The pandemic highlighted many disparities across the country, including digital inequalities. Because of limited resources and connectivity, students of all ages struggled to continue their education with the sudden shift to remote learning. Even as schools have returned to in-person learning, technology has become an essential part of how education is delivered and received. Over the past three years, it has been a collaborative effort between industry leaders, schools, and communities to connect students with the tools and resources they need to learn.

The students of Highlands Community Charter School in Sacramento, California are a unique learning community. Catering to students at least 22 years old and primarily made up of English Language Learners, Highland Community Charter School is all too familiar with the challenges of having limited access to technology, including Wi-Fi. In this podcast, host Matt Langan spoke with Michael Roessler, Director of Student Engagement at Highlands Community Charter School, and Anissa Owens, Associate Director of Government Solutions at Verizon, about the challenges face by students at Highlands. Most importantly, they discuss the opportunities that have come from the digital inclusion initiative.

“With the cell phones and the Chromebooks, we really felt like not only was it a benefit to our students to receive this technology, but really, we went 100 percent in on providing technology. But it was also a huge benefit for the kids of our students,” explained Roessler, further concluding, “Again, our students are 22 years of age and older, and many have young children. So, not only were we improving the quality of life for our students, but we were also improving the quality of life for their children when giving them this technology.”