Virus highlights inequities among school districts

By Teghan Simonton

Trib Total Media

In the McKeesport Area School District, Superintendent Mark Holtzman estimated more than a thousand families either don’t have reliable internet access or the necessary technological devices to complete online schoolwork.

Lessons are being made available via paper handouts, social media and the district website, he said. Completing material is strongly encouraged — but not required.

“There’s no simple way to make the work mandatory for all children with access issues,” Holtzman said. “We wish we had more resources, but at this point, we’re doing the best that we can.”

When it comes to teaching students during Pennsylvania’s stay-at-home order, some districts throughout the region are more prepared than others. The state’s transition to distance learning has exposed vast inequities among school districts when it comes to funding and available resources — inequities that existed long before the COVID-19 pandemic, district leaders say.

“Many of the other school districts in Allegheny County are recognizing the equity issue is a huge one,” Holtzman said.

Gov. Tom Wolf announced Thursday that schools would remain closed for the remainder of the 2019-20 academic year.

At Allegheny Valley School District, serving Springdale, Cheswick and Harmar, the potential for distance learning is met with more optimism.

“School closures have in a sense liberated teachers from schedules in a way that has allowed us to completely change our outlook on what learning and education can potentially be,” Superintendent Pat Graczyk said.

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