Rural families without internet face tough choice on school

As in other places, parents and officials are concerned about the virus, but dramatically limited internet access in rural areas also means kids could fall seriously behind if the pandemic keeps them home again.

By

News

August 14, 2020 - 12:13 PM

Photo by Kansas News Service/Chris Neal/KCUR.ORG

BEATTYVILLE, Ky. (AP) — John Ross worries about his children returning to their classrooms this fall with coronavirus cases rising in Kentucky, but he feels he doesn’t have much of a choice: His family’s limited internet access makes it nearly impossible for the kids to keep up with schoolwork from home. 

“They’re going to have their education,” the father of three in rural Lee County said as he recalled his children’s struggles to do their work this spring over a spotty cellphone connection.

Lee County, a community of around 7,000 people deep in the Appalachian Mountains, is one of many rural school districts around the country where the decision over whether to bring students back into classrooms is particularly fraught. As in other places, parents and officials are concerned about the virus, but dramatically limited internet access here also means kids could fall seriously behind if the pandemic keeps them home again.

Related
September 2, 2020
March 20, 2020
December 6, 2018
July 25, 2014