How do you learn online with no internet? Chester students facing COVID-19 barriers

Chester County School District will offer two options for virtual learning this fall. However, internet access might be a critical barrier that puts many students at a disadvantage.

Service in the county ranges from high-speed in some areas to none in others. And even where the service is offered, there’s no guarantee some households can afford it.

This fall, Chester County students can chose to:

• Enroll in Chester County School District Virtual Academy.

• Or, participate in a hybrid program. The hybrid program means students would attend school in-person two days a week and participate in virtual school three days a week.

Students begin school on Sept. 8 and access to the internet will be crucial in Chester County.

U.S. Census Bureau data from 2019 shows the county has a population of about 32,000. There are 5,156 students in the Chester County School District.

The South Carolina Department of Education determined that 78.8% of CCSD students lived in poverty during the 2018-2019 school year. This percentage is based on the number of students who received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, benefits, are migrants, are on Medicaid, or are homeless.

The state also has determined that 31% of CCSD students met state standards in English last school year. About 27% percent met state standards in math. Internet access barriers might push more students further behind.

“I think there’s going to be an issue,” said Maggie James, chairwoman of the Chester County school board.

Census statistics from 2014-2018 show that 54.8% of Chester County residents had a broadband subscription.

Chester County School District Superintendent Antwon Sutton, who is in his first year in that post, said affordability is a barrier in his school district.

“When you have to maintain your power bill, providing food for your family, internet is kind of low on the list,” he said.

Is service adequate?

The Chester County School District wrote in its statement, which announced their full-time virtual academy, that 25 megabits per second (mbps) of band width would be required. Students need that band width to view video for school instruction.

However, in many households that 25 mbps is shared. If a second family member is sharing the bandwidth, internet activity will slow down.

Talia Roseboro lives in Great Falls. She recently said she has struggled to work from home while her daughter is online.

When working, Roseboro said she disconnects her daughter’s tablet.

Where she lives, her service provides 3 mbps.

“Where we live, that’s the best we get,” she said.

Roseboro wants her daughter to be in the virtual academy while there’s a threat of COVID-19 because the child has asthma, but she’s not sure how they will both get connected.

“It just goes in and out,” she said.

Shane Stuart, chairman of Chester County Council, told The Herald that his home internet in the city of Chester was so slow, he disconnected it.

He’s said he’s concerned that internet service will slow down even more when many students are online at once.

“You can’t help but wonder how many have already fallen behind because of it,” Stuart said.

Consumer Reports, a nonprofit organization, says families where a parent works from home while children access school online should have up to 50 mbps.

TruVista is the internet provider for most of Chester County.

Truvista Vice President of Marketing, Jeff Lambert said, in a statement provided to The Herald, that “More than 85% of our Chester County customers have access to Internet Speeds of 25M up to 1G.”

Lambert did not say in the statement how many customers TruVista has in Chester County.

Sutton said he has heard a different perspective.

“We’re still, as a district, concerned about access,” he said. “From parents, what we’re hearing is that they don’t have the access. That’s different from reports from TruVista.

“If 85% percent of access is truly available throughout the county, we’d like to see some sort of special pricing, or reduction in fees of some sort, so students can complete their work.”

Provider working to extend service

In the statement, Lambert said TruVista has worked to help the county and school system.

This is what he said in the statement:

“On March 16, South Carolina and Georgia schools closed due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Beginning March 17 TruVista responded to this challenge and began offering free, up to 25Mb internet service, to households with school aged children that did not have a current internet connection.

“TruVista kept those connections available through the end of the school year. Approximately 1,250 households in the TruVista footprint, and over 550 in Chester County, took advantage of this opportunity to keep their school aged children connected and able to continue learning in a virtual environment.

“TruVista began the EDUCATE2020 initiative prior to the request that came from both the Federal and State governments. In addition to the EDUCATE2020 initiative, TruVista deferred late payment penalties, did not disconnect any customers for non-pay through the end of June, and worked with hundreds offering flexible methods to keep their internet connected.

“TruVista continues to work with the State of South Carolina, the Department of Education and the Chester County School District to develop solutions to aid students during the 2020-2021 school year. We are committed to support our students, parents and educators during these difficult and uncertain times.”

Hot spots available

A Q&A posted to the CCSD website says that Kajeet hotspots will be given to students “based on their availability.”

An earlier statement said the hotspots would not guarantee 25 mbps of connection.

Sutton said 200 are currently in circulation and they will obtain 300 additional mobile hotspots. Sutton said he is concerned that there might not be enough. The district will work to get more hotspots once the need is determined, he said.

Five-hundred hotspots would cover less than 10% of the district’s students.

James said the district is trying to get more funds for hotspots through the federal CARES Act.

The district also is looking into other solutions. Sutton said he is planning to address the Chester County Council to ask for their assistance.

This story was originally published July 30, 2020 at 7:40 AM.