Inequities in student access to reliable internet service and personal technology are not insurmountable. School districts can improve digital equity through investments, partnerships with businesses and national grants, says Steve Langford, CIO of Beaverton School District in Oregon.

He should know. He’s seeing that process work for students in his district. Langford recently talked with EdTech about the challenges of the digital divide and practical ways to overcome them.

EDTECH: What challenges related to digital equity are you facing in your district?

Langford: We deployed our first round of Chromebooks to students in 2016. Through bond money, we purchased devices and changed the classroom environment. We also added a learning management system and other applications. We also had a team of teachers, called innovation strategists, who provided professional development to their colleagues.

Where we missed the mark was connectivity. We assumed that all students had internet access at home, and they don’t. For about 10 percent of our high school students, connectivity was a real issue.

Once we began deploying Chromebooks, I started getting emails from students: “My father lost his job, and we had to reduce our Internet. I don’t have a way to complete assignments. What do I do?” 

We are right outside of Portland, and we have 41,000 students. We have parents who are wealthy, but we also have families that are challenged socioeconomically. It’s something we have to pay attention to. 

MORE FROM EDTECH: Check out what one Iowa school district is doing to narrow the homework gap.

EDTECH: How are you solving the digital-equity problem?

Langford: We’ve taken a multifaceted approach. In 2016, we formed a digital-equity team made up of teachers and administrators districtwide. We shared promising practices and brainstormed new solutions. For example, one school had a great idea to sit down with coffee shop owners and go to other places where people congregate and ask, “Can you be friendly to our students and let them come sit and work?” A number of businesses said yes. The school team drew a map of businesses in the surrounding areas that offered free Wi-Fi. 

One school in the group did that, and we shared it out to the other schools.

We have great Wi-Fi, so we also extended our school library hours to late afternoon or early evening, and that was successful. 

We also had parent nights and brought in translators in multiple languages. We wanted to reach out to parents of all backgrounds and socioeconomic levels to talk about how the learning environment is changing, how the devices are connected to learning, and the importance of finding ways to have connectivity for students.