en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germaniw Hebrewit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
  • The Agenda
    • Early Childhood
      • Child Care
      • Developmental Services
    • Education (K-12)
    • Health
    • Poverty
    • Racial Equity
  • Our Reports
    • By Area
      • Rochester City School District
      • City of Rochester
      • Monroe County
      • Western & Central New York
      • New York State
      • Federal
    • By Agenda Item
      • Early Childhood
      • Health
      • Education (K-12)
      • Poverty
      • Racial Equity
    • By Initiative
      • Budget Analysis
  • News NEW 
    • E-News NEW 
    • TCA In The News
    • Events
  • Partnerships
    • Interfaith Collaborative
    • All Kids Thrive
    • Local
    • New York State
      • Official Appointments
      • State Coalitions
      • State Partner Organizations
    • National
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Our Funding
    • Join Our Team
    • Volunteer or Intern
    • Link to TCA
    • Board Portal
    • Staff Portal
  • Blogs/Podcast
    • Raising Rochester
    • Our Blog
  • Take Action!
Menu
  • The Agenda
    • Early Childhood
      • Child Care
      • Developmental Services
    • Education (K-12)
    • Health
    • Poverty
    • Racial Equity
  • Our Reports
    • By Area
      • Rochester City School District
      • City of Rochester
      • Monroe County
      • Western & Central New York
      • New York State
      • Federal
    • By Agenda Item
      • Early Childhood
      • Health
      • Education (K-12)
      • Poverty
      • Racial Equity
    • By Initiative
      • Budget Analysis
  • News NEW 
    • E-News NEW 
    • TCA In The News
    • Events
  • Partnerships
    • Interfaith Collaborative
    • All Kids Thrive
    • Local
    • New York State
      • Official Appointments
      • State Coalitions
      • State Partner Organizations
    • National
  • About
    • Our Team
    • Board of Directors
    • Our Funding
    • Join Our Team
    • Volunteer or Intern
    • Link to TCA
    • Board Portal
    • Staff Portal
  • Blogs/Podcast
    • Raising Rochester
    • Our Blog
  • Take Action!
Find My
Representatives
Donate

Report: Rochester makes ‘incredible progress’ bridging digital divide, but more work to be done

  • August 26, 2020
WROC Logo
Click for Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn

Report: Rochester makes ‘incredible progress’ bridging digital divide, but more work to be done

by: Kayla Green

ROCHESTER, N.Y. (WROC) — According to a recent report from Roc the Future, the Rochester community has stepped up to improve the digital divide during the pandemic. The original report from April outlined technology disparities in the Rochester City School District. The updated report published this week says access is now a lot better.

Stephanie Townsend is the director of research and analytics at Roc the Future. She said the pandemic brought the digital divide in Rochester to a head.

“It took what has been an ongoing issue and really brought it to the forefront,” Townsend said.

According to the report, 80% of Rochester residents have some kind of internet access. However, she said for a large percentage of them that means cellular service on a smartphone. Townsend said this isn’t enough when school is completely online. The report says if you remove the families who have only a cellular plan, that means 40% of Rochester families don’t have adequate access to online education.

When she first published the report in April, only RCSD students in grades 9-12 were given to a Chromebook and WiFi device. For this upcoming school year, all students will be given these devices.

“Considering the fact that there are over 25,000 students in the Rochester City School District this really is a pretty monumental achievement by the entire community.”

While she said this progress is incredible, access is only the beginning. Making sure families know how to use the programs is the next step. The Rochester Public Library is helping to provide workshops and training to families who need it.

“Then we get to the issue of do you have the necessary skills to make full use? This is something that’s often referred to as digital literacy. It involves not only knowing how to use the program but also how to critically evaluate what you’re seeing, how to know where to go, how to access reliable services and resources.”

She said another huge step to fix this problem for good is to make internet access more affordable to everyone in New York state regardless of where you live. She said it should be treated more like an essential utility than a luxury.

By Media Outlet

  • City Newspaper
  • Democrat & Chronicle
  • Messenger Post
  • Rochester Beacon
  • Rochester Business Journal
  • Spectrum
  • WHAM
  • WHEC
  • WROC
  • WUHF
  • WXXI
  • Other Media

By Agenda Item

  • Early Childhood
  • Health and Safety
  • Education (K-12)
  • Poverty
  • Racial Equity

Contact Us

The Children’s Agenda
1 South Washington St.
Suite 120
Rochester, NY 14614

Find Us With Google Maps

(585) 256-2620
Facebook Twitter Envelope

Our Mission

The Children’s Agenda advocates for effective policies and drives evidenced-based solutions for the health, education and success of children. We are especially committed to children who are vulnerable because of poverty, racism, health inequities and trauma.

The Agenda

  • Early Childhood
  • Education (K-12)
  • Health and Safety
  • Poverty
  • Racial Equity
  • Early Childhood
  • Education (K-12)
  • Health and Safety
  • Poverty
  • Racial Equity

Proud Member Of...

Partnership for America's Children Logo
RMAPI Logo
GRASA Logo
TRACC Logo
Healthikids logo
Community Task Force on School Climate Logo
Raise the Age NY Logo
winningbeginnings logo

We are a Level Up Champion

© All rights reserved

Scroll Up