ENSURING ACCESS TO EDUCATION DESPITE THE PANDEMIC

A Muncie Community School teacher assists a student as he utilizes technology for learning.

Ayear ago this month, schools across the country shut their doors and moved student learning to a remote model. The inequity of technology access for students from communityto-community and from household-to-household existed long before COVID-19, but the emergence of the pandemic exacerbated the gaps. Some students were able to quickly pick-up learning in a remote setting, while others got lost in the digital shuffle.

Recognizing this challenge, The Community Foundation, with support from the Funders Forum Collaborative, launched the K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative to support longer-term and equitable solutions for technology resilience for students and schools across Delaware County.

“Technology resiliency in education is the ability to easily transition from in person to digital learning,” explained Marcy Minton, senior program officer at the Foundation. “We want all families, regardless of their situation, to have equitable access to what they need to have quality learning from home.”

The initiative provided grant funding to the eight K-12 public schools in Delaware County totaling $241,000 over three funding phases. Requests typically fell into four categories – connectivity, equipment, software, and people resources including training.

The first phase of funding was provided by the Funders Forum Collaborative, a group of funders across Delaware County convened by The Community Foundation to support planning and research efforts of the schools as they updated or developed technology plans for their districts. In June, each of the eight schools received $2,000. The schools were then invited to submit their unique technology resiliency plan to address the needs of their students and teachers later in the summer. The Community Foundation utilized the strategic grants program and solicited gifts from donors with a passion for education to grant an additional $5,000-$8,000 to each school in October. Grants during this second phase totaled $43,000.

A third phase was then announced, and The Community Foundation worked with the members of the Funders Forum Collaborative to raise a final pool of funding. The Community Foundation also partnered with the United Way of Delaware, Henry, and Randolph Counties, a member of the Funders Forum, to apply for funding through the Indiana United Ways COVID-19 Economic Relief Initiative funded by Lilly Endowment Inc.

A $100,000 grant was awarded from the United Way of Delaware, Henry, and Randolph Counties for the K-12 Technology Resilience Initiative. Other funders came forward to support the initiative as well. And on Giving Tuesday, The Community Foundation asked for individuals to show their support to schools and teachers through their giving. More than 20 donors made a gift. The collective impact of local funders and individual giving resulted in another $182,000 being granted directly back to the eight K-12 public schools in the third, and final, phase of funding.

School looks different for students this year, as they use Zoom to participate in classroom activities from home.

The K-12 School Technology Resilience Initiative is a sponsored project of United Way of Delaware, Henry, and Randolph Counties and Indiana United Ways, with funding provided by Lilly Endowment Inc.