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City of New Haven looks to help all students with internet access, technology ahead of distance learning

The digital divide is a topic of focus for a few cities across the state
Credit: Getty Images/iStockphoto

NEW HAVEN, Conn. — New Haven Public Schools plans on beginning their school year completely online. 

The problem: Families who don't have access to the internet or devices to help their children keep up with the class. 

The City of New Haven announced that with the recent allocation of $100 million in funding to local schools from the CARES act, the city and the state will provide internet services and devices for all children. 

Mayor Justin Elicker's office said that the city and New Haven Public Schools, and the Board of Education, are working to provide access to all the students. The digital divide as it's called is to help the students keep up with class. Officials said they will be expanding WiFi internet access in neighborhoods of need, providing devices for students and families that need them for online learning, along with connectivity support.

New Haven isn't the only city in the state looking to help bridge the digital divide. They will be joining Hartford, New Britain, Norwalk, and Governor Ned Lamont's initiative to also help students. 

The U.N. children’s agency says at least a third of children couldn’t access remote learning when the COVID-19 pandemic closed schools, creating “a global education emergency.”

At the height of lockdowns meant to curb the pandemic, nearly 1.5 billion children were affected by school closures, UNICEF said.

“For at least 463 million children whose schools closed due to COVID-19, there was no such a thing as remote learning,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said.

“The sheer number of children whose education was completely disrupted for months on end is a global education emergency,” she said in a statement. “The repercussions could be felt in economies and societies for decades to come.”

The report released late Wednesday night highlights significant inequality across regions, with school children in sub-Saharan Africa the most affected. The highest number of children affection by region were in South Asia, at least 147 million, according to the report.

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