Digital "Safety Nets" for Vulnerable Children and Families during COVID-19

Digital safety nets

In the United States alone, 1 in 5 children are currently living below the federally-defined poverty threshold level. Decades of empirical research consistently demonstrate that growing up in poverty places a child at increased risk of educational and developmental achievement gaps. If not addressed head-on, the effects of poverty can sustain and amplify these achievement gaps as children progress through school, contributing to inequalities in not only educational attainment, but also employment opportunities and achievement outcomes throughout the lifespan.

As we face this unprecedented battle with COVID-19, schools across the country are experiencing mandatory closures, forcing caregivers to homeschool their children until other alternatives are created and deployed. While ultimately necessary to protect children and families from exposure to COVID-19, school closures place children from low socioeconomic status families at disproportionate risk of falling behind their higher-income peers, widening the already substantial poverty-related achievement gaps in the United States. Parents of low socioeconomic status families on average already have less educational attainment, higher instances of chronic illness, are more likely to live in crowded homes, and are more vulnerable to the COVID-19-related economic downturn. These vulnerabilities not only hinder the quality and feasibility of homeschooling, but also place children of low-income families at even higher risk for COVID-19-related health complications by exacerbating already-present financial difficulties.

School districts throughout the country are rapidly converting curricula to virtual distance learning platforms in efforts to maintain learning objectives and educational goals during mandated school closures. However, to most meaningfully impact lower-income students’ educational attainment, such digital platforms must be designed with the specific needs and realities of low-income families in mind. In response to this need, we have formed a rapid action committee of applied researchers, teachers, and community leaders with expertise in early education and poverty, child development, and tele-presence to quickly create and deploy an online learning and social support platform for low-income families and vulnerable students. Our online learning portal will be populated with free, high-quality learning programs and resources (with a specific focus on reading and STEM curriculum), serving as a supplement to digital services provided by schools. In addition, this platform will also provide a free infrastructure—including virtual live streaming capabilities, online tracking and reporting—for existing nonprofits, tutoring services, afterschool programs, and summer school programs across the country to easily convert their personalized small-class, or 1-on-1 programming and curriculum. Furthermore, this online learning portal will enable virtual wellness check-ins and provide much needed digital social support resources for caregivers and children as they experience unprecedented levels of social distancing.

We are currently seeking immediate funding for web and content development, maintenance, and staffing fees, as well as, where needed, tech and internet deployment to low-income families (donate here). Thank you sincerely for your consideration during these trying times.