 By Lisa Fernandez | KTVU FOX 2 OAKLAND, Calif. - With $12.5 million in Twitter and other tech donations, the Oakland Unified School District announced that 25,000 Chromebooks should make it into the hands of students in late August, weeks after school starts. In a news release, OUSD said the order is still on track for delivery within the first two weeks in August, but students won't be able to get them until later in the month. School is set to start on Aug. 10. Because of coronavirus, schools in at least half of the state that are on a watchlist must resume classes online, not in person. Oakland is one of those school districts, which also has one of the biggest digital divides in the region between students who own computers and have access to WiFi, and those who do not. "While we cannot get the new computers into the hands of students in time for the start of the school year, in the spring, OUSD distributed 18,000 school-based computers to students on loan," the district said. "While it was not enough, it did provide access for most students in need as we were thrust into distance learning." OUSD students will continue to use those computers until those who qualify can get a new Chromebook. OUSD has bought 5,000 temporary devices as additional “loaners.” Most of the new devices are expected to be distributed in late August and September, with students returning loaned devices upon receiving the new laptops, bought with donations from Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Zynga founder Mark Pincus. District officials also said that they have been in negotiations with various internet providers to purchase uncapped internet plans, with no data limits, to ensure that students who currently have no internet access at home can access distance learning. At a meeting this summer, administrators said that about half the students don't have proper WiFi setups at home. To make sure that no one falls behind, all families with a student attending an Oakland public school will be asked to complete a Tech Check survey to provide updated information on students’ access to technology at home. If families don't have the internet at home, the district said it will provide alternate methods for completing the survey, such as on paper, and in person. The district asks that families who are able to buy Chromebooks to purchase them now, so if the schools fall short at the beginning of the school year, the district can dedicate its loaner inventory to students with higher needs. Students in other districts in California have tech needs, too. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said Wednesday said that his department has already begun dispersing the $5.3 billion from the governor's office to local school districts, encouraging them to spend the money on technology. To date, Thurmond said that 700,000 public school students still don't have computers and 300,000 don't have proper hot spots -- situations that could be theoretically remedied with some of that state money. IF YOU'RE INTERESTED: Learn more about #OaklandUndivided at www.oaklandedfund.org/digitaldivide If you want to donate a computer or hotspot, contact Seth@techexchange.org. If you want to make a donation or discuss a potential financial contribution, contact: David Silver, Mayor’s Office of Education at Dsilver@oaklandca.gov; Jonathan Osler, Oakland Public Education Fund at jonathan@oaklandedfund.org or Curtiss Sarikey, Oakland Unified School District at curtiss.sarikey@ousd.org.
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By Julia McEvoy | KQED  Oakland Reach organizers in East Oakland last month handing out laptops and other summer school supplies to the families of Oakland Unified School District students. (Vanessa Rancaño/KQED) Thousands of students across California who still don’t have access to computing devices and reliable high-speed internet remain at serious risk of being left at the starting gate, as most schools prepare to begin the academic year online in less than a month.
The stubbornly persistent digital divide — separating those with access to the internet and computers from those without — has been overtly highlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic as a serious education equity issue. And it remains a formidable hurdle to the successful relaunch of distance learning in many urban and rural school districts. Oakland Unified officials pledged to overcome that divide after last spring's inconsistent and often problematic efforts. Some 3,400 students were found to have little or no digital connection, with many others left trying to do assignments on their smartphones or sometimes forced to break shelter-in place rules in order to find internet access elsewhere. In May, when Oakland city leaders launched a campaign to raise $12.5 million to ensure that every student who needed it would have laptops and internet hotspots, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey responded with a whopping $10 million donation, inspiring other donors. In total, the city and school district raised $13 million, and is now working on a short timeline to secure computers and internet connections for every child in the district who needs them, all before school starts on Aug. 10. “As you can imagine, supply chains are challenging right now,” said David Silver, director of education for Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf, who helped seal the deal with Dorsey. “So we do not have the computers yet, but they are on the way. And our goal is to make sure that we get those to kids and families as soon as possible.” Silver said Dorsey’s gift will ensure every child has an internet connection, a computer and the tech support they need. “It's not just about a child getting a device, but it's also how do you make sure if you have a problem, how do you actually troubleshoot that?” he said. So far, the district has spent $5.5 million of the funding on ordering 25,000 Chromebooks. Another $3.8 million is being spent on wireless hotspots, one for each student in a family, to ensure high-speed connectivity for streaming video instruction, according to OUSD Chief of Staff Curtiss Sarikey. “If there are three children, each would have a hotspot just to ensure that there won't be any issues with multiple lines slowing it down to the point kids can't track video,” said Sarikey, adding that the district tested various products and consulted with teachers on the purchase. “We heard a lot from teachers that they spent a lot of time doing tech support during shelter in place, helping kids troubleshoot things that were coming up,” Sarikey said. He added that the district will also provide high-speed broadband to some families at a subsidized rate. At a recent board meeting, OUSD Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell said thousands of students still don't have the digital connections they need. Seth Hubbert, executive director of Tech Exchange, an Oakland-based nonprofit working with the district, doesn’t expect those computers and other devices to be delivered until early August. That's when his team will be tasked with entering all the equipment through a data system developed for the district by Salesforce, and then deliver them to school sites where students can pick them up. “We anticipate about 110 pallets worth of computers, in batches of 1,000, so it's going to be just an awesome visual,” Hubbert said. In preparation, Tech Exchange has leased extra warehouse space and hired temporary staff to help process the computers quickly, while adhering to COVID-19 social distancing protocols. To fill the gap, OUSD distributed some 18,000 district-owned computers to students throughout the spring, and Hubbert said thousands more are still available for students who need a device now. But those loaner computers are district property and can’t be gifted to students, said Hubbert. The plan is to swap them out with the new Chromebooks that students can keep. Still, some Oakland teachers remain skeptical about the district’s ability to deliver on its promise of equipping students by the first day of school. The Oakland Education Association, the local teachers union, is currently in negotiations with the district over distance learning working conditions. The contract specifies that teachers have to agree to any change in working conditions, including a switch to distance learning. Some union representatives have said teachers would not agree to start the school year without proof that all students are connected with devices and reliable high-speed internet access. “There's this push for us to start school on Aug. 10,” said Jamila Brooks, a teacher at Montclair Elementary School who is part of negotiations with the district. “But not every family in our district knows how to use a device, how to access Zoom, and so that's been one of our new challenges.” Brooks said many teachers are highly skeptical of the district's ability to deliver on its promises. She noted the district's recently announced plan to ask families of all OUSD students to fill out an online form outlining their digital needs, scoffing at the flawed logic of asking people without online access to fill out an online form. “We have to make sure that the devices are in hand, they're working, there are hotspots, people are adequately trained, before we can hit the ground running,” Brooks insisted. #OaklandUndivided, the coalition behind the city’s fundraising campaign, is working with roughly 20 community organizations to help families without internet access register for the digital tools they need. Over the summer, parent advocacy group The Oakland Reach, one of the groups involved, took matters into their own hands, raising money for devices and distributing them to local families to support summer learning. Tech Exchange's Hubbert is hoping #OaklandUndivided is a step forward toward the concept of universal basic internet, and is encouraged that some Oakland leaders are considering the concept of the internet as a public utility. “There's now a greater number of people working on these problems at (the) local level, state level, federal level. That's certainly a hope of mine, that this (pandemic) kind of wakes people up,” he said. “Digital divide gaps are still huge. It's time we rethink how we're supporting our most underserved communities with access.”
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey stunned Oakland schools and city leaders on Friday with a $10 million donation to a campaign aimed at providing computers and internet access to all students in the Oakland Unified School District.
"$10mm to give EVERY single child in Oakland access to a laptop and Internet in their homes, closing the digital divide," Dorsey wrote in a Twitter post. "Heard Mayor @LibbySchaaf and @OUSDNews' call and funding immediately." Dorsey's donation came after a group of city officials including Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and district Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel held an online news conference Thursday announcing the effort. Schaaf posted a clip of the meeting on her Twitter page, prompting the response from Dorsey. The city, district, Oakland Public Education Fund and the nonprofit organization Tech Exchange launched the campaign to raise $12.5 million, which Schaaf has said would ensure all of the district's 50,000 students have internet access for online classes and studying. "Wow," Schaaf said in a Twitter post responding to Dorsey. "Thank you @jack and all those joining us on the mission to close Oakland's digital divide for good." The fundraising campaign was spurred by the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic forcing students to learn and participate in class while at home. At the outset of the pandemic, roughly half of the district's 50,000 students lacked internet access. The district has since loaned more than 18,000 Google Chromebooks from its school inventories to students across the city, but some 5,000 students and their families still lack proper Internet access and computer technology. The campaign announced Thursday it has raised $2 million of a $2.5 million goal that would allow the district and the city to furnish all students in the district with internet access and computers through the end of the school year. "The internet should be a public utility like water, power and even the freeway system, for all of us to use," Johnson-Trammel said Thursday. "Until we have universal broadband in this country, we need to do all we can to make the internet available to our students." More information about the fund can be found at oaklandedfund.org/digitaldivide. Copyright BAYCN - Bay City News 
Twitter’s Jack Dorsey Sends Huge Donation to OUSD and City of Oakland to Help Close Digital Divide5/15/2020  Oakland, CA – Less than 24 hours after OUSD, the City of Oakland, and partner organizations held a news conference to announce an ambitious plan to close the digital divide by raising $12.5m to pay for technology and internet access for all Oakland students to have at home, Twitter CEO and Co-Founder, Jack Dorsey, announced he is supporting the effort with a $10 million donation. In one fell swoop, he gave the campaign most of the funds it was originally aiming to raise.
“What an incredible and incredibly generous gift,” exclaimed Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell. “Jack Dorsey leads one of the most consequential technology firms in the world, so he understands well the need for our young people to have access to a computer and the internet at home. Students open to a limitless world of information at school and at home, and becoming more adept at using technology, is what we all want. We thank Jack Dorsey for joining the effort to make that a reality for all young people in Oakland.” This morning, Dorsey tweeted, “$10mm to give EVERY single child in Oakland access to a laptop and internet in their homes, closing the digital divide. Heard Mayor @LibbySchaaf and @OUSDNews’ call and funding immediately. Thank you!” Mayor Schaaf responded on Twitter by saying, “Wow. Thank you @jack and all those joining us on the mission to close Oakland's digital divide for good. #OaklandUndivided” After the leaders of this campaign, including Tech Exchange, worked feverishly to raise the first $2 million, they were left humbled by Dorsey’s donation. “This is a truly extraordinary response to our call to action. Jack Dorsey's generous contribution will close home access gaps for Oakland's students in a systemic way,” said Seth Hubbert, Executive Director of Tech Exchange. During Thursday’s press conference, Skyline High School junior, Jessica Ramos spoke about her experiences not having technology at home, and how it made her life significantly more challenging. "This COVID-19 affected me and my family because we could not afford the internet,” she said. “My family did not have the internet, and I could not finish my work, which lowered my grades and I missed some deadlines to finish my scholarship applications. While I was lucky enough to be able to get technology... I realized I am not alone. Many of my peers from Deep East and West Oakland do not have access to technology resources and the impact on their academics and future is big." Ramos received a computer from her school, and our partner, Comcast, supplied her with internet access. The Oakland Public Education Fund, which is facilitating all the donations, knows well what $10 million will mean for our students. “Having a computer and internet access empowers our children to thrive academically during this pandemic and beyond, and boosts economic and health outcomes for their families,” said Ali Medina, Interim Executive Director. “The Oakland Public Education Fund is proud to be a leading partner on the #OaklandUndivided campaign and we are so excited about what this donation means for kids across Oakland.” It’s unclear how quickly this $10 million will be turned into technology for students to use at home because the shelter in place has created supply chain problems, which have delayed some deliveries by months. But importantly, most students who now have at home one of the 18,000 computers loaned out by their schools will be able to keep them through the summer. Rising 5th and 8th graders will have to return their devices to the schools, as will graduating seniors.
Shift to distance learning amid COVID-19 poses challenges for Bay Area families
Maureen Naylor reports
In the Oakland Unified School District, there are roughly 17,000 students - out of a total of 50,000 including charter school students - who don’t have computers or WiFi, said Seth Hubbert, executive director of Tech Exchange, a nonprofit dedicated to "digital equity" that provides free and low-cost computers to schools.
Hubbert said there are another 8,000 students who might have one computer at home, but several siblings and parents who all have to share it. Altogether, that's half of the students in Oakland public schools whose technology needs aren't currently being met at home, he said. As of Friday, nearly six weeks after the shelter-in-place order, district data shows that 1,450 students still don't have computers and 3,340 students don't have internet access. Some individuals, and companies including Hewlett-Packard and Salesforce, have donated monitors and money toward this effort, Hubbert said. But he said it's not enough. That's why, Tech Exchange is actively fundraising to raise $2 million to buy about 4,000 more Chromebooks to fill this immediate gap, and trying to raise another $12.5 million more for long-term computer needs. Visit donate.techexchange.org to make a contribution today.
Click HERE to read the full original story on KTVU.com
As the world comes together in isolation, we know closing the digital divide is as important as ever.
Please consider donating to Tech Exchange today so that we can continue to lead the critical work in ensuring all communities are connected. 
The State Superintendent of Schools has advised that schools not reconvene in California this academic year. While school districts, teachers and parents are doing amazing work making it possible for children to continue learning from home, many families don’t have access to the digital tools they need for their kids to stay connected to their classrooms. On Wednesday, April 8th, TechEquity Collaborative held a panel discussion about how we can help bridge the digital divide. Tech Exchange Executive Director Seth Hubbert was joined by Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf and representatives from Oakland and SF school districts about how they’re adapting to the new learning environments. The panel was moderated by Catherine Bracy, Executive Director and Co-Founder of TechEquity. 
Since the Shelter-in-Place order was announced here in the Bay Area, Tech Exchange staff and volunteers have mobilized to establish texting and phone banks. They are responding to calls to inform families of internet options, and preparing hotspots and laptops to be distributed to students.
To continue this critical work, we are announcing our TECH FOR ALL Campaign to raise $650,000.
Your donation today helps to ensure that all students and families can stay connected and access online learning opportunities during this time of isolation and beyond. Click HERE to donate today. Thank you!
ABC7 News | By Silvio Carrillo
An Oakland student and singer overcomes digital divide while wrapping up school from home due to COVID-19 with help from an Oakland-based non-profit.
OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Brianna Houston's voice is soft but penetrating. She looks away from the camera on the computer as she sings a gospel song. Behind her, her mother, Rachel Butler, and her uncle Dwayne Butler close their eyes as the Oakland high school senior's voice lifts them up into a gospel heaven.
Brianna is a finishing her last semester of high school at Merritt College's Conservatory of Vocal/Instrumental Arts music charter school. "School was going pretty, pretty good for me because I'm done with all of my high school classes like they require high school classes, so I only take the college classes, so I was barely at the high school anyways." She says. "And then, once I had to stop going to school, it was pretty hard because everything switched to online." As COVID-19 shut down school districts across the country, schools have had to adapt to online learning in a matter of days and weeks. In California, this has highlighted the digital divide that many cities in the Bay Area face. According to Tech Exchange, an Oakland-based nonprofit that is working to bridge that digital divide gap, 1.5 million residents across the Bay Area, like Brianna, do not have access to a computer at home. But, a week before the 17-year-old Fruitvale resident was confined to her home due to statewide shelter in place orders, she was able to get a tablet to do school work on and get trained on troubleshooting in case any problems arose -- all for free thanks to Tech Exchange. Her uncle, Dwayne, works with youth sports and lives near the nonprofit's headquarters in Fruitvale. "I want to learn how to edit video. Because the kids that I'm in contact with, I want to be able to provide them with film (for high school sports recruiters)." He had little idea where to begin, he told ABC 7. "I don't have any gadgets at all. I was researching online. How, you know, how I'm gonna do this?" He walked out of the store with a tablet and a laptop for editing. "He handed it to me. And, I asked him how much for it? And he told me, he said it's free. He said, 'you don't have to pay anything for it.'" Since the late 90s, Tech Exchange has provided more than 50,000 refurbished computers and 10,000 hours of digital literacy training to low-income families across the Bay Area. "We think about digital access as a three legged stool. So in order for someone to be online and be productive online, they need Internet access, says the company CEO Seth Hubbert via a Zoom video chat from his home in Oakland. "They need a reliable device. And then they need the digital skills to be able to navigate and do what they want," he adds. The timing for the device could not have been better for Brianna. "I found out yesterday that I got accepted into Xavier University of Louisiana." Her mother, Rachel, says despite the coronavirus lock down, they are going to celebrate Brianna's accomplishment. "Her graduation may be postponed and...there will be no prom but we're gonna make sure that our family and close friends celebrate the biggest way possible because we're so proud of her." 
As the world comes together in isolation, we know closing the digital divide is as important as ever.
Please consider donating to Tech Exchange today so that we can continue to lead the critical work in ensuring all communities are connected.  For many of us, day-to-day life has changed significantly over the last few weeks. Schools throughout the Bay Area have closed indefinitely, and all non-essential businesses have transitioned to work remotely--or, in some cases, closed altogether. For those with access to technology, adjusting to this "new normal" might include scheduling video meetings with co-workers, relying on email for class assignments, or hosting "get togethers" via social media. For those without Internet access, the digital divide has never been wider. Today in the Bay Area, 1.5 million residents do not have access to a computer at home. 94,000 Oakland residents are without devices or Internet access – including 17,000 students. Click below for interactive maps that identify digitally disconnected households across the Bay Area.
Since the Shelter-in-Place order was announced here in the Bay Area, Tech Exchange staff and volunteers have mobilized to establish texting and phone banks. They are responding to calls to inform families of internet options, and preparing hotspots and laptops to be distributed to students. To continue this critical work, we are announcing our TECH FOR ALL Campaign to raise $650,000.
Your donation today helps to ensure that all students and families can stay connected
and access online learning opportunities during this time of isolation and beyond. Click HERE to donate today. Thank you!
KPIX 5 NEWS, March 20, 2020
Tech Exchange helps families in need get computers, Internet access and computer skills so students can continue their education as schools go virtual to cope with coronavirus. Don Ford reports.
As the world comes together in isolation, we know closing the digital divide is as important as ever.
Please consider donating to Tech Exchange today so that we can continue to lead the critical work in ensuring all communities are connected. 
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