The Poughkeepsie School District is one of many districts in the state that will begin the year online.

Robin Ward, an English teacher at Poughkeepsie High School, is relieved.

“I mean, no lie, online teaching is hard, but I'm not confident going back into the school yet," Ward said.

 

What You Need To Know

  • Poughkeepsie City School District will start remote learning for everyone Sept. 10

  • One teacher believes the biggest challenge to remote learning is access to technology

  • Superintendent Eric J. Rosser will update parents on the future of in-person learning Oct. 1

 

According to Ward, many challenges have been brought on by online learning. The biggest challenge has been an access to technology.

“A lot of our students don’t have a lot of technology, except for cell phones. And some of them did use their cell phones, but if they had to download items or read materials online, their data got used up really, really quickly," Ward said.

Despite the shortage, Ward believes the district has been working hard to get laptops to students who need them.

“I had one student who was in a household with a total of six students in the household, and they were all trying to share one Chromebook," Ward said.

 

 

The district recently received a $1.7 million grant they’ll be using to get students the technology they need, but because so many schools are learning remotely, there is a nationwide laptop shortage.

Ward says if you have a technology disadvantage at home, make sure to communicate with your teacher, because if they don’t know about a problem, they can’t help.