BAKERSFIELD, Calif. — Bank of America has awarded the Kern County Superintendent of School a $75,000 COVID Relief Grant to help support the purchase of 20,000 Chromebooks and 5,700 WiFi hot spots.
KCSOS estimated 40,000 students countywide did not have access to the internet and/or a computer at home when schools physically closed on March 18.
“We were presented the opportunity to look at what online distance learning looks like for public schools, a modality that our partners in higher education have long offered and excelled at,” said Mary C. Barlow, Kern County Superintendent of Schools. “It’s an exercise that would have happened naturally, but is being accelerated due to our current reality. This tremendous support from Bank of America, along with the other local support we have received, will transform lives.”
Over the past several months, KCSOS, in partnership with school districts, has implemented various strategies to help bridge the gap in technology and has since rolled out robust online learning platforms through Canvas and other education applications.
“Access to education is key to long term economic stability and growth, so it was important for us to help the Kern County Superintendent of Schools overcome some of the barriers that students and educators were facing when the crisis began. These are truly unprecedented times, and KCSOS quickly pivoted to identify alternative sources of support like the private sector and community leaders to create an effective remote learning model,” said Karen Zuber, Bakersfield market manager, Bank of America.
