| | SEPTEMBER - 20219The use of instructional technology and digital resources must be supported as core instructional componentsWhat we learned from this study was both enlightening and sobering. Because, though nearly all SFPS students were able to connect, the data showed that nearly half of our students had insufficient internet connections for their educational needs. As a result, the methods SFPS now employs to help students achieve sufficient connectivity continues to be a multi-pronged approach, but with some significant refinements. We're transitioning to cellular wifi hotspots with increased performance, and will ensure families with multiple students aren't sharing a single hotspot. We'll also continue working with our business, government and education partners on building sustainable free and low cost wifi for Santa Fe families.And to that end, SFPS has recently partnered with Lokket to provide free basic broadband to every Santa Fe resident, while offering them the option to upgrade their service at affordable rates.Aside from revealing our students' insufficient connectivity, our internet study showed that devices do not all perform alike on a school network. Knowing this, as we refresh our student device fleet, SFPS will now purchase Chrome books with upgraded processors, RAM, and memory, and regularly evaluate our legacy devices.We've also found that SFPS instructional resources and filters have a significant impact on student device performance. Each district system that interacts with student devices requires some digital overhead that must be considered. Additionally, Santa Fe, like all U.S. districts, must take a hard look at the best ways to support teachers in expanding the skills they've gained this past year. Going forward, the use of instructional technology and digital resources must be supported as core instructional components. And we must also further embrace the new and successful ways we've engaged with our students and families during remote learning. As educators, we cannot let the ebb of the COVID-19 pandemic allow us to slide back into our Paper-based instructional models. We've learned too much, lost too many, and made too many sacrifices for this to be a tenable result for our students and their families. SFPS will continue to use the findings from the Student Home Internet Connectivity Study to inform and align our work, and to ensure student equity. The 2021-22 school year promises to be a challenging one. But our district is resolved to make certain all of our students have the connectivity -- both at school and home -- that affords them rich and meaningful learning experiences.
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