you know, literally turns a channel

460
00:20:28.160 --> 00:20:30.310
because it doesn't direct impact them.

461
00:20:30.310 --> 00:20:32.670
The four of us know that it does.

462
00:20:32.670 --> 00:20:34.050
It affects housing prices.

463
00:20:34.050 --> 00:20:35.610
It affects crime rate.

464
00:20:35.610 --> 00:20:39.670
It affects whether jobs come to your community or not.

465
00:20:39.670 --> 00:20:43.870
And so I think what is unusual about this,

466
00:20:43.870 --> 00:20:47.710
but I think the opportunity here is the entire country

467
00:20:47.710 --> 00:20:49.610
is talking about public education

468
00:20:49.610 --> 00:20:51.483
in a way that has not been discussed,

469
00:20:52.340 --> 00:20:55.560
at least in, since I can remember,

470
00:20:55.560 --> 00:20:59.350
because you have businesses that have employees

471
00:20:59.350 --> 00:21:01.790
who have children, who for the first time are wondering,

472
00:21:01.790 --> 00:21:03.640
when are these schools going to go back,

473
00:21:03.640 --> 00:21:05.360
because I need my staff back

474
00:21:05.360 --> 00:21:08.050
who are having to be at home with their children.

475
00:21:08.050 --> 00:21:10.430
You have businesses, as we talked about.

476
00:21:10.430 --> 00:21:12.040
I mean, you have small businesses.

477
00:21:12.040 --> 00:21:14.150
You have, you know, you have corporations.

478
00:21:14.150 --> 00:21:16.146
Everyone has sort of come to them.

479
00:21:16.146 --> 00:21:20.410
We are at an all hands on deck time.

480
00:21:20.410 --> 00:21:25.410
And I think that is where the opportunity is.

481
00:21:25.450 --> 00:21:27.670
As far as what's working.

482
00:21:27.670 --> 00:21:28.890
I mean, you think about, you know,

483
00:21:28.890 --> 00:21:31.540
in areas around personal development

484
00:21:31.540 --> 00:21:35.690
and really preparing teachers for the school year,

485
00:21:35.690 --> 00:21:38.070
school districts like Clark County, Nevada

486
00:21:38.070 --> 00:21:42.810
literally delayed their school year by 10 days

487
00:21:42.810 --> 00:21:45.170
to ensure their teachers had two more weeks

488
00:21:45.170 --> 00:21:46.040
of personal development

489
00:21:46.040 --> 00:21:48.050
before they got in front of students.

490
00:21:48.050 --> 00:21:48.960
In Washington, D.C.,

491
00:21:48.960 --> 00:21:53.320
you have the Flamboyant organization in D.C.

492
00:21:53.320 --> 00:21:56.250
that's training teachers how to work with parents

493
00:21:56.250 --> 00:21:59.350
to ensure they're really meeting the needs of parents.

494
00:21:59.350 --> 00:22:02.953
I mean, 'cause in the end in this environment,

495
00:22:03.820 --> 00:22:05.470
the parent has been sort of thrust

496
00:22:05.470 --> 00:22:09.970
into this teacher paraprofessional environment.

497
00:22:09.970 --> 00:22:11.640
And even the parents are feeling overwhelmed.

498
00:22:11.640 --> 00:22:13.410
We have teachers who are also parents,

499
00:22:13.410 --> 00:22:17.200
like my wife and myself who are parents but also educators,

500
00:22:17.200 --> 00:22:19.420
but also going through a lot at the same time as well.

501
00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:20.930
So that's working.

502
00:22:20.930 --> 00:22:22.470
In the area of parental engagement

503
00:22:22.470 --> 00:22:24.640
right here in Prince George's County,

504
00:22:24.640 --> 00:22:27.380
we established nine parents centers,

505
00:22:27.380 --> 00:22:30.275
where parents can either go in person

506
00:22:30.275 --> 00:22:33.550
or contact them to get better instruction on how to log in,

507
00:22:33.550 --> 00:22:37.110
how to communicate with their teachers,

508
00:22:37.110 --> 00:22:39.900
all the different things that I think a lot of us who,

509
00:22:39.900 --> 00:22:43.910
you know, who are not really feeling as much of a hardship

510
00:22:43.910 --> 00:22:48.550
take for granted is happening.

511
00:22:48.550 --> 00:22:51.070
I think when you think about

512
00:22:51.070 --> 00:22:53.430
as it relates to social-emotional learning,

513
00:22:53.430 --> 00:22:54.470
you have some charter schools

514
00:22:54.470 --> 00:22:56.820
that have created, they call advisory,

515
00:22:56.820 --> 00:23:01.120
or families of 15 students to really support one another

516
00:23:01.120 --> 00:23:03.430
who are struggling with the detachment

517
00:23:03.430 --> 00:23:07.675
of not being in person with their classmates

518
00:23:07.675 --> 00:23:09.730
and their teachers.

519
00:23:09.730 --> 00:23:13.240
And so I think we are seeing some,

520
00:23:13.240 --> 00:23:15.520
you know, ripples of hope.

521
00:23:15.520 --> 00:23:17.890
The question is, how do we take those

522
00:23:17.890 --> 00:23:20.110
and share them with the world

523
00:23:20.110 --> 00:23:22.940
to empower people saying, I mean, what was done here

524
00:23:24.340 --> 00:23:26.940
was obviously out of necessity,

525
00:23:26.940 --> 00:23:30.490
but hopefully you feel empowered enough

526
00:23:30.490 --> 00:23:33.110
to do something similar and hopefully take this on

527
00:23:33.110 --> 00:23:37.440
even after we move back to full time instruction,

528
00:23:37.440 --> 00:23:39.270
as well as so there are opportunities,

529
00:23:39.270 --> 00:23:42.170
but I think this idea of collective action

530
00:23:42.170 --> 00:23:44.770
that our country has really been thrust into

531
00:23:44.770 --> 00:23:47.760
in a very, very unique way

532
00:23:47.760 --> 00:23:50.330
is the one opportunity that I think we'll take

533
00:23:50.330 --> 00:23:53.963
and will move this forward unlike any other generation.

534
00:23:55.120 --> 00:23:59.001
<v ->Your focus on parents is really fabulous.</v>

535
00:23:59.001 --> 00:24:02.150
I worry, NDIA, whom I work for,

536
00:24:02.150 --> 00:24:04.650
we worry that the parents have been left out

537
00:24:04.650 --> 00:24:07.250
of the connectivity decision too often,

538
00:24:07.250 --> 00:24:09.500
that we're so focused on getting the kids connected

539
00:24:09.500 --> 00:24:11.280
so they can continue their learning

540
00:24:11.280 --> 00:24:13.140
we haven't thought about the parents

541
00:24:13.140 --> 00:24:14.410
needing to be connected,

542
00:24:14.410 --> 00:24:15.990
not only to support their kid learning,

543
00:24:15.990 --> 00:24:17.370
but for all the other reasons

544
00:24:17.370 --> 00:24:19.070
that one needs to use the internet.

545
00:24:19.070 --> 00:24:21.490
And Amina, you mentioned all the other,

546
00:24:21.490 --> 00:24:23.770
the collective kind of effort

547
00:24:23.770 --> 00:24:26.820
in terms of who else is working with the schools,

548
00:24:26.820 --> 00:24:28.810
the cities, local governments,

549
00:24:28.810 --> 00:24:30.900
the libraries, community-based organizations.

550
00:24:30.900 --> 00:24:33.620
Can you talk a bit about that collective effort

551
00:24:33.620 --> 00:24:35.710
that we're seeing out there?

552
00:24:35.710 --> 00:24:38.160
<v ->Yeah, I mean, I had a great conversation</v>

553
00:24:38.160 --> 00:24:41.500
with some colleagues actually from the UK.

554
00:24:41.500 --> 00:24:45.730 line:15% 
And we're running into much of the same issues

555
00:24:45.730 --> 00:24:46.880 line:15% 
around connectivity

556
00:24:46.880 --> 00:24:49.340 line:15% 
and lack of connectivity for students and families.

557
00:24:49.340 --> 00:24:52.740
And one thing that after these first few months

558
00:24:52.740 --> 00:24:56.006
of the pandemic have passed

559
00:24:56.006 --> 00:25:00.780
and schools are looking at doing this in the longer run,

560
00:25:00.780 --> 00:25:04.130
they're understanding the incredible value

561
00:25:04.130 --> 00:25:07.440
of the resource that is available

562
00:25:07.440 --> 00:25:09.520
in the digital inclusion community

563
00:25:09.520 --> 00:25:12.310
and the community of all the organizations

564
00:25:12.310 --> 00:25:13.610
that have been working in this space

565
00:25:13.610 --> 00:25:16.520
and the collective knowledge of those organizations

566
00:25:16.520 --> 00:25:17.353
that are in this space,

567
00:25:17.353 --> 00:25:20.380
because schools have traditionally not been, you know,

568
00:25:20.380 --> 00:25:24.430
a digital inclusion organization in that same way.

569
00:25:24.430 --> 00:25:28.650
And so now they're starting to build

570
00:25:29.570 --> 00:25:31.430
digital citizenship programs

571
00:25:31.430 --> 00:25:35.460
and digital training for the parents alongside the students.

572
00:25:35.460 --> 00:25:37.600
And they understand that they really have to bring

573
00:25:37.600 --> 00:25:40.200
the parents along to be able to effectively

574
00:25:40.200 --> 00:25:41.510
do any kind of distance learning,

575
00:25:41.510 --> 00:25:46.130
not just because technology is difficult for kids to manage

576
00:25:46.130 --> 00:25:48.750
but also because it's just the nature

577
00:25:48.750 --> 00:25:50.640
of doing that type of work.

578
00:25:50.640 --> 00:25:53.120
Trying to learn by yourself,

579
00:25:53.120 --> 00:25:55.780
you're going to need some kind of guidance at some point.

580
00:25:55.780 --> 00:25:58.130
It's important for the parents to be engaged.

581
00:25:58.130 --> 00:26:01.500
So having resources like digital inclusion organizations

582
00:26:01.500 --> 00:26:04.340
that already know how to engage with adults

583
00:26:04.340 --> 00:26:07.040
and how to train adults has been really useful.

584
00:26:07.040 --> 00:26:11.410
And it's kind of a shortcut, so to speak,

585
00:26:11.410 --> 00:26:13.600
for schools that are realizing, you know,

586
00:26:13.600 --> 00:26:14.830
I don't need to build this,

587
00:26:14.830 --> 00:26:16.920
somebody else has already built this.

588
00:26:16.920 --> 00:26:18.990
I need to engage with these organizations

589
00:26:18.990 --> 00:26:22.930
to make sure that we're building the right type of curricula

590
00:26:22.930 --> 00:26:25.640
for adults, as well as our students.

591
00:26:25.640 --> 00:26:29.100
And it takes some of the burden off of the schools honestly.

592
00:26:29.100 --> 00:26:31.420
<v ->So I think Curtis and Amina</v>

593
00:26:31.420 --> 00:26:34.320
also actually raised another point,

594
00:26:34.320 --> 00:26:35.850
which is that there are short term problems

595
00:26:35.850 --> 00:26:38.560
and there are longer term problems,

596
00:26:38.560 --> 00:26:39.393 line:15% 
things to resolve.

597
00:26:39.393 --> 00:26:40.770 line:15% 
I mean, right now we have this

598
00:26:42.290 --> 00:26:46.470 line:15% 
hopefully a short to medium term issue of how to teach,

599
00:26:46.470 --> 00:26:50.690 line:15% 
how kids can learn when they can't actually go to school.

600
00:26:50.690 --> 00:26:53.240
And, you know, I don't know anybody who would say

601
00:26:53.240 --> 00:26:56.010
that that's been a rousing success.

602
00:26:56.010 --> 00:26:58.880
It's been, I think by most measures so far,

603
00:26:58.880 --> 00:27:00.980
not been very successful,

604
00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:03.160
not because of the school's fault.

605
00:27:03.160 --> 00:27:03.993
They're all, I mean,

606
00:27:03.993 --> 00:27:06.150
we just haven't had this situation before.

607
00:27:06.150 --> 00:27:08.530
And then the other is the longer term impact,

608
00:27:08.530 --> 00:27:11.320
which is what is the right way for schools

609
00:27:11.320 --> 00:27:12.410
to use distance learning

610
00:27:12.410 --> 00:27:14.380
that they haven't been willing to in the past,

611
00:27:14.380 --> 00:27:17.380
and which aspects of things that schools have done now

612
00:27:17.380 --> 00:27:19.990
have successfully addressed digital divide issues

613
00:27:19.990 --> 00:27:23.030
that they can then continue later.

614
00:27:23.030 --> 00:27:24.980
And it's hard to separate them

615
00:27:24.980 --> 00:27:28.790
because the current concerns of what schools are,

616
00:27:28.790 --> 00:27:30.350
what kids are learning now

617
00:27:30.350 --> 00:27:34.390
and how their parents can and can't engage with them

618
00:27:34.390 --> 00:27:37.663
for learning are incredibly important.

619
00:27:38.780 --> 00:27:40.310
And so it's kind of hard to get by them.

620
00:27:40.310 --> 00:27:42.160
But then we do also want to be thinking more

621
00:27:42.160 --> 00:27:43.113
about the long run.

622
00:27:44.130 --> 00:27:45.330
<v ->And Scott, I mean, this is, you're right.</v>

623
00:27:45.330 --> 00:27:48.080
This is the largest social experiment

624
00:27:48.080 --> 00:27:51.290
in education in our lifetime.

625
00:27:51.290 --> 00:27:54.493 line:15% 
The idea that my children who are 12 and 10,

626
00:27:55.850 --> 00:27:59.370 line:15% 
and in 10 years, when both of them are in university,

627
00:27:59.370 --> 00:28:00.587 line:15% 
we'll look back on this time

628
00:28:00.587 --> 00:28:05.587
and we will wonder whether children being out of school

629
00:28:05.930 --> 00:28:07.500
for this amount of time,

630
00:28:07.500 --> 00:28:11.660
children being detached from the physical environment

631
00:28:11.660 --> 00:28:12.850
that they're used to,

632
00:28:12.850 --> 00:28:16.610
what impact that had on their ability to graduate on time

633
00:28:16.610 --> 00:28:18.460
and to prepare for college

634
00:28:18.460 --> 00:28:22.230
compared to a previous generation or students,

635
00:28:22.230 --> 00:28:23.930
you know, later on in school

636
00:28:23.930 --> 00:28:26.410
and understanding the impact on elementary school students

637
00:28:26.410 --> 00:28:27.243
and middle school students

638
00:28:27.243 --> 00:28:29.430
when you're trying to get these sort of foundational skills

639
00:28:29.430 --> 00:28:32.710
is more impactful than maybe at the high school level,

640
00:28:32.710 --> 00:28:34.280
but we will be able to tell this.

641
00:28:34.280 --> 00:28:36.030
But we'll also we'll look at it by race,

642
00:28:36.030 --> 00:28:37.380
we'll look at it by income,

643
00:28:37.380 --> 00:28:41.070
and we'll look at it by connectivity.

644
00:28:41.070 --> 00:28:46.070
And we will be able to see in real time that, you know,

645
00:28:46.440 --> 00:28:47.670
we talked about it 10 years ago

646
00:28:47.670 --> 00:28:49.700
and we'll be 10 years away from COVID,

647
00:28:49.700 --> 00:28:51.690
but someone's gonna do a documentary,

648
00:28:51.690 --> 00:28:53.740
and Netflix is gonna make a lot of money

649
00:28:53.740 --> 00:28:55.940
because we're gonna look back and say, hey,

650
00:28:55.940 --> 00:28:59.880
here is the impact that this had on individuals

651
00:28:59.880 --> 00:29:02.270
but more so on society.

652
00:29:02.270 --> 00:29:04.920
This is the conversation I think people are having.

653
00:29:04.920 --> 00:29:07.970
You know, these things are not just what you do

654
00:29:07.970 --> 00:29:10.370
when you're home and you have the individual right

655
00:29:10.370 --> 00:29:11.860
to choose what you do and how,

656
00:29:11.860 --> 00:29:16.710
this is having impacts on entire communities

657
00:29:17.580 --> 00:29:19.930
and an entire country,

658
00:29:19.930 --> 00:29:23.280
that I think is going to have to your point, Scott,

659
00:29:23.280 --> 00:29:24.850
the longterm impact.

660
00:29:24.850 --> 00:29:29.680
But sadly it will be along the lines of race,

661
00:29:29.680 --> 00:29:31.973
income and connectivity.

662
00:29:32.890 --> 00:29:35.540
<v ->Yeah, I mean, when we started to dig into the report,</v>

663
00:29:35.540 --> 00:29:36.690
one of the things that,

664
00:29:37.710 --> 00:29:40.780
to scope out the distance learning digital divide,

665
00:29:40.780 --> 00:29:42.320 line:15% 
one of the things that we noticed first

666
00:29:42.320 --> 00:29:45.753 line:15% 
was the concern around learning loss.

667
00:29:46.740 --> 00:29:48.290 line:15% 
You know, there's an estimate at the time

668
00:29:48.290 --> 00:29:49.550 line:15% 
that we were doing the report

669
00:29:49.550 --> 00:29:52.453 line:15% 
that the first few months in the spring,

670
00:29:54.202 --> 00:29:57.230
the quick transition to distance learning,

671
00:29:57.230 --> 00:30:00.883
which at the time was very, very nascent.

672
00:30:01.890 --> 00:30:03.800
There was a lot of expectation of learning loss,

673
00:30:03.800 --> 00:30:06.230
that there would be, you know, potential learning loss

674
00:30:06.230 --> 00:30:08.110
that was really significant

675
00:30:08.110 --> 00:30:12.250
just from those few months of the spring that were lost,

676
00:30:12.250 --> 00:30:15.880
plus the summer that would go on.

677
00:30:15.880 --> 00:30:18.240
And now we're looking at, you know,

678
00:30:18.240 --> 00:30:22.930
potentially a year or more of some kind of hybrid,

679
00:30:22.930 --> 00:30:26.090
maybe all distance learning, maybe some distance learning,

680
00:30:26.090 --> 00:30:28.970
at some point in the year for many students.

681
00:30:28.970 --> 00:30:32.260
And, you know, I think there's certainly an expectation

682
00:30:32.260 --> 00:30:34.250
that learning loss will continue,

683
00:30:34.250 --> 00:30:36.230
and that'll definitely have an impact

684
00:30:36.230 --> 00:30:37.450
on the kids going forward.

685
00:30:37.450 --> 00:30:42.450
So I think it just underscores, you know,

686
00:30:42.700 --> 00:30:47.563
really reveals what the digital divide actually is.

687
00:30:48.700 --> 00:30:50.450
The digital divide isn't just,

688
00:30:50.450 --> 00:30:53.320
do you have a laptop and connectivity.

689
00:30:53.320 --> 00:30:56.190
It's, do you have that comfort level?

690
00:30:56.190 --> 00:30:58.220
You know, do you have a laptop and connectivity,

691
00:30:58.220 --> 00:31:00.200
and not just any connectivity, you know,

692
00:31:00.200 --> 00:31:01.540
really robust connectivity

693
00:31:01.540 --> 00:31:03.910
that allows you to do synchronous learning,

694
00:31:03.910 --> 00:31:07.430
that allows us to do calls like this, you know,

695
00:31:07.430 --> 00:31:12.120
can you succeed and thrive on those platforms?

696
00:31:12.120 --> 00:31:15.200
You know, if you can, then you're not in the digital divide.

697
00:31:15.200 --> 00:31:17.770
But if you're missing any component,

698
00:31:17.770 --> 00:31:20.250
all the way down to having nothing at all

699
00:31:20.250 --> 00:31:22.273
in terms of connectivity and devices,

700
00:31:22.273 --> 00:31:23.930
then you're going to be impacted

701
00:31:23.930 --> 00:31:25.803
by that digital divide in some way.

702
00:31:27.830 --> 00:31:29.770
<v ->We've talked a bit about the short term</v>

703
00:31:29.770 --> 00:31:32.790
and the longterm in all of this.

704
00:31:32.790 --> 00:31:35.560
In the world that I sit in, which you know,

705
00:31:35.560 --> 00:31:37.230
is working with organizations

706
00:31:37.230 --> 00:31:39.990 line:15% 
that are addressing digital inequities,

707
00:31:39.990 --> 00:31:41.760 line:15% 
there do seem to be the communities

708
00:31:41.760 --> 00:31:43.234 line:15% 
that are working on the short term plans,

709
00:31:43.234 --> 00:31:44.090 line:15% 
the communities that are working

710
00:31:44.090 --> 00:31:45.560 line:15% 
on the longterm plans, right?

711
00:31:45.560 --> 00:31:47.134 line:15% 
So the short term is quick,

712
00:31:47.134 --> 00:31:49.520 line:15% 
get everybody a device and connectivity

713
00:31:49.520 --> 00:31:52.240
and maybe some digital literacy tech support.

714
00:31:52.240 --> 00:31:55.070
And then there's the communities who are also looking at,

715
00:31:55.070 --> 00:31:56.690
okay, we know affordability is a problem.

716
00:31:56.690 --> 00:31:58.560
We know digital literacy is a problem.

717
00:31:58.560 --> 00:32:00.200
We know access to device is a problem.

718
00:32:00.200 --> 00:32:02.520
Let's figure out solutions to that,

719
00:32:02.520 --> 00:32:04.090
many, you know, years out.

720
00:32:04.090 --> 00:32:07.330
I was super excited to see the Chicago Connected Project

721
00:32:07.330 --> 00:32:09.780
announced as a four-year project.

722
00:32:09.780 --> 00:32:11.170
So they actually merged,

723
00:32:11.170 --> 00:32:13.240
I think, their short term and their longterm.

724
00:32:13.240 --> 00:32:16.410
Very few places are doing that.

725
00:32:16.410 --> 00:32:18.200
Curtis, are you seeing examples

726
00:32:18.200 --> 00:32:21.560
of folks who are looking at that separately

727
00:32:21.560 --> 00:32:23.163
or looking at it together?

728
00:32:24.454 --> 00:32:27.680
<v ->Well, I mean, I think school systems, to your point,</v>

729
00:32:27.680 --> 00:32:28.810
I'm looking at the longterm,

730
00:32:28.810 --> 00:32:33.570
which is please get everybody online.

731
00:32:33.570 --> 00:32:35.310
In some districts, I think they're looking

732
00:32:35.310 --> 00:32:39.050 line:15% 
at longterm putting in how they're building buildings

733
00:32:39.050 --> 00:32:43.270 line:15% 
or how they're doing construction of new skill buildings

734
00:32:43.270 --> 00:32:46.470
with the idea of, you know, in 15, 20 years,

735
00:32:46.470 --> 00:32:49.260
will we have 100% of our students in buildings

736
00:32:49.260 --> 00:32:53.430
five days a week for 30 hours a week,

737
00:32:53.430 --> 00:32:54.940
or will there be,

738
00:32:54.940 --> 00:32:59.250
can we build smaller schools with more open plans

739
00:32:59.250 --> 00:33:02.150
where students are, you know, sort of mostly on computers,

740
00:33:02.150 --> 00:33:07.040
but able to interact with teachers where there's a need.

741
00:33:07.040 --> 00:33:10.863
And so I think it's interesting.

742
00:33:12.890 --> 00:33:17.250
Oftentimes in the midterm is when a lot a lot of the issues

743
00:33:17.250 --> 00:33:19.170
that happen in the short term get fixed

744
00:33:19.170 --> 00:33:21.710
and it kind of happens over and over again.

745
00:33:21.710 --> 00:33:25.350
And so the thing that you didn't do well in the short term,

746
00:33:25.350 --> 00:33:26.580
you kind of get a mulligan,

747
00:33:26.580 --> 00:33:28.380
you get to do over in the midterm

748
00:33:28.380 --> 00:33:30.330
and you kind of keep doing it over and over again.

749
00:33:30.330 --> 00:33:33.170
But eventually you end up at the longterm deadline

750
00:33:33.170 --> 00:33:35.780
or timeline in which you thought that you would be

751
00:33:35.780 --> 00:33:39.710
further along, but you spent so little time at the outset

752
00:33:39.710 --> 00:33:43.903
really laying the groundwork for what that looks like.

753
00:33:43.903 --> 00:33:45.710
And for the most part

754
00:33:45.710 --> 00:33:49.800
it's just a really bad envisioning plan for education.

755
00:33:49.800 --> 00:33:50.646
And so when I sit,

756
00:33:50.646 --> 00:33:52.110
you know when I'm at my school board meetings,

757
00:33:52.110 --> 00:33:55.653
and I talk to a superintendent about, you know,

758
00:33:56.570 --> 00:34:00.520
we should hire a futurist for our school system to say,

759
00:34:00.520 --> 00:34:04.520
you know, how will bussing look in 15 years?

760
00:34:04.520 --> 00:34:08.030
How will again, how the idea that my grandchildren

761
00:34:08.030 --> 00:34:11.240
will be attending school with 35 students in a classroom

762
00:34:11.240 --> 00:34:14.490
for eight hours a day is just ludicrous.

763
00:34:14.490 --> 00:34:16.810
And we know that won't happen.

764
00:34:16.810 --> 00:34:21.530
But what are we doing now to prepare ourselves longterm

765
00:34:21.530 --> 00:34:25.330
and midterm for these things without a clear vision

766
00:34:25.330 --> 00:34:28.160
of what this looks like for, again,

767
00:34:28.160 --> 00:34:31.250
us as individuals, as families, and as communities.

768
00:34:31.250 --> 00:34:34.410
But I think again we have community partners.

769
00:34:34.410 --> 00:34:35.720
We have people who have come,

770
00:34:35.720 --> 00:34:39.040
who are coming to school systems saying we want to help.

771
00:34:39.040 --> 00:34:40.820
At the same time, we do have in some instances

772
00:34:40.820 --> 00:34:44.370
leaders that don't have, and that could be

773
00:34:44.370 --> 00:34:48.380
at local state, federal all the way up to the White House,

774
00:34:48.380 --> 00:34:50.390
really not having a clear plan

775
00:34:50.390 --> 00:34:53.750
for how we can use those who are saying,

776
00:34:53.750 --> 00:34:57.180
I'm here to help, please, you know, please put me to work.

777
00:34:57.180 --> 00:34:59.860
And so if you don't have a plan, when someone says,

778
00:34:59.860 --> 00:35:02.050
I have this to bring to the table,

779
00:35:02.050 --> 00:35:04.110
it's hard to figure out how that fits in.

780
00:35:04.110 --> 00:35:07.340
People want to support, nonprofits, religious institutions,

781
00:35:07.340 --> 00:35:09.780
again, this all hands on deck plan only works

782
00:35:09.780 --> 00:35:12.017
when we have a strategy at the local state

783
00:35:12.017 --> 00:35:13.113
and federal level.

784
00:35:14.550 --> 00:35:16.200
<v ->Yeah.</v>
<v ->And so, I'm seeing that,</v>

785
00:35:16.200 --> 00:35:18.830
Amina, are you seeing that at the local state and federal,

786
00:35:18.830 --> 00:35:20.760
like where are you seeing that happen?

787
00:35:20.760 --> 00:35:21.810
<v ->I think it's interesting.</v>

788
00:35:21.810 --> 00:35:25.560
Your question around the short and the longterm view

789
00:35:25.560 --> 00:35:26.810
that schools are having on this,

790
00:35:26.810 --> 00:35:27.920
are they just working on the,

791
00:35:27.920 --> 00:35:30.320
like, let's get a laptop out the door.

792
00:35:30.320 --> 00:35:31.543
It's iterative, right?

793
00:35:32.570 --> 00:35:34.770 line:15% 
To Curtis's point, it's iterative.

794
00:35:34.770 --> 00:35:38.360 line:15% 
And, you know, I think that,

795
00:35:38.360 --> 00:35:40.840 line:15% 
I think we've got this interesting moment

796
00:35:40.840 --> 00:35:43.870
where schools are going to be able to raise their hands

797
00:35:43.870 --> 00:35:46.533
and tell you some really interesting information.

798
00:35:47.410 --> 00:35:48.610
You know, we had a conversation

799
00:35:48.610 --> 00:35:50.770
with a really large school district

800
00:35:50.770 --> 00:35:52.750
that had done a really good job of making sure

801
00:35:52.750 --> 00:35:56.640
that their incredibly large school district,

802
00:35:56.640 --> 00:35:58.570
which wasn't very well connected,

803
00:35:58.570 --> 00:36:03.300
was actually connected and then connected with devices.

804
00:36:03.300 --> 00:36:06.230
They're able to do that because they had a ten-year plan

805
00:36:06.230 --> 00:36:07.700
for one to one devices

806
00:36:07.700 --> 00:36:10.780
and they basically shrunk it down into a few months.

807
00:36:10.780 --> 00:36:12.430
So they just pushed, you know,

808
00:36:12.430 --> 00:36:14.890
all the money that they had set aside.

809
00:36:14.890 --> 00:36:18.220
They were lucky they had spent a few years before then

810
00:36:18.220 --> 00:36:19.430
putting up on (indistinct)

811
00:36:19.430 --> 00:36:20.945
so they're able to see that.

812
00:36:20.945 --> 00:36:24.370
Then they put the connectivity out the door

813
00:36:24.370 --> 00:36:26.010
as fast as possible.

814
00:36:26.010 --> 00:36:27.760
And they've come back and said

815
00:36:27.760 --> 00:36:31.760
now we have a sense of where that connectivity doesn't work,

816
00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:34.660
where we could tell you where you need to have

817
00:36:34.660 --> 00:36:37.010
better infrastructure in our community.

818
00:36:37.010 --> 00:36:40.150
So schools aren't just talking about, you know,

819
00:36:40.150 --> 00:36:43.800
devices and connectivity from the procurement side,

820
00:36:43.800 --> 00:36:47.290
they're also looking at their district and saying,

821
00:36:47.290 --> 00:36:51.160
okay, how can I improve the community that I serve

822
00:36:51.160 --> 00:36:53.820
so that they have the high quality infrastructure

823
00:36:53.820 --> 00:36:55.480
in the ground.

824
00:36:55.480 --> 00:37:00.480
They're also building huge IT, like tech support centers,

825
00:37:02.520 --> 00:37:04.570
and looking to partner, as I said before,

826
00:37:04.570 --> 00:37:06.520
with digital inclusion folks,

827
00:37:06.520 --> 00:37:08.400
and then they're looking at using this

828
00:37:08.400 --> 00:37:12.200
because they sort of see down the road, you know,

829
00:37:12.200 --> 00:37:13.490
it may not be the pandemic

830
00:37:13.490 --> 00:37:15.130
that causes them to do distance learning.

831
00:37:15.130 --> 00:37:16.680
It could be a natural disaster

832
00:37:16.680 --> 00:37:19.670
that forces students to disperse out of the school

833
00:37:19.670 --> 00:37:20.650
for whatever reason.

834
00:37:20.650 --> 00:37:25.650
So they want to be nimble to be able to continue learning

835
00:37:25.810 --> 00:37:29.110
even if they can't be inside of the classroom

836
00:37:29.110 --> 00:37:30.390
for whatever reason.

837
00:37:30.390 --> 00:37:32.250
And I think they see this as an opportunity

838
00:37:32.250 --> 00:37:33.450
to plan for that future.

839
00:37:35.330 --> 00:37:38.000
<v ->There are definitely schools and communities</v>

840
00:37:38.000 --> 00:37:40.370
that were more ready for this.

841
00:37:40.370 --> 00:37:43.710
Like, as Amina said, those that had the one to one plans,

842
00:37:43.710 --> 00:37:45.230
even if they hadn't implemented it yet,

843
00:37:45.230 --> 00:37:47.130
they'd figured out a plan.

844
00:37:47.130 --> 00:37:49.040
We've also seen that with communities

845
00:37:49.040 --> 00:37:51.030
where they had digital inclusion ecosystems

846
00:37:51.030 --> 00:37:52.340
that were really strong.

847
00:37:52.340 --> 00:37:53.990
With folks who have been talking to each other,

848
00:37:53.990 --> 00:37:56.940
they already knew who was refurbishing devices,

849
00:37:56.940 --> 00:37:59.300
they knew who was providing digital literacy training.

850
00:37:59.300 --> 00:38:00.530
They knew who was helping folks

851
00:38:00.530 --> 00:38:02.940
sign up for discount internet programs.

852
00:38:02.940 --> 00:38:04.360
Places like Cleveland,

853
00:38:04.360 --> 00:38:06.730
where the Cleveland Foundation had invested time

854
00:38:06.730 --> 00:38:08.120
and money into it already.

855
00:38:08.120 --> 00:38:09.430
So when this all hit,

856
00:38:09.430 --> 00:38:12.110
the Cleveland Foundation springs into action

857
00:38:12.110 --> 00:38:13.840
and pulls together a coalition

858
00:38:13.840 --> 00:38:15.150
of all the folks in the community,

859
00:38:15.150 --> 00:38:16.970
those who had been previously engaged,

860
00:38:16.970 --> 00:38:18.840
and those who had not been previously engaged,

861
00:38:18.840 --> 00:38:22.553
which was a really big focus, right, to be able to do that.

862
00:38:23.400 --> 00:38:25.130
Curtis, can you tell us some more

863
00:38:25.130 --> 00:38:28.403
about places where you've seen amazing action?

864
00:38:29.310 --> 00:38:34.310
<v ->Well, what I'll say, I think I believe the term nimble</v>

865
00:38:34.640 --> 00:38:37.850
was just said on,

866
00:38:37.850 --> 00:38:41.810 line:15% 
and I think public education and public schools in America

867
00:38:41.810 --> 00:38:43.383 line:15% 
have never been called nimble.

868
00:38:45.436 --> 00:38:46.269
And for good reason.

869
00:38:46.269 --> 00:38:49.623
They're old, they're bureaucratic, they're top down,

870
00:38:50.840 --> 00:38:52.600
and they're heavily regulated.

871
00:38:52.600 --> 00:38:53.690
At the same time, you know,

872
00:38:53.690 --> 00:38:57.410
you're seeing school districts around the country

873
00:38:57.410 --> 00:38:58.530
that have moved into a space

874
00:38:58.530 --> 00:39:00.540
of creating what we call innovation schools.

875
00:39:00.540 --> 00:39:02.250
And these are elected school boards

876
00:39:02.250 --> 00:39:04.470
with elected school members,

877
00:39:04.470 --> 00:39:07.290
places like Indianapolis, places like Denver,

878
00:39:07.290 --> 00:39:09.540
where you are, where school districts

879
00:39:09.540 --> 00:39:12.560
have given more autonomy to school leaders

880
00:39:12.560 --> 00:39:15.390
to make decisions about community partnerships,

881
00:39:15.390 --> 00:39:16.870
about length of the school day

882
00:39:16.870 --> 00:39:19.180
and through the school year about curriculum,

883
00:39:19.180 --> 00:39:21.610
about digital inclusion,

884
00:39:21.610 --> 00:39:25.260
about professional development that allows those schools

885
00:39:26.126 --> 00:39:29.380
to be more responsive in times like this.

886
00:39:29.380 --> 00:39:31.450
And so I think, you know,

887
00:39:31.450 --> 00:39:34.490
what you're seeing now in many ways also is,

888
00:39:34.490 --> 00:39:36.090
are educators and school leaders

889
00:39:37.415 --> 00:39:39.820
that traditionally would not have supported that

890
00:39:39.820 --> 00:39:43.500
saying, you know what, I could have done a lot more

891
00:39:43.500 --> 00:39:45.820
if I had a lot more power at the local level.

892
00:39:45.820 --> 00:39:47.890
So what you're seeing in places like Indianapolis,

893
00:39:47.890 --> 00:39:50.600
also places like New Orleans and in Denver

894
00:39:50.600 --> 00:39:53.380
is this sense of let's give more control

895
00:39:53.380 --> 00:39:56.100
back to school leaders to be responsive

896
00:39:56.100 --> 00:39:58.750
to the needs of the parents and their district.

897
00:39:58.750 --> 00:40:00.730
In my school district in Prince George's County,

898
00:40:00.730 --> 00:40:03.990
we have 130,000 kids, 210 schools.

899
00:40:03.990 --> 00:40:07.440
Our school district is roughly the size of Delaware.

900
00:40:07.440 --> 00:40:10.590
And so the idea that what affects my child,

901
00:40:10.590 --> 00:40:13.300
which is in the Southern part of the county,

902
00:40:13.300 --> 00:40:16.760
is also impacting a child in the Northern part of county,

903
00:40:16.760 --> 00:40:18.700
it's just ridiculous.

904
00:40:18.700 --> 00:40:20.540
You know, this also comes down, again,

905
00:40:20.540 --> 00:40:21.890
when people hear about snow days,

906
00:40:21.890 --> 00:40:23.370
and you'll say, well,

907
00:40:23.370 --> 00:40:24.920
schools are closed in my school district.

908
00:40:24.920 --> 00:40:27.110
You look outside, there's not a snowflake on the grass.

909
00:40:27.110 --> 00:40:29.150
And you say, well, no, it's,

910
00:40:29.150 --> 00:40:31.970
you got four inches up in Northern part of county.

911
00:40:31.970 --> 00:40:34.340
That's 45 minutes away,

912
00:40:34.340 --> 00:40:36.613
but the entire system is sort of shut down.

913
00:40:37.634 --> 00:40:39.470
This is what we're seeing.

914
00:40:39.470 --> 00:40:44.240
And if we can empower school leaders through these ideas,

915
00:40:44.240 --> 00:40:45.073
innovation school,

916
00:40:45.073 --> 00:40:46.340
or just whatever you want to call them

917
00:40:46.340 --> 00:40:47.560
in your school district,

918
00:40:47.560 --> 00:40:50.860
ways to give more autonomy back to the school leaders.

919
00:40:50.860 --> 00:40:54.130
You'd be surprised how when given the freedom to act

920
00:40:55.087 --> 00:40:58.090
that our educators and our school leaders

921
00:40:58.090 --> 00:41:00.160
can do amazing things.

922
00:41:00.160 --> 00:41:01.890
<v ->I think all of this also,</v>

923
00:41:01.890 --> 00:41:04.400
I mean, again, it points to the need for data

924
00:41:04.400 --> 00:41:05.640
and for following up on this.

925
00:41:05.640 --> 00:41:08.250 line:15% 
So, I mean, you mentioned the Cleveland Foundation

926
00:41:08.250 --> 00:41:10.490 line:15% 
and what it's been doing there, you know,

927
00:41:10.490 --> 00:41:13.930 line:15% 
that may turn out to be just a fantastic intervention

928
00:41:13.930 --> 00:41:15.820 line:15% 
and help, or maybe it'll turn out

929
00:41:15.820 --> 00:41:17.440
it didn't do much good in the long run.

930
00:41:17.440 --> 00:41:18.960
We just, we really don't know.

931
00:41:18.960 --> 00:41:20.320
Or it might be that, you know,

932
00:41:20.320 --> 00:41:21.890
some very small school district

933
00:41:21.890 --> 00:41:24.440
where they were given autonomy, like Curtis says,

934
00:41:24.440 --> 00:41:26.520
and they were allowed to innovate

935
00:41:26.520 --> 00:41:29.000
really has the best outcomes.

936
00:41:29.000 --> 00:41:30.730
There are so many different possibilities.

937
00:41:30.730 --> 00:41:33.470
And, you know, we kind of, we act as if we know

938
00:41:33.470 --> 00:41:37.410
what's the right thing to do, but really we don't.

939
00:41:37.410 --> 00:41:41.300
And we have to be open to, you know, surprising findings,

940
00:41:41.300 --> 00:41:42.930
things that we didn't expect to work that do.

941
00:41:42.930 --> 00:41:45.226
And things that we thought would work don't.

942
00:41:45.226 --> 00:41:47.614
And, you know, that's how we learn

943
00:41:47.614 --> 00:41:49.970
and that's how we make things better for people.

944
00:41:49.970 --> 00:41:52.520
<v ->There are a few things that we've already seen working</v>

945
00:41:52.520 --> 00:41:54.980
and we can definitely be talking about that

946
00:41:54.980 --> 00:41:56.930
and sharing that knowledge with others.

947
00:41:57.770 --> 00:41:59.480
So I live in Columbus, Ohio,

948
00:41:59.480 --> 00:42:01.790
and one of the things that we benefited from

949
00:42:01.790 --> 00:42:03.180
was the Cleveland Foundation

950
00:42:03.180 --> 00:42:05.600
having brought a nonprofit refurbisher in

951
00:42:05.600 --> 00:42:07.960
that was focused on getting devices into homes,

952
00:42:07.960 --> 00:42:09.990
they had done that a year or two ago.

953
00:42:09.990 --> 00:42:12.070
And so the when the pandemic hit,

954
00:42:12.070 --> 00:42:14.140
they had a refurbisher in town.

955
00:42:14.140 --> 00:42:15.260
Columbus doesn't.

956
00:42:15.260 --> 00:42:16.270
So you know what we're doing?

957
00:42:16.270 --> 00:42:18.440
We're driving back and forth to Cleveland, right?

958
00:42:18.440 --> 00:42:21.210
Relationships have been built with that refurbisher.

959
00:42:21.210 --> 00:42:23.660
So clearly that was benefiting Cleveland

960
00:42:23.660 --> 00:42:26.700
and we are benefiting from Cleveland's thinking ahead.

961
00:42:26.700 --> 00:42:28.650
So there are those kinds of examples out there

962
00:42:28.650 --> 00:42:30.700
where we know because other communities

963
00:42:30.700 --> 00:42:33.000
are finding that resource

964
00:42:33.000 --> 00:42:36.480
and that planning to be beneficial.

965
00:42:36.480 --> 00:42:39.945
We did have a few questions come in prior today.

966
00:42:39.945 --> 00:42:42.260
One of those questions has to do with momentum,

967
00:42:42.260 --> 00:42:43.960
which is a great question.

968
00:42:43.960 --> 00:42:46.510
Curtis, how do we keep this all going?

969
00:42:46.510 --> 00:42:49.889
<v ->Well, I would say firstly, for those partners,</v>

970
00:42:49.889 --> 00:42:51.250
for those in the community that want to get involved

971
00:42:51.250 --> 00:42:54.950
and support the systems that, again,

972
00:42:54.950 --> 00:42:56.670
a school system has a plan

973
00:42:56.670 --> 00:42:59.430
and puts those organizations to work,

974
00:42:59.430 --> 00:43:04.070
that they are bought in to the future of that school system.

975
00:43:04.070 --> 00:43:06.810
The worst thing could happen is a partner comes in,

976
00:43:06.810 --> 00:43:09.320
says I want to help, and the school system

977
00:43:09.320 --> 00:43:11.170
either, one, doesn't have a plan,

978
00:43:11.170 --> 00:43:14.430
or, two, doesn't really know how to use this group,

979
00:43:14.430 --> 00:43:18.800
or doesn't fully maximize the support

980
00:43:18.800 --> 00:43:21.700
that this organization, company, this institution,

981
00:43:21.700 --> 00:43:24.550
corporation, funder has.

982
00:43:24.550 --> 00:43:28.300
The momentum will continue when these institutions buy in

983
00:43:28.300 --> 00:43:33.300
and become sort of attached to these school systems.

984
00:43:34.310 --> 00:43:37.150
I think secondly, you know, really having a vision

985
00:43:37.150 --> 00:43:39.620
for the future of your school system,

986
00:43:39.620 --> 00:43:41.840
being able to articulate it,

987
00:43:41.840 --> 00:43:46.840
and also understanding how to talk to the communities,

988
00:43:47.330 --> 00:43:52.330
partners, families, local partners, how they fit into that.

989
00:43:54.130 --> 00:43:56.400
I think people by nature are aspirational

990
00:43:56.400 --> 00:43:57.863
and hopeful for the future,

991
00:43:58.820 --> 00:44:01.570
but we have to talk about education in that way.

992
00:44:01.570 --> 00:44:05.510
I think thirdly, we have to talk about what the losses are,

993
00:44:05.510 --> 00:44:08.160
the implications of inaction are.

994
00:44:08.160 --> 00:44:11.540
You know, I think I'm all for painting the future

995
00:44:11.540 --> 00:44:16.083
and really creating a bar to search for.

996
00:44:17.880 --> 00:44:19.760
Some people are gonna be more compelled

997
00:44:19.760 --> 00:44:23.650
by just the sheer loss of opportunity

998
00:44:23.650 --> 00:44:26.370
for people who could have been the next,

999
00:44:26.370 --> 00:44:30.400
you know, Barack Obama or Ruth Bader Ginsburg,

1000
00:44:30.400 --> 00:44:32.260
and saying, what if,

1001
00:44:32.260 --> 00:44:35.860
what could have been the next Mark Zuckerberg

1002
00:44:35.860 --> 00:44:36.863
coming from a community

1003
00:44:36.863 --> 00:44:39.230
that you thought was previously blighted.

1004
00:44:39.230 --> 00:44:43.100
There are young people whose dreams are being, you know,

1005
00:44:43.100 --> 00:44:45.400
stifled because of inaction

1006
00:44:45.400 --> 00:44:48.770
for those who have the power to help.

1007
00:44:48.770 --> 00:44:51.750
If we could sort of paint a full picture of what's possible,

1008
00:44:51.750 --> 00:44:55.250
but also the impact on our communities

1009
00:44:55.250 --> 00:44:58.573
but also on us as a country is what it's gonna take.

1010
00:45:00.060 --> 00:45:03.310
<v ->Amina, thoughts on keeping the momentum?</v>

1011
00:45:03.310 --> 00:45:04.143
<v ->Yeah, I mean,</v>

1012
00:45:04.143 --> 00:45:08.300
I think it'd be great for everybody to take a minute

1013
00:45:08.300 --> 00:45:11.530 line:15% 
and just think about how, you know,

1014
00:45:11.530 --> 00:45:14.440 line:15% 
in a post-pandemic situation,

1015
00:45:14.440 --> 00:45:17.180 line:15% 
how you would wanna have these tools in place.

1016
00:45:17.180 --> 00:45:20.990 line:15% 
And if you can sort of connect your thinking

1017
00:45:20.990 --> 00:45:23.970
to, you know, how you'd like to use it,

1018
00:45:23.970 --> 00:45:26.640
is it to make sure schools are resilient

1019
00:45:26.640 --> 00:45:29.240
in the midst of any kind of natural disaster,

1020
00:45:29.240 --> 00:45:32.130
is it to improve, you know,

1021
00:45:32.130 --> 00:45:34.490
your overall learning program

1022
00:45:34.490 --> 00:45:36.500
to include distance learning components

1023
00:45:36.500 --> 00:45:38.180
or to be able to meet the needs of students

1024
00:45:38.180 --> 00:45:40.700
that might not be able to come into the classroom

1025
00:45:40.700 --> 00:45:42.250
all the time.

1026
00:45:42.250 --> 00:45:44.270
Once you have that in mind,

1027
00:45:44.270 --> 00:45:47.040
then taking on the steps of assessment.

1028
00:45:47.040 --> 00:45:50.710
I think, again, schools are in an incredible position

1029
00:45:51.740 --> 00:45:53.610
to be able to do this kind of assessment

1030
00:45:53.610 --> 00:45:57.070
in terms of what students have available to them

1031
00:45:57.070 --> 00:45:58.563
and what they actually need.

1032
00:46:00.354 --> 00:46:02.710
And once you have a full picture of, you know,

1033
00:46:02.710 --> 00:46:05.250
what that slate of needs are

1034
00:46:05.250 --> 00:46:08.440
and you're able to refresh that information,

1035
00:46:08.440 --> 00:46:10.010
that's incredibly valuable

1036
00:46:10.010 --> 00:46:12.260
because then you can start to build a plan,

1037
00:46:12.260 --> 00:46:13.890
not just for what you can have today

1038
00:46:13.890 --> 00:46:16.090
based on the resources at hand,

1039
00:46:16.090 --> 00:46:18.580
but where other organizations can plug in

1040
00:46:18.580 --> 00:46:21.430
and support you when the moment is right.

1041
00:46:21.430 --> 00:46:26.430
And I think that also helps create a vision for policymakers

1042
00:46:28.350 --> 00:46:30.400
'cause they can take a step back and say, okay,

1043
00:46:30.400 --> 00:46:33.570
here's the plan, the strategy that schools have in place,

1044
00:46:33.570 --> 00:46:36.700
here's what their periodic assessments are telling us,

1045
00:46:36.700 --> 00:46:39.383
here's how we can plug in with resources.

1046
00:46:40.300 --> 00:46:44.950
And I think that would help continue

1047
00:46:44.950 --> 00:46:47.070
all the work that's actually been done

1048
00:46:47.070 --> 00:46:49.110
in a way that's sort of more systematic

1049
00:46:49.110 --> 00:46:53.423
and would lead hopefully to more continuous support.

1050
00:46:54.940 --> 00:46:56.450
<v ->We have a question from one of the viewers</v>

1051
00:46:56.450 --> 00:46:58.000
about Digital Inclusion Week,

1052
00:46:58.000 --> 00:46:59.720
because I mentioned it at the beginning.

1053
00:46:59.720 --> 00:47:02.280
So I should have explained Digital Inclusion Week is now.

1054
00:47:02.280 --> 00:47:04.310
It's October 5th through the 9th.

1055
00:47:04.310 --> 00:47:07.310
NDIA was thrilled to have Comcast running this

1056
00:47:07.310 --> 00:47:09.470
during Digital Inclusion Week.

1057
00:47:09.470 --> 00:47:11.150
Digital Inclusion Week is about drawing attention

1058
00:47:11.150 --> 00:47:12.300
to the digital inequities.

1059
00:47:12.300 --> 00:47:14.600
It's about seeing the solutions

1060
00:47:14.600 --> 00:47:17.300
and helping more folks develop those solutions.

1061
00:47:17.300 --> 00:47:19.810
We used to have these things offline, right?

1062
00:47:19.810 --> 00:47:21.900
We would all get together in the before days.

1063
00:47:21.900 --> 00:47:24.700
But now we do it all online.

1064
00:47:24.700 --> 00:47:26.390
So join us.

1065
00:47:26.390 --> 00:47:28.060
There's information on digitalinclusion.org.

1066
00:47:28.060 --> 00:47:29.160
It's right on the homepage.

1067
00:47:29.160 --> 00:47:30.140
There's hashtags.

1068
00:47:30.140 --> 00:47:31.990
There's lots of ways to get involved.

1069
00:47:31.990 --> 00:47:35.550
There are the socially distant safe ways to do it in person.

1070
00:47:35.550 --> 00:47:36.490
We welcome you.

1071
00:47:36.490 --> 00:47:39.090
And we thank Comcast for holding this event

1072
00:47:39.090 --> 00:47:40.700
during Digital Inclusion Week.

1073
00:47:40.700 --> 00:47:43.113
So we're starting to run out of time.

1074
00:47:44.190 --> 00:47:45.420
Thoughts from any of our panelists.

1075
00:47:45.420 --> 00:47:46.380
Things you wanted to share

1076
00:47:46.380 --> 00:47:48.530
that you haven't had a chance to share yet.

1077
00:47:49.430 --> 00:47:51.219
Curtis, anything from you?

1078
00:47:51.219 --> 00:47:55.150
<v ->Well, I'll say I think it all really comes down</v>

1079
00:47:55.150 --> 00:47:57.530
to how school systems are run.

1080
00:47:57.530 --> 00:47:59.420
I mentioned that this idea of really,

1081
00:47:59.420 --> 00:48:01.293
how do you create schools that have,

1082
00:48:02.148 --> 00:48:04.470
give school leaders the autonomy

1083
00:48:04.470 --> 00:48:06.460
to do a lot of the things that we we've all said

1084
00:48:06.460 --> 00:48:09.853
need to be done, like continue the momentum,

1085
00:48:11.597 --> 00:48:14.718
like be engaged with parents,

1086
00:48:14.718 --> 00:48:18.080
like supporting teachers and making sure they have

1087
00:48:18.080 --> 00:48:20.820
the proper training to meet the individual needs

1088
00:48:20.820 --> 00:48:22.900
of their specific students

1089
00:48:22.900 --> 00:48:25.580
and not students from halfway across the city

1090
00:48:25.580 --> 00:48:27.760
or halfway across the country and showing that,

1091
00:48:27.760 --> 00:48:29.520
you know, we do have proper assessments

1092
00:48:29.520 --> 00:48:31.440
to know where students are

1093
00:48:31.440 --> 00:48:36.420
and actually doing them more often than we do them even now,

1094
00:48:36.420 --> 00:48:40.640
including parent surveys in those assessments

1095
00:48:40.640 --> 00:48:42.410
and showing we have social-emotional learning

1096
00:48:42.410 --> 00:48:45.486
for those students who even before COVID,

1097
00:48:45.486 --> 00:48:47.230
you know, were dealing with a lot of issues

1098
00:48:47.230 --> 00:48:50.273
around anxiety and depression,

1099
00:48:51.350 --> 00:48:53.060
but they're gonna have a lot of post traumatic stress

1100
00:48:53.060 --> 00:48:53.950
from even this period

1101
00:48:53.950 --> 00:48:56.350
and how we come out of this and how we respond to them.

1102
00:48:56.350 --> 00:48:58.880
But again most importantly how our school system are run

1103
00:48:58.880 --> 00:48:59.880
are incredibly important.

1104
00:48:59.880 --> 00:49:00.970
How we look to the future

1105
00:49:00.970 --> 00:49:04.060
to ensure that they're less bureaucratic and more nimble.

1106
00:49:04.060 --> 00:49:06.680
And again, innovation schools is one idea,

1107
00:49:06.680 --> 00:49:08.580
but there are other districts around the country

1108
00:49:08.580 --> 00:49:10.470
and in Camden they call it Renaissance schools

1109
00:49:10.470 --> 00:49:14.470
and other places they have similar public school systems,

1110
00:49:14.470 --> 00:49:17.070
public schools that have more autonomy.

1111
00:49:17.070 --> 00:49:21.290
So in general, I think we, as a country,

1112
00:49:21.290 --> 00:49:23.863
I'm more confident probably than most

1113
00:49:23.863 --> 00:49:28.630
just because this is on everybody's plate right now.

1114
00:49:28.630 --> 00:49:30.870
This is impacting everyone,

1115
00:49:30.870 --> 00:49:33.190
even if you don't have children in schools.

1116
00:49:33.190 --> 00:49:36.870
But also I think because you have this divide along race,

1117
00:49:36.870 --> 00:49:41.870
income, and connectivity, that we will see this thing

1118
00:49:43.550 --> 00:49:44.902
in our face,

1119
00:49:44.902 --> 00:49:47.570
but we'll be, I don't want to say shamed,

1120
00:49:47.570 --> 00:49:51.220
but we should be shocked into what needs to be done

1121
00:49:51.220 --> 00:49:53.430
at the local state and federal level

1122
00:49:53.430 --> 00:49:55.920
which are we as a country,

1123
00:49:55.920 --> 00:49:58.930
we as, you know, are competitive internationally,

1124
00:49:58.930 --> 00:50:01.630
we as states are competitive nationally,

1125
00:50:01.630 --> 00:50:02.760
and as communities,

1126
00:50:02.760 --> 00:50:04.830
we are competitive within our state

1127
00:50:04.830 --> 00:50:07.527
to ensure that we are preparing our students

1128
00:50:07.527 --> 00:50:09.630
for the future of their choice.

1129
00:50:09.630 --> 00:50:10.770
<v ->Super, thank you, Curtis.</v>

1130
00:50:10.770 --> 00:50:11.983
Last thoughts, Scott.

1131
00:50:13.730 --> 00:50:18.110
<v ->So I think to make sure that we make good progress on it,</v>

1132
00:50:18.110 --> 00:50:22.160
it's important that people sort of be, you know,

1133
00:50:22.160 --> 00:50:24.360
think critically about their priors,

1134
00:50:24.360 --> 00:50:26.460
about their prior beliefs about what works

1135
00:50:26.460 --> 00:50:28.760
and be willing to question them,

1136
00:50:28.760 --> 00:50:33.550
and to accept that new ideas might also be effective.

1137
00:50:33.550 --> 00:50:37.100
And that's why data collection and analysis

1138
00:50:37.100 --> 00:50:39.220
and building in experiments

1139
00:50:39.220 --> 00:50:41.930
eventually into some of these is really important,

1140
00:50:41.930 --> 00:50:44.870
because we may learn things, effective approaches

1141
00:50:44.870 --> 00:50:47.840
that we just haven't considered at all yet.

1142
00:50:47.840 --> 00:50:49.120
<v ->Super, thank you.</v>

1143
00:50:49.120 --> 00:50:50.403
Amina, last thoughts.

1144
00:50:51.660 --> 00:50:54.393
<v ->I just hope people think big in this moment.</v>

1145
00:50:55.250 --> 00:50:57.780
You know, when it comes to digital divide solutions

1146
00:50:57.780 --> 00:51:02.570
for so long I feel like we've really moved

1147
00:51:02.570 --> 00:51:06.240
at this very sort of slow, incremental pace

1148
00:51:06.240 --> 00:51:10.080
where we've accepted a lot of half solutions.

1149
00:51:10.080 --> 00:51:11.620
I think it's really important

1150
00:51:11.620 --> 00:51:16.260
that schools certainly do the sort of robust self-analysis

1151
00:51:16.260 --> 00:51:18.850
that they need to come up with exactly what they need,

1152
00:51:18.850 --> 00:51:22.000
exactly what they want to put in place for their students

1153
00:51:22.000 --> 00:51:23.810
and ask for just that.

1154
00:51:23.810 --> 00:51:27.090
So I encourage everyone to think big in this moment.

1155
00:51:27.090 --> 00:51:29.130
<v ->Perfect ending to this all.</v>

1156
00:51:29.130 --> 00:51:30.940
Big thank you to my panelists.

1157
00:51:30.940 --> 00:51:32.120
They were amazing.

1158
00:51:32.120 --> 00:51:33.880
Big thank you to Comcast for having us.

1159
00:51:33.880 --> 00:51:35.237
Everybody have a great day.

1160
00:51:35.237 --> 00:51:36.450
<v ->Thank you, Angela.</v>
<v ->Thank you, Angela.</v>

1161
00:51:36.450 --> 00:51:37.283
Great job.