TESTIMONY
Natasha Quiroga on Remote Learning Challenges and the Digital Divide During the Pandemic
1:52:32
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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.
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Low income students of color in New York City experience almost twice the learning loss of their white peers after the pandemic.
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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.
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Families who struggle to access the Internet and devices during the pandemic don't necessarily have access now.
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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.
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Many families struggled to log in despite waking up at 5 AM in preparation, and they encountered error messages and lagging connections.
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23% of the parents we surveyed said their children were unable to participate in remote learning that day.
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Some parents parents relied on help from other parents to eventually connect later in the day.
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These challenges are compounded for newly arrived migrant children living in temporary housing.
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WiFi is notoriously slow and unreliable in shelter.
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Children have limited access to computers or any device, and parents are unfamiliar with DOE technology platforms.
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Inside schools has helped many parents create my school's accounts and even email accounts.
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We also met a few moms who don't have a cell phone.
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For these parents, how are they supposed to connect with a school or other parents if they have trouble logging in?
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These challenges also impact the effectiveness of school communication with the most vulnerable families.
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Many families we help in shelters were unaware they had applied to middle or high school.
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Parents don't know about this, an effort that DOE in schools spend months to share info and has translated into multiple languages.
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How can they find out about remote learning on such short notice or get support the day of.
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The environmental conditions of children who live overcrowded households temporary housing further amplifies a disadvantage.
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Struggling to concentrate on an online lesson is even harder in a small hotel room with your siblings and parents.
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English learners face the additional challenge of navigating remote learning system ill equipped to support their needs.
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Families need the technology as well as instructions and day of technical support.
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On how to connect so that children can access remote learning.
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Beyond access and infrastructure, schools and teachers need sufficient support and professional development to teach effectively online.
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A sudden snow day does not allow for adequate lesson planning.
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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.
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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.