The citymeetings.nyc logo showing a pigeon at a podium with a microphone.

citymeetings.nyc

Your guide to NYC's public proceedings.

TESTIMONY

Natasha Quiroga on Remote Learning Challenges and the Digital Divide During the Pandemic

1:52:32

·

3 min

Natasha Quiroga details the exacerbation of educational inequities through remote learning and the digital divide, emphasizing its impact on New York City's vulnerable student populations.

  • Quiroga highlights how InsideSchools has been a vital resource for families navigating K-12 education, including the transition to online learning during the pandemic.
  • She presents data indicating that low-income students of color experienced significantly greater learning losses compared to their white peers post-pandemic.
  • Quiroga discusses the persistent issues of internet and device access, particularly for newly arrived migrant families and those living in temporary housing.
  • The testimony stresses the need for increased funding and support for schools, shelter-based staff, and culturally responsive Community-Based Organizations (CBOs) to improve remote learning experiences.
  • Quiroga calls for the Department of Education to develop and share a comprehensive plan to support vulnerable families in future remote learning scenarios.
Natasha Quiroga
1:52:32
Good afternoon, and thank you, chair Joseph, the members of the Education Committee for the opportunity to testify today.
1:52:38
My name is Natasha Quidoga, and I am direct director of education policy and inside schools of the new school center for New York City Affairs.
1:52:45
For 20 years, inside schools has served as a vital resource for millions of families throughout their children's K-twelve education by serving as the one stop shop for New York City families, including immigrant families, a newly arrived migrant families living in temporary housing.
1:52:59
Can better understand New York City public schools.
1:53:02
During the pandemic, inside schools supported families to navigate online learning and produce several reports on the well documented digital divide and solutions to equitable remote learning for all children.
1:53:13
That is shows that remote learning during the pandemic further increase inequities for our most vulnerable students.
1:53:18
Low income students of color in New York City experience almost twice the learning loss of their white peers after the pandemic.
1:53:24
And students in poverty chronically absent at a rate of almost twice as high as their peers from families above the poverty line.
1:53:31
However, the digital divide remains for the city's most vulnerable students displayed during the most recent transition to remote learning on February 13th.
1:53:39
Families who struggle to access the Internet and devices during the pandemic don't necessarily have access now.
1:53:45
And there are an additional 36,000 newcomer students living in temporary housing who didn't experience remote learning during the pandemic in New York City.
1:53:53
And are unfamiliar with the devices, software, and protocol used.
1:53:57
While some students were loan tablets by their schools for their remote snow day, logging in was still a challenge.
1:54:03
Many families struggled to log in despite waking up at 5 AM in preparation, and they encountered error messages and lagging connections.
1:54:10
23% of the parents we surveyed said their children were unable to participate in remote learning that day.
1:54:16
Some parents parents relied on help from other parents to eventually connect later in the day.
1:54:21
These challenges are compounded for newly arrived migrant children living in temporary housing.
1:54:26
WiFi is notoriously slow and unreliable in shelter.
1:54:29
Children have limited access to computers or any device, and parents are unfamiliar with DOE technology platforms.
1:54:35
Inside schools has helped many parents create my school's accounts and even email accounts.
1:54:39
We also met a few moms who don't have a cell phone.
1:54:41
For these parents, how are they supposed to connect with a school or other parents if they have trouble logging in?
1:54:46
These challenges also impact the effectiveness of school communication with the most vulnerable families.
1:54:51
Many families we help in shelters were unaware they had applied to middle or high school.
1:54:55
Parents don't know about this, an effort that DOE in schools spend months to share info and has translated into multiple languages.
1:55:01
How can they find out about remote learning on such short notice or get support the day of.
1:55:06
The environmental conditions of children who live overcrowded households temporary housing further amplifies a disadvantage.
1:55:12
Struggling to concentrate on an online lesson is even harder in a small hotel room with your siblings and parents.
1:55:18
English learners face the additional challenge of navigating remote learning system ill equipped to support their needs.
1:55:24
Families need the technology as well as instructions and day of technical support.
1:55:28
On how to connect so that children can access remote learning.
1:55:30
Beyond access and infrastructure, schools and teachers need sufficient support and professional development to teach effectively online.
1:55:36
A sudden snow day does not allow for adequate lesson planning.
1:55:39
Some parents also reported that their children's teachers were unable to log in.
1:55:43
Funding to support school and shelter based staff to better support immigrant students and students living in temporary housing is also critical in ensuring equitable education.
1:55:51
In addition to funding for culturally and linguistically responsive CBOs that can more effectively support our immigrant children when the system fails to do so.
1:55:58
We urge DOE to share their plan in developing future remote learning days and more effectively supporting the city's most vulnerable families.
1:56:05
Thank you.
Citymeetings.nyc pigeon logo

Is citymeetings.nyc useful to you?

I'm thrilled!

Please help me out by answering just one question.

What do you do?

Thank you!

Want to stay up to date? Sign up for the newsletter.