” We were proud to once again work together with the CoSN group in establishing this report,” said Sean Casey, supervisor of tactical collaborations at the Ed-Fi Alliance, a nonprofit dedicated to assisting school districts and states attain data interoperability. “At Ed-Fi, our objective is to specify information requirements to resolve problems shared by all educators and to equip the learning community with useful info, as found in this report, for diligent decision-making that leads to much better outcomes for students all over.”

Broadband gain access to and the ever-growing equity gap are amongst K-12 IT leaders top concerns, according to CoSNs annual IT Management Study.

The survey, released in partnership with the Ed-Fi Alliance and other partners, is based upon a national study of nearly 400 school systems and offers a nuanced take a look at the challenges K-12 IT leadersship has actually dealt with during the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Efforts to expand broadband access beyond school have increased dramatically. In 2020, 49 percent of respondents did not supply off-campus services, compared to just 5 percent in 2021, implying 95 percent of respondents are offering off-campus services of some kind. The most popular technique for increasing broadband access beyond school is releasing district-owned hotspots, with 70 percent of participants taking this route– this compares to just 17 percent the previous year. Thirty percent deal with their communities to supply Wi-Fi hotspots compared to 19 percent who did so in 2020, and 27 percent provide home access via complimentary or subsidized programs to low-income families– more than double the previous years rate of 10 percent.

Laura Ascione is the Editorial Director, Content Services at eSchool Media. She is a graduate of the University of Marylands prominent Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

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