LTE – Debra Bell – 10-28-2020
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Rural Education Suffers
It is early morning in April, and there is a lone car sitting in a school parking lot. The two children sitting in the back seat are trying to follow along as their mother connects to the public school’s free internet on her smartphone while trying to explain the teacher-provided lesson for the day. During the COVID crisis we read about children crowded around kitchen tables with their own personal devices while parents hover nearby ready to provide assistance as needed. This cozy little picture is not how it really looks for many of our youth living in rural Wisconsin.
According to the Federal Communication Commission, 39 percent of rural Americans lack access to basic broadband services compared to only 4 percent of urban Americans. Wisconsin lags behind the national average in broadband coverage. An estimated 43% of Wisconsin’s rural residents lack access to high-speed internet, compared to about 31% of rural residents nationwide, according to the Public Service Commission of Wisconsin. (WisCONTEXT, March 2020)
From 2011-2018 we have invested only a fraction of the money needed to provide our rural communities with dependable and affordable broadband. The COVID19 crisis has exposed the deficiency for what it truly is . . . a lack of investment and support for our rural educators and students.
Are we willing to settle for less for children living in rural Wisconsin versus those students who live in urban school settings? While COVID has made the inequities more glaring, the true and complete story is repeated daily for students who are unable to access resources and information on daily assignments every single day of the school year.
Our schools deserve better.
Debra H. Bell