KANSAS CITY, Mo. — With school buildings closed due to the COVID-19 crisis, the Kansas City Public School District is preparing to start distance learning.
The district recently created a technology operations center, where staff members are helping teachers work from home, keeping track of student meals and getting students the devices they need to be successful. It's a process that began as COVID-19 started to dominate headlines during the district's spring break.
"We realized we needed to beef up our help desk. At that time, it was four people," said Joe Phillips, the district's director of technology.
Phillips said they started by focusing on food distribution, but quickly realized they would need an alternative for teaching and learning as teachers and parents began to call. The process, however, has had its challenges.
KCPS is one of the last major school districts in the Kansas City metropolitan area to begin online learning. One of the major issues at hand is what Phillips calls the "digital divide." While staying at home can keep students safe from the coronavirus, hundreds of them lack internet access and the devices to complete their coursework.
"Lots of cities have this digital divide and we're able to really see the difference that it's making right now for our students," Phillips said. "We want to make sure that not only do we close it, we make it a memory and our students are never put in a situation like this again where their suburban counterparts have already been able to make this shift to distance learning."
As a result, KCPS has partnered with the 1Million project and T-Mobile to provide students with WiFi hotspots and Chromebooks. High school students already have WiFi hotspots, but the district won't roll them out to students in grades K-8 until next week.
"Getting technology right now is really hard. We're not the only district in America facing that challenge," Phillips said. "The school districts on the coast had a bit of a jump on us. Since COVID hit the coast first, they were able to get hotspots first and they really dried up the supply chain."
The lack of devices hasn't been the district's only challenge though. Time has also been against them. The district had a five-year plan in place to implement technology advances. Phillips said they were only two years into that plan.
"Things that would normally take years to plan and months to implement, we're trying to do in a matter of weeks," Phillips said.
While the district is preparing for the near future, it's also looking ahead. They will receive 2,000 more hotspots in May and another 5,000 hotspots in July with the possibility that teaching and learning could forever be changed. As educators prepare lessons during the COVID-19 crisis, parents are becoming co-teachers in the home.
"That might not go anywhere. That might be a model that a lot of schools, not to this degree, but a lot of them are starting to embrace the power that technology can have to help the efficiency and the effectiveness," Phillips said.
KCPS hopes to be in full digital learning mode by April 13. Middle school students, who already have high-speed internet at home, can pick-up their devices Friday, April 3 at their home schools. The remaining students, whose families signed up, will get their devices April 8-9. Due to current resources, each family will receive one Chromebook.
Phillips said if transportation is an issue, the district will mail hotspots to students. Families with questions or concerns can call the technology operations center at 816-418-HELP (4357). Staff members will also be there to help students troubleshoot once distance learning begins.
If a device breaks or malfunctions, students will be able to swap them out, but it's important to note that families must sign an Acceptable Use Policy, which makes them financially responsible if the device is lost, stolen or damaged. Each device will also have geotracking software.
The district's technology operations center is inside its board room at 2901 Troost. It provides social distancing space for ten people. Phillips said they wear masks and gloves. They also keep hand sanitizer and set timers to go off every hour for staff members to wipe down and sanitize their areas.
