AUSTIN, Texas -- The rural-versus-urban broadband divide became a more urgent problem for Texas and many other parts of the U.S. when COVID-19 forced schools to close.

The Texas community of Bastrop is just a 30-minute drive from Austin, but its rural character meant when the pandemic hit, the lack of internet connectivity kept the communities worlds apart.

Kathy D'Amico, a teacher who coordinates the Response to Intervention efforts in the Bastrop Independent School District, said adopting remote learning was no easy feat.

"I'm in the system," D'Amico explained. "I know the system backwards and forwards. I know what to do, I know what they need to do, and it was still a huge challenge."

D'Amico believes the lack of consistent technology in many rural parts of Texas caused frustration for students and parents, and could have resulted in teachers grading on privilege rather than ability, because not all children have had access to the same tools or technology.

Lindy Schweitzer, a second-grade teacher in Bastrop, found many families often had only one internet device to be shared among several children.

Others couldn't participate in remote learning, according to Schweitzer, because the system was down or there were too many people on the same Wi-Fi hotspot.

"So, we started off sending out school buses with hotspots on them and that wasn't enough; so then, we had to start ordering personal home hotspots and there weren't always enough for everybody to get a hotspot that needed a hotspot," Schweitzer recounted.

Emily Dominguez, a pre-kindergarten teacher in the Bastrop, said remote learning isn't ideal, but children were still able to ask questions, learn how to speak in full sentences and hold a pencil.

However, she also experienced audio drops and knew the lessons weren't reaching all the students.

"Oftentimes I couldn't hear children, or it was so scratchy that I just had to guess and try to read their lips when I was doing a Zoom," Dominguez noted. "Testing was a big challenge as well."

Gov. Greg Abbott recently declared rural connectivity a priority issue for Texas, and teachers say those investments are critical to students and the communities where they live.

The shortage of school teachers and staffers has reached a crisis level in some public schools. An education advocacy group is making recommendations to fix that. Pennsylvania serves more than 1.7 million students in grades K through 12.

Rich Askey, Pennsylvania State Education Association president, said they plan to unveil a state legislative package that focuses on several key priorities to solve the school staffing crisis, including a boost in teacher salaries. Right now, some teachers average about $27,000 a year to start, and the plan calls for money to attract more candidates.

"First to set the annual minimum salaries for educators, school counselors, nurses, and other educational professionals at $60,000," Askey said. "And also, we want to look at a minimum wage for custodians, cafeteria workers, paraprofessionals, and other support staff at $20 per hour. "

Askey added there has been a dramatic decline in the number of college graduates entering the teaching profession. Pennsylvania issued more than 12,000 fewer first-year teaching certificates in the 2020-21 school year than it did in 2012-13, a drop of 66%.

Askey said in addition to affecting teachers and staff, the shortage has created challenges in the classroom, resulting in some kids having learning problems.

"I know of educators that are teaching two classes at the same time and on one side of the room, they might be teaching life science on the other side of the room, they might be teaching earth science, and that doesn't let our kids have the individual attention that is so needed, " Askey said.

Askey added the legislative plan would be taking a sustained multi-year commitment to be phased in over five years. It also includes paying college students in teacher preparation programs while they are student teaching, creating a scholarship program, and investing in the "Grow Your Own" program to help paraprofessionals and school support staff go back to college and earn their teaching degrees.

As educators across Massachusetts prepare to administer high-stakes tests for students this spring, new polling shows the public supports changes to the often stressful graduation requirement.

Seventy-four percent of poll respondents support a policy in which students would still take the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System tests, but wouldn't need a passing grade to graduate.

Massachusetts Teachers Association vice president Deb McCarthy said the tests fail to reflect the depth and diversity of students' intelligence and learning styles.

"The score," said McCarthy, "is simply a measure of who is a good test taker."

McCarthy said recently introduced legislation - entitled the Thrive Act - would allow school districts to use coursework to determine a student's mastery of English, math, and science as required by state standards - rather than a one-time standardized test.

Massachusetts is one of only eight states requiring high school students to pass a test to receive their diploma.

Educators say standardized tests are especially difficult for students with Individualized Education Plans, English language learners, and students from low-income communities.

McCarthy said removing the pressure of high-stakes testing would improve outcomes for historically disenfranchised students.

"The research shows us that there's a direct correlation between the test scores and the ZIP codes," said McCarthy, "and it really is an opportunity gap, not an achievement gap."

The Thrive Act would also eliminate the state's power to take over underperforming schools, which tend to be located in some of the poorest communities with lower MCAS scores.

Backers of the legislation say it would give students, parents, and educators a greater say in how their schools are run.

A grant is helping student parents at a college in northwestern Montana.

The Aspen Institute has announced Blackfeet Community College and seven other institutes around the country have joined the Black and Native Family Futures Fund.

Linda Sue Racine is a counselor and the coordinator of the $75,000 grant at the school. She said COVID-19 hit the Blackfeet Reservation hard and many students are grieving.

"To be able to get good grades and all that you need to have some peace in your life," said Racine. "And I always feel that if we're not well mentally and emotionally and physically, then we're not going to be able to succeed."

The grant comes with technical assistance to implement programs as well. Blackfeet Community College is setting up the Native Student Parent Program, which will help young mothers with child care, food and transportation.

Racine said elders also are helping with the program. She said workshops for the young mothers include making traditional outfits for their kids.

"We just don't want our people to lose their cultural and their traditional way of life," said Racine. "So it's very important that we integrate it in everything we do."

The eight institutions that received funding are Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Tribal Colleges and Universities.

Support for this reporting was provided by Lumina Foundation.




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