‘Classroom Beyond Our Buildings’ initiative brings internet access to students in need – FOX 13 News Utah

Report on the ‘Classroom Beyond Our Buildings’ Initiative and its Alignment with Sustainable Development Goals

Executive Summary

The Salt Lake Education Foundation, in collaboration with partners, has launched the ‘Classroom Beyond Our Buildings’ initiative to provide free, secure internet access to students within the Salt Lake City School District. This program directly addresses the digital divide by distributing portable hotspot devices, thereby promoting educational equity and aligning with several key United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Initiative Overview

• Program Name: Classroom Beyond Our Buildings
• Objective: To provide students lacking home internet with free, portable connectivity for academic purposes.
• Identified Need: An estimated 1,500 students, representing 7% of the district’s student population, lack reliable internet access at home.
• Solution: Deployment of up to 1,000 T-Mobile portable hotspot devices.
• Key Feature: The devices provide a secure, filtered connection to the school district’s portal, ensuring access is restricted to academic support materials.

Contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)

The initiative makes significant contributions to the global agenda for sustainable development by addressing critical areas of inequality and access to education.

1. SDG 4: Quality Education

   This program directly supports the goal of ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education.

   • It closes the “homework gap” by providing students with the necessary tools to complete assignments that require online resources.
   • It promotes equal access to digital learning materials, ensuring that a student’s socioeconomic status does not limit their educational opportunities.
   • It extends learning beyond the physical classroom, fostering an environment for continuous academic engagement.

2. SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

   By targeting the digital divide, the initiative is a direct measure to reduce inequalities within and among communities.

   • It provides essential infrastructure to students from disadvantaged backgrounds, leveling the academic playing field.
   • It ensures that all students can participate fully in a modern educational system that increasingly relies on digital connectivity.

3. SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

   The project enhances access to information and communications technology (ICT), a key target of SDG 9.

   • It builds resilient and accessible infrastructure for a vulnerable segment of the population.
   • It promotes the adoption of mobile internet technology to bridge a critical service gap.

4. SDG 17: Partnerships for the Goals

   The initiative exemplifies a multi-stakeholder partnership to achieve sustainable development.

   • It represents a successful collaboration between the Salt Lake Education Foundation and other community partners to mobilize resources for a common educational goal.

Program Status and Conclusion

The program commenced with a soft launch of 100 devices at the beginning of the academic year, with a clear objective to scale up to 1,000 units. The ‘Classroom Beyond Our Buildings’ initiative serves as a targeted, effective model for leveraging technology to advance educational equity, directly contributing to the achievement of SDGs 4 and 10 by ensuring no student is left behind due to a lack of digital access.

SDGs Addressed in the Article

SDG 4: Quality Education

• The article’s primary focus is on an educational initiative, “Classroom Beyond Our Buildings,” designed to improve learning opportunities for students. The program aims to “bring the best educational outcomes possible” by providing tools necessary for modern homework, thereby ensuring students can continue learning “beyond the school hours.”

SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

• The initiative directly confronts the “digital divide,” which is described as “significant within our community.” By providing free internet access to the seven percent of students who lack it, the program aims to reduce the inequality in educational resources and give all students an opportunity to “close that gap.”

SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

• The article discusses the provision of critical digital infrastructure—internet connectivity—to an underserved population. The initiative to purchase and distribute “portable T-Mobile hotspot devices” is a direct effort to increase access to information and communications technology (ICT), which is a cornerstone of this SDG.

Specific SDG Targets Identified

Targets under SDG 4: Quality Education

1. Target 4.1: By 2030, ensure that all girls and boys complete free, equitable and quality primary and secondary education leading to relevant and effective learning outcomes.
   • The article supports this target by addressing the need for equitable access to resources. The initiative provides students who lack home internet with the tools needed to complete their homework and participate fully in their education, which is essential for achieving “effective learning outcomes.” The article notes, “we’ve seen a significant change in the way students are doing their homework,” and this program provides an “opportunity to close that gap.”
2. Target 4.a: Build and upgrade education facilities that are child, disability and gender sensitive and provide safe, non-violent, inclusive and effective learning environments for all.
   • While not about physical buildings, the initiative extends the “effective learning environment” into students’ homes. The article specifies that the internet access provided is secure and filtered, ensuring “the content they’re receiving as well is filtered, so that way it’s all pure academic support.” This creates a safe digital space for learning.

Target under SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities

1. Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of… economic or other status.
   • The program directly targets inequality based on economic status, which is often the reason for a lack of home internet. By providing free hotspots, the Salt Lake Education Foundation is empowering students from lower-income households, promoting their inclusion, and ensuring they are not left behind due to the “digital divide.”

Target under SDG 9: Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure

1. Target 9.c: Significantly increase access to information and communications technology and strive to provide universal and affordable access to the Internet.
   • The core purpose of the “Classroom Beyond Our Buildings” initiative is to provide free (“affordable”) internet access to students who lack it. The purchase and distribution of 1,000 hotspots is a direct action to “significantly increase access to information and communications technology” for a specific segment of the community.

Indicators for Measuring Progress

Indicators for SDG 4 Targets

• The article implies progress can be measured by the number of students equipped with the necessary tools for learning. The specific numbers provided serve as direct indicators:
  • Number of hotspot devices distributed: The program has already launched with “100 devices” and has a “goal of 1,000.” This is a quantifiable measure of the expansion of the safe and effective learning environment.

Indicators for SDG 10 Target

• The article provides baseline data that can be used to measure the reduction of inequality.
  • Percentage of students lacking home internet connectivity: The article states that “seven percent of students across the district lack home Internet connectivity,” which translates to “about 1,500 students.” Progress can be measured by the reduction of this number as hotspots are distributed.

Indicators for SDG 9 Target

• The progress towards increasing ICT access is clearly measurable through the initiative’s own metrics.
  • Number of students provided with internet access: The goal to provide up to 1,000 students with hotspots is a direct indicator of increased internet access within the target population. Tracking the number of devices deployed against the total need (1,500 students) measures progress toward this target.

Summary of Findings

Source: fox13now.com