On Tuesday, September 15, 2020, the WeLoveU Foundation hosted a webinar in partnership with Hartford Public Schools, one of the largest school districts in Connecticut. The webinar marks WeLoveU’s Closing the Homework Gap program’s expansion to a second state since working with Irvington and Newark Public Schools in New Jersey.
Guest speakers involved Senator Richard Blumenthal, Superintendent Dr. Leslie Torres-Rodriguez and Chief Engagement and Partnership Officer Ms. Nuchette Black–Burke, M.Ed. The webinar began at 11 a.m. with the purpose to raise awareness of the digital divide and engage the community to take action to close the homework gap in Hartford.
Connecting With Connecticut
More than 500 participants tuned in. Alex Post, webinar host and WeLoveU’s director of global partnerships, engaged the participants with poll questions, each demonstrating the statistics around Connecticut’s digital divide. According to the State Department of Education, an estimated 50,000 students in Connecticut public schools still lack a suitable device for remote learning.
Senator Blumenthal touched on the divide on a state level and how he’s been working to help close it through various initiatives, programs and policies. He said, “As most of Connecticut’s students return to school with some sort of virtual learning, our most vulnerable, low-income communities are falling behind because they lack access to affordable, adequate high-speed internet connections. As we continue to battle the pandemic and adapt our school systems to the resulting public safety measures, we must also ensure that we find comprehensive solutions to closing the detrimental homework gap.”
Though she was unable to attend, Superintendent Dr. Torres-Rodriguez recorded a video message. In her video, she said, “Fulfilling our mission to prepare and inspire all students during this challenging time requires an intentional approach and partnerships. The generosity of the WeLoveU Foundation and efforts of our partners and government to extend access to all students in Hartford will make a difference for our students and families.”
“In collaboration with our community partners, we can meet the needs of our students and families during this challenging time,” said Ms. Nuchette Black-Burke, M.Ed. “By providing support such as technology to all our students, we can continue to prepare them to succeed in school and beyond.”
The Goal at Hand and Call for Support
The Hartford Public School District has approximately 18,000 students. At the onset of the pandemic, the district issued 11,000 devices with the goal of providing at least one device per household. Approximately 6,000 students still lack devices, which is about one-third of the district’s population.
WeLoveU and Hartford Public Schools have partnered with a goal to ensure that each student has a one-to-one device for remote learning. To attain this goal, webinar panelists solicited a call-to-action from partners, businesses, and members of the community at large. Through these fundraising efforts, WeLoveU will donate Chromebooks and other compatible devices.
Senator Blumenthal reiterated this disparity during the webinar, emphasizing that thousands of children still lack devices. “I really want to thank you for calling attention to the homework gap and the digital divide. It’s no longer a gap. It is truly a crevice. It is a chasm. It is a deep and extraordinarily harmful division and there’s no need for it. A simple investment can help to bridge it and enable young people, who otherwise will be impacted for their whole lives, whose careers, futures and dreams will be constrained and impeded, can be given a sufficient way forward,” said Senator Blumenthal.
Click here to learn more and to donate to Closing the Homework Gap.
6 thoughts on “WeLoveU’s Closing the Homework Gap Program Expands to Connecticut”
This webinar was awesome! Bravo to the WeLoveU foundation for taking the initiative to involve themselves in the local community to support those in need during these difficult times. I was Super excited to see Senator Blumenthal again! It was Great listening to all of the speakers explain the Efforts being made both locally and statewide in order to ensure their students receive the proper materials to engage academically this school year. I was alarmed hearing about all of the statistics That I no idea about. I certainly felt heartbroken for the families in need, And students unable to attend classes. The COVID 19 Pandemic revealed the true severity of many issues in our communities even on a national basis. A big thank you to the WeLoveU foundation for organizing this especially informative webinar to spread awareness, so we may all join together to help close this Divide.
I had an opportunity to participate in this webinar and I was shocked to see the statistics of the number of students being affected this school year in the Hartford School District alone. One can only imagine what the numbers are for the remaining districts in the state. A.J. Juliani once said, “Our job is not to prepare students for something. Our job is to help students prepare themselves for anything.” This starts with a quality education. I’m excited to see the WeLoveU Foundation partnering with great leaders such as Senator Blumenthal and those of the Hartford School District to ensure this is possible by providing them with the necessary equipment to be successful this school year in these unprecedented times.
I was very excited to attend this webinar! I had no idea of the statistics Senator Blumenthal mentioned and how much needs to be done just within the Hartford Public School district alone. These students need a lot of support to progress in their learning this year, and I believe this webinar was a helpful first step in raising awareness of the digital divide in our community. Thank you to WeLoveU!
I’ve always been impressed that WeLoveU is so versatile in their focus areas. It’s amazing to see that from working on closing the homework gap for students in New Jersey, WeLoveU has quickly pivoted to extending a helping hand in this effort in Connecticut as well. As the Senator mentioned during the webinar, this is no longer a gap, but a harmful division. The sooner we act to bridge the divide, the sooner all students affected will be able to attend virtual classes this year. This is definitely a worthy cause for the unprecedented times we are living in. Amazing collaborative work!
I was able to view this activity on the Webinar recently, its shocking that many student were lacking the devices to participate properly for their school learning. For 6,000 students to lack something that is now a great necessity is very heart breaking, i am happy that leaders such Senator Blumenthal and others are taking action, along WeLoveU Foundation to close that gap. I have such a great expectation that more great work like this to be done.
I’m so excited this WeLoveU educational program has expanded in more states! I was shocked to hear about the statistics of the digital divide in CT but I was glad to hear from community leaders like Senator Blumenthal and Hartford Public Schools, who are actively showing support. Thank you WeLoveU for hosting the webinar which brought more awareness to this issue. We all now have an opportunity to take action for our students and families. I hope many students can get their devices soon so they can be productive in their learning.