For the past four weeks, the Oakland REACH has been doing something that has never been done before: opening and operating a virtual summer school for Black and Brown kids through a Virtual Family Hub. Every parent — regardless of where we are from or how much money we have — wants what is best…
Digital Divide
As Schools Reopen, 16.9 Million Children Still Lack Internet Access, With Students of Color Hit the Hardest
We’ve been sounding the alarm about how dire students’ internet access problems are in this country throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, and we wish we had better news to share with you today on that front. Unfortunately, according to a new report, fully 16.9 million children in the U.S. lack proper internet access to get online…
A local-to-global perspective on the digital divide in Oakland
When Anietie “Nate” Udofia thinks about the digital divide in Oakland, and the “new normal” public education is facing because of the pandemic, he does so with a global perspective. Udofia is a Nigerian American who has decades of experience working on distance learning and helping communities gain access to digital tools. He sees similarities…
The Oakland REACH is taking on the digital divide #REACHforMore
By Lakisha Young, Executive Director, The Oakland REACH There’s no doubt this has been a really hard time for black and brown families in Oakland. But WOW, yesterday, was awesome. And we really needed it. The Oakland REACH came together – in partnership with a block of black-owned businesses on MacArthur Boulevard – to distribute…
FASTalk connects teachers and non-English speaking OUSD families during COVID-19
When it comes to communicating with their child’s teacher, most parents want the same thing: to understand what their child is learning in school and how they can support their education when they’re at home. Most parents would say they want that information directly from their child’s teacher. Depending on the school, channels of communication…