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Clarke Leads Effort to Close Learning Gap in Schools
Initial Delivery of COVID-19 Vaccine/continued from page 1
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ROOKLYN, NY: Congresswoman Yvette D. Clarke (NY-09) issued the following statement discussing a letter to the FCC pushing to reform the E-Rate program to accommodate distanced learning: Last week, Congresswoman Clarke led a group of her colleagues in an effort to push the FCC to do more to close the Learning Gap. “As we await the rollout of coronavirus vaccines in the coming months, we must not lose sight of the immediate needs of students that have been hurt the most by this pandemic. Nearly 30% of all US households lack broadband access rising to over 40% for low-income households. While many schools went remote in order to help slow the spread of the virus, these students have been effectively pushed out of school and left to fend for themselves. This disparate impact on the student population will only compound pre-existing inequities in academic achievement throughout the public school system,” Clarke said. Currently, the FCC only authorizes ERate funds for efforts to wire school buildings and libraries. In light of the
Congresswoman Clarke Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com
coronavirus pandemic, this funding has largely gone unutilized as schools and libraries predominantly remain closed. Local jurisdictions have been forced to scramble to help bridge this digital divide or face the consequences as students fall behind their peers. The E-Rate Program can help alleviate some of the burden by providing funding to cover some of the cost of more creative approaches taken by school districts. For example, these funds could be used to help pay for New York City’s tablet program to help give students
wireless Internet access. If the FCC reconsiders its approach to the authority of the E-Rate program in light of the new realities created by the pandemic, up to $4.15 billion could become available to help provide connectivity to those in need. “The scars from this pandemic will stay with us for years to come. With this effort, we hope that we can start that healing process now,” Clarke concluded. Read the full text of the letter at www.cawnyc.coml
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State Expects to Receive Vaccines December 15 if All Safety and Efficacy Approvals Are Granted New York Expects to Receive Additional Vaccine Allocations from Pfizer and Moderna This Month Positive Testing Rate in All Focus Zone Areas is 5.88 Percent; New York State Positivity Outside All Focus Zone Areas is 4.21 Percent Statewide Positivity Rate is 4.63 Percent cations of vaccines from Pfizer and Moderna later this month. "As we continue to move through the holiday season, the good news is that there is a light at the end of the tunnel, but unfortunately it is still a ways away and we are now faced with a set of challenges to overcome before we get there. Not only is the number of COVID-19 cases rising virtually everywhere, but they are stemming from a new source, with nearly 70 percent of cases being traced back to households and private gatherings," Governor Cuomo said. "The federal government has also informed us that New York will be getting its first 170,000 doses of the vaccine in the coming weeks, and while that is certainly welcomed news, the federal vaccination plan not only overlooks the black, brown, and poor communities, but its data sharing provisions will dissuade the undocumented community from getting a vaccination. Winning the war against COVID has to be an inclusive process and only by everyone working together will we be successful. While we continue to fight to make the federal plan more inclusive, effective and fair, New Yorkers need to do their part to help limit the spread." The Governor noted that the positive testing rate in all focus areas under the state's Micro-Cluster strategy is 5.88 percent, and outside the focus zone areas is 4.21 percent. Within the focus areas, 49,027 test results were reported yesterday, yielding 2,882 positives. In the remainder of the state, not counting these focus areas, 144,524 test results were reported, yielding 6,091 positives.l
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