Carolina Ramirez LSSL 5391 Internet for School Librarians
Environmental Scan
My environmental scan will focus on the Rio Grande Valley or more specifically Edinburg, Texas. The climate in this area is mostly warm or hot. Our winters are mild most of the time. The Summer is scorching hot and humid in this area.
The careers and jobs that most people hold in this area are: oil field workers, office workers, fast food workers, field workers, teachers or other types of school related work, unemployed and medical work. Because we are in a low economic area, most people receive some kind of state aid like SNAP, TANF, WIC, or Medicaid (CHIP). Students in school in the Rio Grande Valley also receive free breakfast and lunch. The dominant spoken language that most families utilize in this area is Spanish. Some families also speak both Spanish and English. The school district therefore provides bilingual education for the Emergent Bilinguals.
The majority of the children in this area attend public school or a charter school. However there is a small percentage that attend private school.
All public schools in Edinburg are now providing some kind of technology. During Covid, the school district made the transition to have all students have their own device.
For example, Kindergarten through first grade students have an Apple iPad with headphones and second grade through fifth grade have a chrome book, mouse and headphones. During Covid the district provided hot spots for all Edinburg students. After Covid the district picked up all the hot spots from all students and without the hot spots the majority of the students do not have Wifi (broadband) in their homes because either it’s too expensive for parents or their area has no connectivity. This is because the majority of the students live in impoverished “colonias”. To my knowledge there is a small percentage of students who have some type of device at home, but the majority of the students do not have a device. Because of this, teachers do not assign computer homework for the students. Even though Edinburg schools do have computer programs that can be utilized at home, it is difficult for the majority of the students to use the programs.
In conclusion, this area is considered to be a Title 1 district. Which means that the area receives extra monetary funds from the state to meet academic achievement. Because of these funds the district is able to provide the students with devices and other technological tools.
Hi Carolina,
ReplyDeleteYou did a great job on the environmental scan of the Edinburg area; you truly show a clear picture of the challenges and strengths they are faced with, especially in terms of technology access for students. It is great that the district has provided devices, but the lack of reliable internet access at home is definitely a barrier for students. You highlighted the importance of finding ways to bridge that gap, so students can fully benefit from the technology available to them. It is great how the district is using Title 1 funds to support students with providing technology for them, but there has to be a way to find more solutions for connectivity for students to have at home because like you stated without a hotspot the devices the students have won’t work for them.
Hi Carolina, I live in the Rio Grande Valley as well in the San Juan area. I teach in the city of Pharr, so we both share similar demographics except that Edinburg has a bigger population than Pharr. But we do share the high population of Hispanic and Spanish speaking population. This affects the way we present information for our students, its important to adapt to our students needs. As far as technology our school district made a big push after to covid as well to give students laptops and hot spots to connect. I am very grateful that our school district has emphasized the need for technology by giving students a laptop. Majority of the population of my school is economically disadvantaged so many of our students wouldn't be able to afford a laptop or have access to wifi at school. I understand your struggle its very hard when students are not given the opportunity to utilize technology in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteCarolina, this was a great scan! You can identify the problems and challenges in trying to educate students and get them up to speed using technology. I have a cabin in rural upper Michigan. I am able to work from there because we subcribe to Starlink. I wish that were not our only option; Elon does not need my money... However, this summer fiberoptic for broadband is being laid all over the upper peninsula of Michigan, and even though there is no electricity these internet nodes will be powered by batteries. It's still in the development phase, so I don't know that it will work or how much it will cost. But it is a game changer, and people who don't think broadband is necessary to our communities don't realize the difference this will make in everyday lives.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolina! The environmental scan effectively showcased the similarities in demographics across the Rio Grande Valley. It's inspiring to see our school districts continually advocating for more advanced technology each year. Nevertheless, I believe additional measures should be taken to assist students with having internet at home. Despite the efforts of our parent liaison to provide information and support for parents to enroll in programs that offer home internet for students, some parents still feel overwhelmed. This could be attributed to them not being tech savvy or language barriers.
ReplyDeleteHi Carolina! I can totally relate to your experience. My campus has similar demographics, and we also became a 1:1 campus after COVID. The district provides students with devices, but like you mentioned, many still lack reliable internet at home. Thankfully, our district offers hotspots to students without Wi-Fi, which has been a huge help.
ReplyDeleteCarolina: I once taught in the RGV, and I've seen colonias firsthand, driving sown streets with no name in an effort to contact students and their parents. You make a good point about how COVID forced districts to provide a temporary "patch" through hotspots and 1:1 devices--but the funding for these measures has been stripped away. Unfortunately for Title I districts (like yours and mine), student need is still a HUGE concern. If funding could somehow be ensured for these educational purposes, technology would go a LOT farther in serving our students' needs across the state and the nation.
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