Back to School But Not Back to Normal

Austin ISD has officially moved the school year’s start date to September 8. Both teachers and families are prepping for what this unique semester will look like and how they can successfully connect with students in a distance learning environment.  

A top concern that this unprecedented situation highlights are the socioeconomic and educational inequities that already exist in our community. Not every household has access to the tools needed for distance learning such as proper internet access or laptops. This technology gap is an issue across the state of Texas. In fact, according to a coverage map provided by the Texas Comptroller, 69 percent of rural Texans can’t meet Zoom’s bandwidth requirement because they don’t have access to high-speed internet. In Austin alone, nearly 43,000 students, or 53 percent of all district students, are classified as economically disadvantaged. Many of these students did not participate in online learning after campuses closed in March. Ariel Kalil, a professor at the University of Chicago Harris School of Public Policy explained that children who are disproportionately low-income are at the highest risk of learning losses during this challenging period. Without intervention, these gaps in learning have resulted in less academic achievement and lower lifetime earnings in adulthood. 

We have an opportunity to intervene. 

As Austin schools transition lessons to virtual classrooms, one of the biggest challenges facing LifeWorks students is accessibility.  

Clients in our Education and Workforce programs are in need of at-home learning technology like laptops, tablets, mobile phones and hotspots to continue their education and growth. In order to address this need, we need your help.   

Please consider a donation to LifeWorks for our Back to (virtual) School campaign so that we can put the necessary technology in the hands of our clients, wherever they choose to learn from.