New Brunswick teachers working to connect with students without internet access

FREDERICTON -- It’s been two weeks since New Brunswick Education and Early Childhood Development Minister Dominic Cardy announced schools would remain closed for the rest of the year, unless the situation with COVID-19 drastically improves.

Since then, teachers across the province have been on telephones and computers, connecting with their students as they try to find the best way to continue their education.

“I’m a parent of a child in Grade 10 and so I received the survey from Anglophone West (School District) and it was about how much technology access we have, but also … the ability of parents to support their child in learning and how much time they can actually put to that with all the strains that are going on during this crisis,” said Rick Cuming, president of the New Brunswick Teachers’ Association.

The Anglophone West School District covers a third of the province, which includes about 23,000 students. That survey saw a 37 per cent response rate, so about 8,500 students.

According to the district, of the 37 per cent who responded:

• Three per cent of households that replied indicated they didn’t have access to the internet -- that’s 207 out of 6,614 households that responded.
• There are 10,846 students within the 6,614 households that responded to the question about internet access.
• There are 347 students within the 207 households that indicated they didn’t have access to the internet.
• This translates to three per cent of students (that replied) that do not have access to the internet -- 347 students out of 10,846.
• Taking into account a September 30, 2019 enrolment of 22,835 in ASD-W, the response rate for this question is 47.5 percent – 10,846 students out of 22,835.
• Eighty-four per cent of the households that replied have either one or two school-aged children living in the home – 5,483 out of 6,517 households that responded to this question.
• Eighty per cent of the households that replied have three or more devices at home that will connect to the internet – 5,161 out of 6,417 households that responded to this question.
• Ninety-five per cent of the households that replied have parents that are moderately or very comfortable helping their child(ren) use a device connected to the internet to access learning – 6,034 out of 6,364 households that responded to this question.

“We anticipate the percentage of students who don’t have access to the internet is a bit higher than this as schools are learning about their students on a case-by-case basis,” said the district in a statement.

“Teachers are contacting their students and adjusting their learning plans for students who do not have access to technology.”

Cuming says it is a challenge for teachers to connect with those students who don’t have access to reliable internet – but they’re working with the province to find a workaround.  

“I know there’s infrastructure issues in rural New Brunswick that are preventing students from accessing the internet,” he said. “But we’re going to continue with our regular dialogue with school officials, districts and the Department of Education, to collaborate on some workable solutions for all involved. I think that any endeavour that the government comes out with has to respect the philosophy of inclusion but also be mindful that not all students are going to have equitable access to technology.”

Cuming has been teaching for 23 years, and while each year brings some sort of change, he calls this year “monumental.”

He says the NBTA has regular interactions with the Department of Education, including virtual coffee meetings with the minister and deputy minister.

“There’s no way to avoid a deficit, or a gap, from this crisis in education. No matter what we do there’s going to be some impact,” he said.

“So, the longer we have students in the system, the easier it’s going to be for teachers to adapt to that. But it’s going to take hundreds of hours of planning for teachers to look at next year: what it’s going to look like, assess where are students, what deficiencies they have when they come in.”

Teachers are also focused on working with students who were falling behind before the pandemic began.

“We’re collectively facing this historic moment. It reminds me of the importance of compassion, empathy and mutual support and these values are fundamental to the way teachers became teachers.”