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DUA MOBIN CHIEF MARKETING MANAGER
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ADVANTAGEOUS ALTERNATIVE — Elementary students attend private learning pods in small groups that are supervised by a teacher. They get assistance with their homework to help them cope with online learning. (Photo by Dua Mobin)
6 | NEWS | OCTOBER
s FCPS students throughout the county began the school year in front of their computers, myriad problems started to accumulate behind their screens. From lagging internet to familial responsibilities, some students face a number of disadvantages while navigating through their academics in the new virtual realm. Every household encounters its own unique set of challenges depending on its socioeconomic condition. The financial situations of students and their families can heavily impact their virtual learning experience. “Region Three [which includes pyramids such as Hayfield and Edison] is considered to be one of the poorest regions in the county. A lot of our students come from immigrant households and are part of marginalized minority groups,” John R. Lewis High School senior Kimberly Boateng said. “A lot of us have different living situations. I live in a townhouse, and I have six people in my family.” Although socioeconomic gaps have historically existed in Fairfax County, the pandemic and the introduction of virtual learning have significantly widened those gaps. “There’ll be students who are doing a lot better because they have access to a tutor or learning enrichments, and other students who don’t even have parents that are able to help them navigate through an online course,” Boateng said. One of the major concerns students have is their access to effective technology, specifically WiFi. “Sometimes the WiFi goes out, or there are connection problems, and then I’ll be late to class or I’ll miss class,” senior Shifa Zalawar said. Because of technical issues, some students are forced to take alternative methods such as switching locations in search of accessible internet. “Since [my WiFi] was messed up for a few days, I went to my aunt’s house to do school,” Zalawar said. “So I guess I had a backup plan, just in case my WiFi ever went out, but it’s just [inconvenient] for the other kids out there that don’t have a backup plan. Some kids don’t have access to WiFi at all. They have to go somewhere else like a public library. That’s terrible because public libraries aren’t even open for more than 30 minutes. So they just don’t have access to an education.” In addition to financial and technical disadvantages, a number of students are heavily laden with family responsibilities amid the pandemic. “My friend whose parents unfortunately got sick from coronavirus has been taking time off school during his senior year to take care of his family and his siblings and manage everything,” Boateng said. Page design by Ariana Elahi
