Kansas City,
10
July
2020
|
11:38 AM
America/Chicago

KCUR: 36% Of Missouri Students Can't Learn From Home During Coronavirus Because Of Poor Internet Connections

By Elle Moxley

Even fewer Missouri students have reliable internet connectivity than previously thought, according to a new report from the nonprofit Common Sense Media.

The group, which makes entertainment and technology recommendations for families, estimates that 36% of Missouri students don’t have adequate internet access for virtual learning.

An earlier Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education survey put that figure at 23%. Both studies found that cost was the biggest barrier to access.

This past spring when COVID-19 shut schools down, districts across the country handed out wireless hotspots so kids could get online.

Schools are calling this “the COVID slide,” and the effects could be more pronounced than the learning loss that typically occurs over a 10-week summer vacation.

It’s one of the reasons why pediatricians want schools to reopen this fall.

“We know that school closures have had a pretty significant impact on our children – food insecurity, child abuse, trauma, obesity, loneliness and mental illness health issues – and this does not even compass all of the issues,” said Dr. Jennifer Schuster, a pediatric infectious disease expert at Children’s Mercy Hospital. “And there’s a huge impact on the educational component as well.”

 

Read the full story via KCUR

Learn more about Children's Mercy COVID-19 recommendations