blog post How Have California School Districts Used the Emergency Connectivity Fund? By Joseph Hayes, Niu Gao Dec 4, 2023 The state's school districts have received about $859 million from the federal Emergency Connectivity Fund (ECF), which supports access to internet connectivity and digital devices. Most of these funds have gone to districts with large proportions of Black, Latino, or low-income students, and the ECF dollars have been used more for connectivity than for devices.
blog post More California Students Are Getting Live Instruction, but Gaps Remain By Niu Gao, Laura Hill, Julien Lafortune Nov 20, 2020 The share of K-12 students receiving live instruction this fall is slightly higher than in the spring. However, notable equity gaps—by income, parental education, and race/ethnicity—persist.
Report Distance Learning Strategies in California Schools By Niu Gao, Laura Hill, Julien Lafortune Apr 14, 2021 Learning gaps are a growing concern after a year of online instruction. During the pandemic, uneven distribution of resources may have widened gaps and led to learning loss for some students. Our survey outlines how California school districts addressed remote learning and their strategies to improve instruction in the 2020–21 school year.
blog post Building a Community-Owned Broadband Network in Imperial County By Joseph Hayes, Mary Severance, Niu Gao Jan 28, 2022 We talked with Luis Wong, chief technology officer with the Imperial County Office of Education, about efforts in this largely rural area to bridge the digital divide.