As school districts all over the country grapple with fall reopening plans, NTCA-The Rural Broadband Association and the National Rural Education Association (NREA) are calling for local school administrators and broadband providers to work together to confront one of the key barriers to successful remote learning: Connectivity each student has at home.
In a letter to their respective members, NTCA CEO Shirley Bloomfield and NREA Executive Director Allen Pratt, EdD, said overcoming this challenge starts by having local schools and local broadband providers talk with each other about the needs in their communities. Bloomfield and Pratt encouraged those conversations to focus on what access to broadband truly means for students at home. In some cases, access means a house has no connection at all — that the customer literally cannot order a fixed broadband connection to that location. In other cases, access means a house has a connection, but the customer isn’t subscribing to service.
On a recent episode of Critical Connections, NTCA’s members-only webinar series, Michael Romano, NTCA senior vice president of industry affairs and business development, discussed some of the letter’s recommendations with Pratt.
According to Pratt, one of the most common themes from school districts is that their plans are fluid, with many looking at hybrid models that include staggered start dates for students or elements of virtual learning.
With increases in COVID-19 cases in some rural areas, Pratt encouraged parents and community members to have patience and understanding for what the school systems are trying to do. ”This is the most difficult decision process that they have ever been through as leaders,” he said. Looking forward, Pratt said he doesn’t see education returning to pre-COVID-19 days but also anticipates innovative approaches to how children are educated, and broadband connectivity is vital for this to work.
The letter provides four steps schools and communications providers can take to identify needs quickly and notes the two national organizations stand ready to help “connect the dots on the ground” to ensure that these critical conversations can start taking place sooner rather than later.
Romano observed that while most providers had disaster recovery or business continuity plans in place, they were generally built for hurricanes or tornados, not pandemics. And while remaining fluid is going to be a necessity in this moment, NTCA and NREA have expressed their shared interest in ensuring rural schools and providers can work together to try to solve connectivity challenges.
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