Clip
May 2020 Page resized
07 010 38%
McCurtain Daily Gazette
Shift to distance learning highlights stark inequities in Internet connection
By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoma Watch
When the coronavirus pan-
demic closed school build-
ings, teachers were tasked
with connecting to students
from afar. Suddenly, students’
lack of home internet access
was in the spotlight.
A mid-March survey by
the Oklahoma Education
Department showed that near-
ly one-quarter of the state’s
public school students, about
167,000, don’t have internet
access at home.
That means in places like
Hugo, a community of 5,100
in southeastern Oklahoma,
teachers had to try to reach
students through phone calls,
emails and letters. The district
has distributed hundreds of
schoolwork paper packets to
UVWFGPVUYJQCTGQHƀKPG
Despite the efforts, some
students didn’t respond.
“We are lucky to have an
outstanding group of teachers
who found creative ways to
reach their students during the
crisis,” said Superintendent
Earl Dalke. “If we had been
able to provide learning
opportunities to all students
online, we would have been
able to do a far better job.”
In some rural areas, inter-
net service is spotty or slow
or even nonexistent. Districts
have been scrambling to buy
hot spots, which create a
wireless internet connection
through cellular networks.
That created a backlog with
cellular companies, with
orders taking weeks. Some
districts rolled wireless inter-
net-enabled school buses into
neighborhoods or welcomed
families to school parking lots
for a signal.
It’s a patchwork approach
VJCV QHſEKCNU UC[ KU NGCXKPI
some students behind.
It’s also a hasty, crisis-driv-
en approach, given the cir-
cumstances. But the upcom-
KPI KPƀWZ QH HGFGTCN TGNKGH
dollars presents an oppor-
tunity to address what state
Superintendent of Public
Instruction Joy Hofmeister
called “a lingering issue,”
meaning inadequate broad-
band at home.
The state is expecting $160
million in federal relief funds
for K-12 education, 90% of
which will be allocated direct-
ly to school districts. Ten per-
cent, or $16 million, can be
spent by the department.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, like all
state governors, is receiving
an additional federal grant
for education from the gov-
ernor’s emergency educa-
tion relief fund. Stitt is set
to receive $40 million. Stitt
said on April 17 that he is
considering spending some
of the funds on a private
school scholarship fund or for
Advanced Placement classes
in rural areas, drawing wide-
spread backlash.
“Our primary focus is on
connectivity and the ability
to close the digital divide,”
Hofmeister said about the
department’s portion of funds.
She proposed that Stitt also
use his portion on internet
access. “Our schools are look-
ing for a long-term plan.”
Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos also is urging
school districts to use the
funds to invest in “technolo-
gy, distance learning resourc-
es, training and long-term
planning,” to support dis-
tance learning, according to a
recent press release.
Even when schools reopen,
likely this fall, some situations
could require another pivot
to distance learning. A resur-
gence of COVID-19 could
require widespread closures
again. Social distancing could
lead schools to hold more
digital days to reduce risk.
Individual students could be
distance learning if exposure
to COVID-19 requires them to
quarantine at home.
Districts’ relief funds
will be distributed through
the Title 1 formula, which
is based on the number of
low-income students served
by the district. But the funds
have fewer restrictions than
Title 1 funds. For instance,
federal CARES Act funds can
be spent on technology infra-
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
structure upgrades that impact
the entire district.
“Think about internet access
through Wi-Fi and the abil-
ity to not only impact com-
mon education, but students
regardless of where they go
to school,” Hofmeister said.
“This is more of a global,
comprehensive answer.”
Greatest Needs Are Rural
Ninety-nine percent of
schools in the country are out-
ſVVGFYKVJJKIJURGGFKPVGTPGV
and Wi-Fi in classrooms to sup-
port digital learning, according
to EducationSuperHighway, a
PQPRTQſV HQEWUGF QP KORTQX-
ing Internet access in public
schools.
But step off school grounds
in Luther and internet access is
őTGCNN[FKHſEWNVQTUNQYŒUCKF
Barry Gunn, Luther’s super-
intendent. That’s the case in
many communities.
“We’re not as rural as
most schools, and it’s spot-
ty out here in certain plac-
es,” Gunn said. Luther is less
than 30 miles from downtown
Oklahoma City on the eastern
side Oklahoma County.
Fewer than half of
Oklahoma’s rural residents
have access to high-speed inter-
net – one of the lowest percent-
ages of any state, according to
a Federal Communications
Commission report. Only
two states reported a small-
er percentage of rural access:
Arizona and Nevada.
That’s 651,000 Oklahomans
in rural areas who don’t have
access to high-speed internet,
FGſPGF CU FQYPNQCF URGGFU
of at least 25 megabits per
second.
“In today’s world, how we
are interconnected is a neces-
sity,” said David Ostrowe,
state secretary of digital
transformation and adminis-
tration. He wants to see all
Oklahomans have not only
access, but speeds of at least
100 megabits per second, a
goal he called “lofty.”
“Rural access is currently
the biggest hurdle. It is very
expensive to provide inter-
net access to these areas,”
Ostrowe said.
Hot Spots, Equity
One of the most effective
workarounds is a portable hot
spot, which taps into a cellular
network and provides inter-
net access. These devices are
how Epic Charter Schools, the
state’s largest virtual school
with nearly 30,000 students
across the state, provides
internet to any student who
needs it. Like other schools,
Epic will receive federal relief
funds.
The devices Epic provides
work independent of a fami-
ly’s cell phone and the school
pays the monthly data plans
for the service, said Shelly
Hickman, a spokeswoman for
Epic.
Demand for hot spots
soared in the past few weeks
as schools transitioned to
distance learning. Dozens
of school districts across
the country have contact-
GF 'XGT[QPG1P C PQPRTQſV
working to improve internet
access and device accessibil-
ity for low-income families,
about purchasing hot spots
and LG -enabled tablets,
UCKF %JKGH 'ZGEWVKXG 1HſEGT
Norma Fernandez.
There’s a backlog, she said,
and orders that previously
YQWNF JCXG DGGP HWNſNNGF KP
a week are now taking two
or three weeks. Schools are
trying to order thousands at
a time. In the meantime, stu-
dents are trying to transition
to distance learning without
the tools they need, adding
stress to an already stressful
situation.
“We are talking about kids
who are already behind,”
Fernandez said. “It has a sig-
PKſECPVKORCEVQPVJGKTNGCTP-
ing.”
Tulsa Public Schools, the
state’s second largest district,
distributed tens of thousands
of Chromebooks. But getting
all students connected to the
internet has proven more dif-
ſEWNV
“We provided a computer
to any child who needed one,
and we were able to do that
because of the generosity of
Tulsans,” said Superintendent
Deborah Gist, referring to
bond dollars. “The challenge
is internet access.”
The Tulsa school board
Monday night approved the
purchase of 1,500 hotspots to
give students internet access
for summer school.
High-speed internet is avail-
able to 95% of Oklahomans
living in urban areas and less
than 50% of those in rural
areas, according to the FCC.
Affordability is still an issue
statewide. Even with low-cost
plans available, providers can
deny service based on a fami-
ly’s credit history.
One solution the district
has used is parking a school
bus with free Wi-Fi at various
locations throughout the city
VQſNNKPVJGICRU
Similarly, Oklahoma City
Public Schools has welcomed
families to its school parking
lots to access free Wi-Fi while
schools are closed. And in
Tahlequah, the local electric
cooperative has added two
free public Wi-Fi spots at a
school and city park as part of
the FCC’s “Keep Americans
Connected” initiative,
according to the Tahlequah
Daily Press. More than 700
companies have signed the
pledge to not terminate service
due to customers’ inability to
pay their bills, waive late fees
and open Wi-Fi hot spots to
Americans who need them.
School solutions such as
these, while helpful tempo-
rarily, are not suitable long-
term, said Fernandez, of
EveryoneOn. And they pres-
ent equity issues.
“We want access that is
equitable and ubiquitous. We
don’t expect higher-income
families to drive to a parking
lot to access the internet,” she
said.
Long-Term Solutions
When the state ordered a
full switch to distance learn-
ing for all districts on April 6,
Idabel was ready.
A month before schools
shuttered for the coronavi-
rus pandemic, Idabel Public
5EJQQNUJGNFVJGFKUVTKEVŏUſTUV
“virtual day.” It was some-
thing superintendent Doug
Brown had heard about on a
podcast, and he wanted to try
it as part of an ongoing effort
to increase the district’s use of
technology.
Three years ago, the district
started providing hot spots
to teachers, and when they
upgraded, the district held on
to the older ones for student
use. “We check them out like
a library book,” he said. They
also are a one-to-one district,
meaning all students have a
computer or tablet to use. The
community approved a $1
million bond for technology
equipment in 2017.
“We’ve been really blessed.
We were really prepared for
this situation,” Brown said.
Student participation in
Idabel’s distance learning is
averaging over 90%, which he
called “phenomenal.”
The district, in far south-
eastern Oklahoma, has 1,200
students this year. Nearly
90% are eligible for free or
reduced-price lunch, an indi-
cator of poverty. Brown said
that drives his push to increase
technology access.
“Technology is here and
it’s not going away, and we
have to move forward in our
educational system,” he said.
“It’s even more important for
poor districts to provide these
opportunities.”
 Enid News & Eagle
Distance learning: Internet connection inequities
By Jennifer Palmer
Oklahoma Watch
When the coronavirus pandemic closed school build-
ings, teachers were tasked with connecting to students from
May afar. Suddenly, students’ lack of home internet access was
in the spotlight.
10 A mid-March survey by Oklahoma Education Department
showed that nearly one-quarter of the state’s public school
students, about 167,000, don’t have internet access at home.
That means in places like Hugo, a community of 5,100
2020 in Southeast Oklahoma, teachers had to try to reach stu-
dents through phone calls, emails and letters. The district
has distributed hundreds of schoolwork paper packets to
students who are offline.
Page Despite the efforts, some students didn’t respond.
“We are lucky to have
A002 an outstanding group of
teachers who found creative
Clip ways to reach their students
resized during the crisis,” said
Superintendent Earl Dalke.
33% “If we had been able to pro-
vide learning opportunities
to all students online, we
would have been able to do
a far better job.”
In some rural areas,
internet service is spotty
or slow or even nonexis-
tent. Districts have been
scrambling to buy hot spots,
which create a wireless internet connection through cellular
networks. That created a backlog with cellular companies,
with orders taking weeks. Some districts rolled wireless
internet-enabled school buses into neighborhoods or wel-
comed families to school parking lots for a signal.
It’s a patchwork approach that officials say is leaving
some students behind.
It’s also a hasty, crisis-driven approach, given the cir-
cumstances. But the upcoming influx of federal relief
dollars presents an opportunity to address what state
Superintendent of Public Instruction Joy Hofmeister called
“a lingering issue,” meaning inadequate broadband at home.
The state is expecting $160 million in federal relief
funds for K-12 education, 90% of which will be allocated
directly to school districts. The other 10%, or $16 million,
can be spent by the department.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, like all state governors, is receiving an
additional federal grant for education from the governor’s
emergency education relief fund. Stitt is set to receive $40
million. Stitt said on April 17 he is considering spending
some of the funds on a private school scholarship fund or
for Advanced Placement classes in rural areas, drawing
widespread backlash.
“Our primary focus is on connectivity and the ability to
close the digital divide,” Hofmeister said about the depart-
ment’s portion of funds. She proposed that Stitt also use his
portion on internet access. “Our schools are looking for a
long-term plan.”
Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos also is urging
school districts to use the funds to invest in “technology,
distance learning resources, training and long-term plan-
ning,” to support distance learning, according to a recent
press release.
Even when schools reopen, likely this fall, some situ-
ations could require another pivot to distance learning. A
resurgence of COVID-19 could require widespread clo-
sures again. Social distancing could lead schools to hold
more digital days to reduce risk. Individual students could
be distance learning if exposure to COVID-19 requires
them to quarantine at home.
Districts’ relief funds will be distributed through the
Title 1 formula, which is based on the number of low-in-
come students served by the district. But the funds have
fewer restrictions than Title 1 funds. For instance, federal
CARES Act funds can be spent on technology infrastruc-
ture upgrades that impact the entire district.
“Think about internet access through Wi-Fi and the
ability to not only impact common education, but students
regardless of where they go to school,” Hofmeister said.
“This is more of a global, comprehensive answer.”
Greatest needs are rural
Ninety-nine percent of schools in the country are outfit-
ted with high-speed internet and Wi-Fi in classrooms to sup-
port digital learning, according to EducationSuperHighway,
a nonprofit focused on improving Internet access in public
schools.
But step off school grounds in Luther and internet access
is “really difficult or slow,” said Barry Gunn, Luther’s
superintendent. That’s the case in many communities.
“We’re not as rural as most schools, and it’s spotty out
here in certain places,” Gunn said. Luther is less than 30
miles from downtown Oklahoma City on the eastern side
Oklahoma County.
Fewer than half of Oklahoma’s rural residents have
access to high-speed internet — one of the lowest percent-
ages of any state, according to a Federal Communications
Commission report. Only two states reported a smaller per-
centage of rural access: Arizona and Nevada.
That’s 651,000 Oklahomans in rural areas who don’t
have access to high-speed internet, defined as download
speeds of at least 25 megabits per second.
“In today’s world, how we are interconnected is a neces-
sity,” said David Ostrowe, state secretary of digital transfor-
mation and administration. He wants to see all Oklahomans
have not only access, but speeds of at least 100 megabits
per second, a goal he called “lofty.”
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
Tulsa Public Schools is using its bright blue activity buses as mobile hot spots to help students with distance learning. The buses provide wireless
internet access up to 300 feet away and are parked at various locations around the city. (Photo provided)
“Rural access is currently the biggest hurdle. It is pandemic, Idabel Public Schools held the district’s first
very expensive to provide internet access to these areas,” “virtual day.” It was something superintendent Doug Brown
Ostrowe said. had heard about on a podcast, and he wanted to try it as
part of an ongoing effort to increase the district’s use of
Hot spots, equity technology.
One of the most effective workarounds is a portable hot Three years ago, the district started providing hot spots
spot, which taps into a cellular network and provides inter- to teachers, and when they upgraded, the district held on to
net access. These devices are how Epic Charter Schools, the older ones for student use. “We check them out like a
the state’s largest virtual school with nearly 30,000 students library book,” he said. They also are a one-to-one district,
across the state, provides internet to any student who needs meaning all students have a computer or tablet to use. The
it. Like other schools, Epic will receive federal relief funds. community approved a $1 million bond for technology
The devices Epic provides work independent of a fami- equipment in 2017.
ly’s cellphone, and the school pays the monthly data plans “We’ve been really blessed. We were really prepared for
for the service, said Shelly Hickman, a spokeswoman for this situation,” Brown said.
Epic. Student participation in Idabel’s distance learning is
Demand for hot spots soared in the past few weeks as averaging over 90%, which he called “phenomenal.”
schools transitioned to distance learning. Dozens of school The district, in far southeastern Oklahoma, has 1,200
districts across the country have contacted EveryoneOn, a students this year. Nearly 90% are eligible for free or
nonprofit working to improve internet access and device reduced-price lunch, an indicator of poverty. Brown said
accessibility for low-income families, about purchasing hot that drives his push to increase technology access.
spots and LG-enabled tablets, said Chief Executive Officer “Technology is here and it’s not going away, and we
Norma Fernandez. have to move forward in our educational system,” he said.
There’s a backlog, she said, and orders that previously “It’s even more important for poor districts to provide these
would have been fulfilled in a week are now taking two or opportunities.”
three weeks. Schools are trying to order thousands at a time.
In the meantime, students are trying to transition to distance
learning without the tools they need, adding stress to an Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit, tax-exempt, 501(c)(3) corporation whose mission is
already stressful situation. to produce in-depth and investigative journalism on public-policy and quality-of-life
“We are talking about kids who are already behind,” issues facing the state. This story is a collaboration with “Frontline,” the PBS series,
Fernandez said. “It has a significant impact on their learn- through its Local Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the John S. and James L.
ing.” Knight Foundation and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Tulsa Public Schools, the state’s second-largest district,
distributed tens of thousands of Chromebooks. But getting
all students connected to the internet has proven more dif-
ficult. Sign up for
“We provided a computer to any child who needed one,
and we were able to do that because of the generosity of
Tulsans,” said Superintendent Deborah Gist, referring to
breaking news, weather
bond dollars. “The challenge is internet access.”
The Tulsa school board recently approved the purchase and school news text alerts
of 1,500 hotspots to give students internet access for sum-
mer school.
High-speed internet is available to 95% of Oklahomans
at
living in urban areas and less than 50% of those in rural
areas, according to the FCC. Affordability still is an issue
statewide. Even with low-cost plans available, providers
can deny service based on a family’s credit history.
enidnews.com
One solution the district has used is parking a school bus
with free Wi-Fi at various locations throughout the city to
fill in the gaps. PUBLIC NOTICE
Similarly, Oklahoma City Public Schools has welcomed Published in the Enid News & Eagle Published in the Enid News & Eagle
families to its school parking lots to access free Wi-Fi May 10 & 17, 2020 LPXLP (100) May 3, 10 & 17, 2020 LPXLP (97)
while schools are closed. And in Tahlequah, the local elec- Solicitation for bids IN THE DISTRICT COURT IN AND FOR
tric cooperative has added two free public Wi-Fi spots at a (Bid Notice) GARFIELD COUNTY
school and city park as part of the FCC’s “Keep Americans Sealed bids will be received by the City
of Enid, Oklahoma, at the Office of the City
STATE OF OKLAHOMA
DRAGONSLAYER, LLC,
Connected” initiative, according to the Tahlequah Daily Clerk, in the City Administration Building, Plaintiffs,
Press. More than 700 companies have signed the pledge to 401 West Owen K. Garriott Road, P.0.Box
1768, Enid, Oklahoma, 73702, until 4:00
v.
THE UNKNOWN HEIRS,
not terminate service due to customers’ inability to pay their P.M. local time on the 12th day of June EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS,
bills, waive late fees and open Wi-Fi hot spots to Americans 2020 for:
MOWING &CLEANING RIGHTS-OF-
DEVISEES, TRUSTEES and ASSIGNS
OF JOHN FRANCIS FLETCHER,
who need them. WAY FOR FISCAL YEAR 2020-2021 deceased, and THE UNKNOWN HEIRS,
School solutions such as these, while helpful tem- Said bids will be publicly opened and
read aloud at 4:10 P.M. on June 12, 2020,
EXECUTORS, ADMINISTRATORS,
DEVISEES, TRUSTEES and ASSIGNS
porarily, are not suitable long-term, said Fernandez, of in the office of the City Clerk. All bids will OF MILDRED FLETCHER, deceased, and
EveryoneOn. And they present equity issues. remain on file in the office of the City Clerk.
At a later date, the Mayor and Board
THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, EXECUTORS,
ADMINISTRATORS, DEVISEES,
“We want access that is equitable and ubiquitous. We of Commissioners will meet to award the TRUSTEES and ASSIGNS OF THOMAS
don’t expect higher-income families to drive to a parking contract. All bids must be in accordance
with the specifications on file in the office
J. STAFFORD, deceased,
Defendants.
lot to access the internet,” she said. of the City Clerk which are made a part Case No. CV-2020- 55-01
hereof. NOTICE BY PUBLICATION
Long-term solutions Bids received after the final time set for
receipt of bids will not be considered and
THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA TO:
THE UNKNOWN HEIRS, EXECUTORS,
When the state ordered a full switch to distance learning will be returned unopened. ADMINISTRATORS, DEVISEES,
No bid may be withdrawn after the TRUSTEES and ASSIGNS OF JOHN
for all districts on April 6, Idabel was ready. scheduled closing time for receipt of bids. FRANCIS FLETCHER, deceased,
A month before schools shuttered for the coronavirus Specifications may be procured or exam- MILDRED FLETCHER, deceased, and
ined ithout charge in the office of the THOMAS J STAFFORD deceased
 Clip
May 2020 Page resized
10 A001 43%

The Norman Transcript

Inconsistent connections An empty

Distance learning highlights internet access inequities classroom is
By Jennifer Palmer nearly one- through phone calls, emails seen in 2018
Oklahoma Watch quarter of and letters. The district has at Santa Fe
the state’s distributed hundreds of South Sixth
When the coronavirus public schoolwork paper packets Grade Center,
pandemic closed school school stu- to students who are offline. a public
buildings, teachers were dents, about Despite the efforts, some charter school
tasked with connecting to 167,000, students didn’t respond. in Oklahoma
students from afar. Sudden- don’t have “We are lucky to have City.
ly, students’ lack of home internet access at home. an outstanding group of
internet access was in the That means in places teachers who found creative Whitney Bryen
spotlight. like Hugo, a community ways to reach their students Oklahoma Watch

A mid-March survey by during the crisis,” said Su-

of 5,100 in southeastern
perintendent Earl Dalke. “If
the Oklahoma Education Oklahoma, teachers had
Department showed that to try to reach students See INTERNET Page A7

Member I NS IDE
N WORD of the day Inside today

Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
 The Norman Transcript
Internet:
From Page A1
we had been able to provide
learning opportunities to all
students online, we would
have been able to do a far
better job.”
In some rural areas, inter-
May net service is spotty or slow
or even nonexistent. Dis-
tricts have been scrambling
10 to buy hot spots, which
create a wireless internet
connection through cellular
networks. That created a
2020 backlog with cellular com-
panies, with orders taking
weeks. Some districts rolled
wireless internet-enabled
Page school buses into neighbor-
hoods or welcomed families
A007 to school parking lots for a
signal.
It’s a patchwork approach
Clip that officials say is leaving
resized some students behind.
It’s also a hasty, crisis-
31% driven approach, given the
circumstances. But the
From upcoming influx of federal
relief dollars presents an
A001 opportunity to address what
state Superintendent of
Public Instruction Joy Hof-
meister called “a lingering
issue,” meaning inadequate
broadband at home.
The state is expecting
$160 million in federal relief
funds for K-12 education,
90% of which will be al-
located directly to school
districts. Ten percent, or
$16 million, can be spent by
the department.
Gov. Kevin Stitt, like all
state governors, is receiving
an additional federal grant
for education from the gov-
ernor’s emergency educa-
tion relief fund. Stitt is set
to receive $40 million. Stitt
said on April 17 that he is
considering spending some
of the funds on a private
school scholarship fund or
for Advanced Placement
classes in rural areas, draw-
ing widespread backlash.
“Our primary focus is on
connectivity and the ability
to close the digital divide,”
Hofmeister said about the
department’s portion of
funds. She proposed that
Stitt also use his portion
on internet access. “Our
schools are looking for a
long-term plan.”
Secretary of Education
Betsy DeVos also is urging
school districts to use the
funds to invest in “tech-
nology, distance learning
resources, training and
long-term planning,” to
support distance learning,
according to a recent press
release.
Even when schools
reopen, likely this fall, some
situations could require
another pivot to distance
learning. A resurgence of
COVID-19 could require
widespread closures again.
Social distancing could
lead schools to hold more
digital days to reduce risk.
Individual students could
be distance learning if
exposure to COVID-19
requires them to quarantine
at home.
Districts’ relief funds will
be distributed through the
Title 1 formula, which is
based on the number of
low-income students served
by the district. But the
funds have fewer restric-
tions than Title 1 funds. For
instance, federal CARES
Act funds can be spent on
technology infrastructure
upgrades that impact the
entire district.
“Think about internet
access through Wi-Fi and
O i
Property of OPS News Tracker and members of the Oklahoma Press Association.
the ability to not only
impact common education,
but students regardless of
where they go to school,”
Hofmeister said. “This is
more of a global, compre-
hensive answer.”
Greatest needs are
rural
Ninety-nine percent
of schools in the country
are outfitted with high-
speed internet and Wi-Fi
in classrooms to support
digital learning, according
to EducationSuperHigh-
way, a nonprofit focused on
improving Internet access
in public schools.
But step off school
grounds in Luther and
internet access is “really
difficult or slow,” said Barry
Gunn, Luther’s superin-
tendent. That’s the case in
many communities.
“We’re not as rural as
most schools, and it’s spotty
out here in certain places,”
Gunn said. Luther is less
than 30 miles from down-
town Oklahoma City on
the eastern side Oklahoma
County.
Fewer than half of
Oklahoma’s rural residents
have access to high-speed
internet – one of the lowest
percentages of any state,
according to a Federal
Communications Commis-
sion report. Only two states
reported a smaller percent-
age of rural access: Arizona
and Nevada.
That’s 651,000 Oklaho-
mans in rural areas who
don’t have access to high-
speed internet, defined as
download speeds of at least
25 megabits per second.
“In today’s world, how we
are interconnected is a ne-
cessity,” said David Ostrowe,
state secretary of digital
transformation and admin-
istration. He wants to see all
Oklahomans have not only
access, but speeds of at least
100 megabits per second, a
goal he called “lofty.”
“Rural access is currently
the biggest hurdle. It is very
expensive to provide inter-
net access to these areas,”
Ostrowe said.
Hot spots, equity
One of the most effective
workarounds is a portable
hot spot, which taps into
a cellular network and
provides internet access.
These devices are how Epic
Charter Schools, the state’s
largest virtual school with
nearly 30,000 students
across the state, provides
internet to any student who
needs it. Like other schools,
Epic will receive federal
relief funds.
The devices Epic provides
work independent of a
family’s cell phone and the
school pays the monthly
data plans for the service,
said Shelly Hickman, a
spokeswoman for Epic.
Demand for hot spots
soared in the past few
weeks as schools transi-
tioned to distance learning.
Dozens of school districts
across the country have
contacted EveryoneOn,
a nonprofit working to
improve internet access
and device accessibility for
low-income families, about
purchasing hot spots and
LG -enabled tablets, said
Chief Executive Officer
Norma Fernandez.
There’s a backlog, she
said, and orders that previ-
ously would have been
A state lawmaker this
Sunday, May 10, 2020 THE NORMAN TRANSCRIPT A7
Graphic Provided by U.S. Census Bureau
fulfilled in a week are now waive late fees and open wanted to try it as part of an free or reduced-price lunch,
taking two or three weeks. Wi-Fi hot spots to Ameri- ongoing effort to increase an indicator of poverty.
Schools are trying to order cans who need them. the district’s use of technol- Brown said that drives his
thousands at a time. In the School solutions such ogy. push to increase technology
meantime, students are try- as these, while helpful Three years ago, the dis- access.
ing to transition to distance temporarily, are not suitable trict started providing hot “Technology is here and
learning without the tools long-term, said Fernandez, spots to teachers, and when it’s not going away, and we
they need, adding stress to of EveryoneOn. And they they upgraded, the district have to move forward in
an already stressful situa- present equity issues. held on to the older ones our educational system,”
tion. “We want access that is he said. “It’s even more
for student use. “We check
“We are talking about equitable and ubiquitous. important for poor districts
them out like a library
kids who are already be- We don’t expect higher- to provide these opportuni-
book,” he said. They also are
hind,” Fernandez said. “It income families to drive to a one-to-one district, mean- ties.”
has a significant impact on a parking lot to access the ing all students have a com- This story is part of a
their learning.” internet,” she said. puter or tablet to use. The collaboration with FRONT-
Tulsa Public Schools, community approved a $1 LINE, the PBS series,
the state’s second largest Long-term solutions million bond for technology through its Local Journal-
district, distributed tens of equipment in 2017. ism Initiative, which is
thousands of Chromebooks. When the state ordered “We’ve been really funded by the John S. and
But getting all students con- a full switch to distance blessed. We were really James L. Knight Foundation
nected to the internet has learning for all districts on prepared for this situation,” and the Corporation for
proven more difficult. Public Broadcasting.
April 6, Idabel was ready. Brown said.
“We provided a computer
A month before schools Student participation in
to any child who needed Oklahoma Watch is a nonprofit,
shuttered for the coronavi- Idabel’s distance learning is nonpartisan media organiza-
one, and we were able to do rus pandemic, Idabel Public averaging over 90%, which
that because of the generos- tion that produces in-depth and
Schools held the district’s he called “phenomenal.” investigative content on a range
ity of Tulsans,” said Super- first “virtual day.” It was The district, in far south-
intendent Deborah Gist, of public-policy issues facing the
something superintendent eastern Oklahoma, has state. For more Oklahoma Watch
referring to bond dollars. Doug Brown had heard 1,200 students this year. content, go to oklahomawatch.
“The challenge is internet about on a podcast, and he Nearly 90% are eligible for org.
access.”
The Tulsa school board
Monday night approved the
purchase of 1,500 hotspots
to give students internet ac-
cess for summer school.
High-speed internet is
available to 95% of Oklaho-
mans living in urban areas
and less than 50% of those
in rural areas, according to
the FCC. Affordability is
still an issue statewide. Even
with low-cost plans avail-
able, providers can deny
service based on a family’s
credit history.
One solution the district
has used is parking a school
bus with free Wi-Fi at vari-
ous locations throughout
the city to fill in the gaps.
Similarly, Oklahoma
City Public Schools has
welcomed families to its
school parking lots to
access free Wi-Fi while
schools are closed. And in
Tahlequah, the local electric
cooperative has added two
free public Wi-Fi spots at a
school and city park as part
of the FCC’s “Keep Ameri-
cans Connected” initiative,
according to the Tahlequah
Daily Press. More than 700
companies have signed the
pledge to not terminate
service due to customers’
inability to pay their bills,
has added a level of danger