How child-poverty will affect the ability of children to attend the upcoming school year?

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the conventional ways of education and school for the 2020-2021 school year. Due to social distancing guidelines and COVID-19 spread, the majority of schools will be held virtual for the first part of the school year. The virtual school requires the use of some type of technology, whether it be a laptop, tablet, or phone. A problem arises that in some poverty-stricken communities families can not afford to have the technology required for virtual schools. A solution certain schools are implementing is that they are distributing laptops and other technology to students who live in low-income families that can not afford the technology. But the schools that are distributing technology to students may be located in a poverty-stricken, low-income community causing the school to not have sufficient funds to distribute technology to all the people who need it. Without technology, students will not be able to attend school for the 2020-2021 school year which harms their education and forces them to redo the grade of school that will have missed. Looking at the COVID-19 pandemic as a whole it has hurt the economy of the US greatly and has caused millions of people to lose their jobs. According to “USAFacts.org”, the article states “The national unemployment rate was 14.7% in April 2020, evidence of the economic toll that the COVID-19 pandemic and subsequent shutdowns have had on the economy.” With the unemployment rate being at such a high number parents may lose their jobs or be followed so kids of families living in impoverished communities may have to acquire jobs to bring more money in the house to meet ends meet. Students will prioritize family over their education which subsequently will harm their education in the long run. Another situation that could occur is that in some areas where the cases of spread of COVID-19 are minimal schools may be open. For example in Forsyth County where the amount of COVID-19 cases is smaller than surrounding counties, the schools are open for the first semester. To maintain the safety of students, schools will most likely have guidelines that require masks and other protections to minimize the spread of COVID-19. Kids who are in low-income households may be not able to afford adequate Personal protection equipment to safely go to school thus putting themselves and others in danger. Regardless of the situation of kids who live in income households or in poverty-riddled communities certain things will need to be done to ensure that all students get a safe education for the 2020-2021 school year. Certain Donation drives, GofundMes, and fundraisers can be held for students who can not afford adequate technology to participate in school. For example, the non-profit organization HYPE, Helping Youth and Poverty Everywhere, is holding a Technology Donation drive in their community and the technology that they receive from the drive will then be donated to students in impoverished communities. A similar thing is being done for PPE as other organizations such as Tom Bihn have turned their US manufacturing line to Cloth Masks and are donating to hundreds of individuals who are in need of masks. Although certain organizations are trying to combat the various issues that come with the 2020-2021 school year there will have to be more of an effort by the community and nation to ensure that every child gets the proper education for this school year.