Cities pledge to close education gaps, from connectivity to conflict resolution

Children have been hit hard by the pandemic, with their education, social lives and mental health all impacted.

The initial focus in the US now is on helping young people recover and ensuring they return to learning after the summer break, with concerns about a notable number of students who have been unaccounted for in the school system during the pandemic.

Longer-term, several aspects of education are likely to be changed for good, according to panellists from Chicago and Birmingham, AL on a recent webinar organised by consultancy firm Ignite Cities and the National League of Cities.

Shifts include a new recognition of the importance of technology and access to it, and an increase in pastoral care.

Standing in the gaps

Randall Woodfin, Mayor of Birmingham, said: “The Coronavirus global health pandemic did not create any inequities; it only exposed deeper the inequity that already existed.”

Therefore, a holistic approach is needed more than ever. Both Chicago and Birmingham launched expanded summer programmes to re-engage students with fun activities and help them catch up on missed learning. However, school attendance is still a big concern.

Woodfin said this moment and new federal funding, including American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, represent “an opportunity to do things school systems should have been doing a long time ago.”

One key focus is providing more mental health support for students.

“I personally believe that’s the top wraparound service that is needed for our children,” Woodfin said.

He also reiterated a commitment to conflict resolution programmes through the education system and urged more cities to consider the same amid a wave of gun violence in the US.

“My job is to stand in the gap,” Woodfin commented. He said that includes reaching children who don’t understand the concept of conflict resolution and haven’t been taught about it at home or in the community.

Digital divide

Another major gap revealed by the crisis was the unequal access to high-speed broadband and devices across US cities.

“I like to think that I keep my ear to the ground, but I think I missed the fact that so many of our families were operating without some of these basic technologies in their home,” said Dr Janice Jackson, who was CEO of Chicago Public Schools (CPS) until the end of June.

This disparity affected not only education but also the ability for people to apply for work and stay informed about the pandemic.

To address this, Chicago launched  Chicago Connected which provides free high-speed internet service to eligible CPS students. The programme is majority funded through philanthropic partners and has so far reached 64,000 students across 42,000 households and cut the city’s digital divide by nearly two-thirds, according to the Mayor.

The Birmingham Board of Education approved the use of US$10 million in CARES Act money for devices and a further US$2.7 million for hotspots “to ensure that every single student who needed it had internet access”.

Dr Jackson said: “Education and healthcare are the two areas that need a disruption in order for us to really take advantage of everything that the 21st century has to offer. And I think this piece around technology has really changed something in education. I don’t think any school system is going to go back to a place where kids don’t have one-to-one devices and we don’t understand the importance and primacy of broadband internet being at home.

“It is as essential as pens and paper were 20 years ago.”

Partnerships

Public-private partnerships are also playing a key role in closing the digital divide. Ignite Cities is facilitating these partnerships across several US cities to deliver Wi-Fi and broadband to the most in-need residents.

George Burciaga, Managing Partner, Ignite Cities, said: “Our mayors have allowed us to think out of the box, they’ve inspired us to challenge everyone at the table. We’ve been fortunate to support programmes like municipal broadband, not just in parks and libraries but as a utility across the entire city to ensure that every family has the ability to stay connected to work, learn and receive healthcare and city services.”

He added that these new approaches can provide recurring funding for cities as well as access to new services for residents.

The panellists agreed that the pandemic can be a catalyst for change in education.

“The urgency that we had to push for our children to get devices and hotspots, we should be having that same sense of urgency to close the achievement gap in math, reading and social studies and all the other core subjects, not to mention the necessary investments in the co-curriculum and extra-curricular [activities],” said Woodfin.

Many of these investments can be supported by new federal money but the speakers noted this is not a panacea and in many cases is plugging long-term funding shortfalls.

Replay the event: