Burdens of COVID Hit Hardest Among Marginalized Students
Special to The Truth
Students are the greatest
hope for the future, but for many, their plans are
threatened due to burdens posed by COVID-19. Here are just a
few of the issues students and families face today, and
steps being taken to address these concerns:
• The digital divide:
Recent images of two Latino children doing their online
schoolwork in a Silicon Valley restaurant parking lot calls
attention to the deepening digital divide in the COVID-19
era. Nationwide, 16.9 million lack the home internet access
necessary to support online learning. A phenomenon known as
the “homework gap,” this issue disproportionately impacts
students of color. According to the Alliance for Excellent
Education, one out of three Black, Latino, and Native
American/Alaska Native households doesn’t have access to a
home internet connection and one in six doesn’t have access
to a computer or device.
• Housing insecurity: For
students in the LGBTQ community, campus closures have
sometimes meant the loss of in-school counseling and the
support of like-minded, accepting peers. When “home” is an
unwelcoming or even unsafe environment, students can be at a
greater risk for depression, anxiety, abuse and
homelessness.
• Educational barriers:
Distance learning creates new educational hurdles. With
parents taking on an unprecedented instructional role,
language barriers for non-English speaking parents can prove
significant, like for Asian and Latino immigrants. What’s
more, certain programming for students with disabilities,
including speech and physical therapy, can be tough, if not
impossible, to provide virtually. Lastly, certain learning
disabilities can make virtual lessons especially difficult
to follow.
• Military family and
school options: Continued access to quality education has
always been a concern for military families, who often have
no choice but to send their children to the nearest public
school, whether it’s the right fit or not. Today, this
problem has grown in severity, as the level and quality of
remote instruction can vary wildly among school districts.
• Lack of financial
resources: Despite the economic disruption caused by the
pandemic, colleges and universities are largely maintaining
or increasing their tuition costs, leaving financially
struggling students and families in a lurch.
Efforts to Help
In the face of today’s
many unprecedented challenges, help is on the way. New
emergency grants are being provided by organizations like
UNCF, Thurgood Marshall College Fund, APIA Scholars, Point
Foundation for LBGTQ youth, American Indian Graduate Center,
Hispanic Scholarship Fund and Scholarship America for
military veterans and people with disabilities. Career sites
like Zippia offer annual scholarship lists for students such
as this curated list for LBGTQ college students: zippia.com.
Additionally,
organizations like Wells Fargo recently completed their new
Wells Fargo Student Impact Scholarship in September 2020 to
help students impacted by COVID-19. This initiative will
provide 200 students with $5,000 each in funds, which could
help them cover various costs for their instruction and
potentially make the difference in being able to continue
their education. Since 2010, Wells Fargo has provided more
than $87.8 million across all higher education programs and
sponsored events. For additional resources, visit the Beyond
College Webinar Series for online training modules for
students and recent graduates at collegesteps.wf.com.
While the hardships of the
COVID-19 era can make it incredibly difficult to be
academically successful or even continue school at all, new
efforts are helping close the gap during this difficult
time.
Courtesy StatePoint
|