Low-income Students and Internet Access

Many low-income students struggle with lack of Internet at home, By Walter Pacheco, March 18, 2012, Orlando Sentinel: “Every time 15-year-old Eduardo Pérez is assigned an online project at school, he and his mother scramble to a family member’s home, library or Wi-Fi hot spot because they can’t afford Internet access at home. The Lee Middle School eighth-grader often depends on his 4G smartphone to do research, but the 4-inch screen is a strain on his eyes. Computer labs at public libraries fill quickly, and finding a nearby Wi-Fi-enabled café in the low-income area of west Orlando’s Lake Mann Estates is a challenge. ‘It can be difficult for me. Sometimes I go to the school library before classes or try to do my homework and projects at school before coming home because it’s easier,’ Eduardo said. His mother, Nasta Echevarría, who is single and unemployed, said the cost of having Internet at home was too much for her. The obstacles encountered by low-income Central Florida students and their families without Internet access likely will worsen as schools start to provide their students with Wi-Fi-enabled devices for online assignments, homework and to connect with teachers and other students…”