Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 9-11-20

Feature
State Rep. Fentrice Driskell Hosted Virtual Town Hall Meeting About The Digital Divide
BY MONIQUE STAMPS Sentinel Feature Writer
The COVID-19 pandemic has created a myriad of prob- lems in this country. From devastating loss and grief to ever-present face masks, the virus has created one of great- est risks to society since the H1N1 Virus (commonly re- ferred to as the Spanish Flu) in 1918. As schools reopen in the classroom and through e- learning, the dependence on digital devices and broadband internet access continues to grow. As a country, many non-profit organizations, school systems and govern- ment agencies have attempted to bridge the “Digital Divide.”
The Digital Divide is the in- equality that exists between people that have use of broad- band digital technology and those who do not. This divide is most often seen between so- cioeconomic levels, educa- tional background, and locational access to broadband connections. Those forced to use older, underperforming computers have little access to broadband either because the equipment cannot handle broadband or the family can- not afford the cost of broad- band service. Lack of broadband infrastructure is
State Representative Fen- trice Driskell hosts virtual town hall on how government, businesses, and nonprofits can collaborate to bridge the digital divide
also an issue.
Broadband is defined as a
wide bandwidth data trans- mission that transports vari- ous signals and data transfers. When discussing the digital di- vide, broadband means that internet access is much faster and always available. It trans- fers data to and from comput- ers at an extremely fast rate.
On September 2, 2020,
State Rep. Fentrice Driskell held a virtual town hall meeting to discuss the Digital Divide and possible ways to tackle it. Rep. Driskell’s goal was to learn how government, businesses, and nonprofits can collaborate to bridge the digital divide, es-
pecially for school children. Rep. Driskell noted that she had worked to pass a bill to use money collected from the Florida Turnpike to pay for broadband infrastructure. The money expected to be raised is approximately $5 million dol- lars which unfortunately, Driskell feels is too low. This concern has increased due to the new costs due to the pan- demic.
The meeting began with a welcome from Congress- woman Kathy Castor. She emphasized that materials and access to digital learning must be a priority as well as COVID testing materials for schools. Although Congress passed He- roes Act in May, the Senate has not acted. Pending in the Heroes Act are closing hotspot gap, access so all families have access to broadband internet, providing a means to make unlimited minutes and data available to any qualifying household, and prohibit providers from terminating broadband service.
Rep. Driskell then opened the floor to the pan- elists. On the panel were:
Ralph Smith, Founder and Director of Computer Mentors Group; Damaris Allen, the immediate past president of the Hillsborough
County PTA; Leah Brown, Director of Government and Community Strategy from Charter Communications (parent company of Spec- trum); Shaylia McRae, Chief of Transformation Network, Hillsborough County School District; Kim Jowell, CEO of Hillsborough Education Foun- dation; and Elizabeth Gutierrez and Santos Morales from Enterprising Latinas.
Ralph Smith has been trying to bridge the digital gap since 1997. Originally for his group to get service, below ground wires would have to be upgraded. This included work under the streets of East Tampa. He was told at the time that there was not a large market for broadband access in East Tampa and building would be dependent on whether costs could be re- couped. Now broadband is available in all of Tampa, but outlying communities like Wimauma still have problem.
Damaris Allen stated, “the PTA is also concerned about the challenge for middle class families that have lost their jobs and living paycheck to paycheck. COVID-related furloughs and layoffs have forced some families to give up internet service or reduce their access to reduce their bills.” Allen also spoke of the lack of equity in terms of digital ac- cess. “Many parents would like their children to go to school virtually during the pandemic, but do not have the necessary equipment or access. Families with multiple children are es- pecially burdened by a lack of devices for each child. The PTA has also found that chil- dren often know how to create TikTok videos and Snapchat, but they do not have the knowledge to effectively use the internet beyond popular apps. Often, kids do not know how to use WORD and EXCEL.”
Leah Brown of Spec- trum, stated, “that rural areas have significant areas without access. While they are working on the issue, they have pro- vided Spectrum Internet As- sist and the Stay Connected K–12 programs that help low income families. The Spec- trum Digital Education Grant has given a grant to Computer Mentors of $40,000 and will receive an additional $25,000 this year. Smith is using the grants from Spectrum/Chap-
ter to educate parents and pro- vide laptops to kids.
Shaylia McRae oversees 28 of the lowest performing schools and her goal is to close the achievement gap. Her group has been working on identifying areas and students that are not able to access Wi- Fi and identify dark spots. Dark spots are areas with low to no internet. Research has shown that some areas of Hillsborough County like Plant City, access is the prob- lem. By taking advantage of a federal program known as the CARES Act, her group has been able to increase the num- ber of purchase devices from 40,000 to 80,000. However, the access issue remains.
Kim Jowell noted that the Tampa Bay Partnership Regional Equity reports a 14% gap between white families and Black families with broad- band access. The broadband gap directly correlates to a dif- ference in test scores and ties into a lack of exposure to digi- tal content. This lack of expo- sure limits vocabulary and other knowledge which in turn puts these children in a knowl- edge deficit. As they get older, they are put in a position of playing catch-up and trying to learn new material. Jowell stated that this gap has existed long before COVID and needs to be at the forefront of con- versations about education. She also emphasizes the cost of broadband as her nonprofit tries to provide Wi-Fi hotspots and equipment to school chil- dren. Jowell also stated that “nonprofits must work to- gether like her group and Computer Mentors have done.”
Elizabeth Gutierrez and Santos Morales from Enter- prising Latinas answered a few questions in Spanish, but noted the high costs for broad- band in rural areas where homes are far apart. They are working with Charter to find ways to increase access in places like Wimauma where homes can be miles apart and miles from any internet access.
Rep. Driskell wrapped up the meeting with an em- phasis on teamwork. Citing many examples where the nonprofits in the meeting had worked collaboratively. Rep. Driskell also encouraged them to continue. She ended the virtual meeting by urging her constituents to contact any of the participants for help or more information.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2020