Education Equity: Closing the Digital Divide

When schools across Silicon Valley and the nation closed their doors overnight in March 2020, thousands of students, parents, and teachers were forced to navigate the transition to remote learning, with little preparation and fragile infrastructure. Students’ education became dependent on consistent access to tablets or computers, and reliable internet connections.

Eight months later, close to 50,000 students in Silicon Valley still lack access to devices and hotspots to connect to online learning, presenting significant risks of learning loss, isolation, and further school disengagement.

Bold investment is needed now to ensure that 100% of the students in Silicon Valley can access online learning this school year.

As a community that believes in education equity, we cannot afford to wait any longer. The needs are great, but far from insurmountable for a community with the resources we have. You will find more information below on specific needs across the two counties. Feel free to contact us if you are interested in more information.

Needs in San Mateo County

as of October 15, 2020

Number of students enrolled (2019-2020): 93,554

Number of students still disconnected: estimated 6,000 (7%)

Needs across San Mateo County:

  • Jefferson Union High School District:  Need 2500 Chromebooks, 300 Windows laptops and 200 hotspots - Estimated funding needs: $1.5M
  • Pacifica:  Need 15 iPads - Estimated funding needs: $6,000
  • San Carlos:  Need 900 Chromebooks - Estimated funding needs: $450,000
  • South San Francisco:  Need 2000 Chromebooks, 100 Windows laptops, 100 Mac laptops, 100 iPads - Estimated funding needs: $1.3M

Total estimated funding needs: $3.2M

How to support: By making a donation to the Education Partnership, hosted at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, working in close partnership with the San Mateo County Office of Education.

Needs in Santa Clara County

as of October 15, 2020

Number of students enrolled (2019-2020): 263,449

Number of students still disconnected: 39,968 (15%)

Needs across Santa Clara County:

  • 27,623 Chromebooks - Estimated funding needs: $7.6M
  • 5,315 MacBooks/Laptops - Estimated funding needs: $6.1M
  • 7,030 iPads - Estimated funding needs: $4M
  • 5,345 hotspots - Estimated funding needs: $1.3M
  • Other connectivity solutions - Estimated funding needs: $750,000

Total estimated funding needs to close the digital divide: $20M

How to support:

  • By contacting the Santa Clara County Office of Education Grants & Partnerships Office to donate directly to the District (grants_office@sccoe.org)
  • By making a donation to the Education Partnership, hosted at the Silicon Valley Community Foundation, working in close partnership with the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
  • By making a donation to the San Jose Digital Inclusion Fund, focused exclusively on San Jose, where 23,000 students still lack access to devices and/or connectivity

 

This message was developed with support from the Santa Clara County Office of Education, the San Mateo County Office of Education, the Digital Inclusion Fund, and the Silicon Valley Community Foundation.

 

Additional resources