This week, rather than looking ahead to the cool classes and projects their students will be engaging and tackling this semester, many families are navigating the immediate challenge of internet access. Some families still need to acquire internet service or need help paying for it while others may not have adequate bandwidth to handle all of the video calls and online course curriculum required.

With that reality in mind, we are sharing information about how families can get internet access as well as some tips for maximizing your current service.

It will be nice once all students can simply focus on their learning instead of the internet service connecting them to school, but it is important to know that Impact on Education is committed to ensuring that all students have reliable internet access so that they can continue to learn even when that learning can’t happen in person.

Before changing providers or making other changes, consider these tips:

Going backward to go forward

It may seem counterintuitive to return to using ethernet to connect to the internet, but experts say ethernet is not only faster but also more reliable with no walls or distance to overcome. One way to put this idea into use is to plug an ethernet cable into your computer. Or, you can have one device in the house that typically uses Wifi use ethernet to free up the Wifi.

Location, location, location

All the sources on this topic claim that router location is the most important factor in Wifi reliability and capacity: The consensus place to put your router is high up, with fewer walls and appliances/furniture to go through, and close to the modem. Close to the ground, inside a closet, in the basement, under a desk are all places that inhibit the speed and reliability of something students and families will depend on more than ever this year! So, choose your router’s location carefully.

Time for an upgrade

If you’ve tried the above expert tips, and your internet is still sluggish, it may be time for an upgrade of either or both your router or your internet. The standard Wifi router that comes with your service that you may even be renting is likely not the most up to date, and upgrading it by purchasing a better one typically results in a faster speed.  That being said, a call to your provider, especially if you’ve had the same one for a while, about their latest speed options may result in a quick upgrade.

Still not connecting?

Families in financial need have a variety of options to receive free internet access. If you need assistance with this process or if you’ve tried the above and still aren’t able to log in, reach out to the BVSD Help Desk at it@bvsd.org or 720-561-4357, and they can offer additional assistance.

It’s almost the 2020-2021 School Year, and we’re gearing up to support BVSD students during what is sure to be the most challenging year any of us could imagine! 

As you’ve likely heard, BVSD now plans to begin in Phase One with all students learning remotely from their homes. We are continuing our partnership with BVSD Food Services to distribute emergency food twice a week throughout the district to ensure students have the nourishment they’ll need to learn. And we provided nearly 6,000 backpacks filled with school supplies through our Crayons to Calculators program earlier this week. Each student received necessary school supplies for their grade level, and we added supplies this year to facilitate students learning during a pandemic, such as headphones with microphones, hand sanitizer and cloth masks.

Looking ahead

On top of food and school supplies, Impact on Education plans to support student learning by providing every student in need with computers and home internet. We are also partnering with BVSD student advocates to encourage and motivate more student engagement and achievement at every grade level. Additionally, we are committed to supporting students when they have trouble. A robust plan for supplemental instruction is in the works that may include everything from online assessments, to virtual tutoring, to providing supplemental learning resources. 

We couldn’t do this work without a supportive community that understands the needs our students face. Thank you to everyone who has supported our efforts. If you are in a position to give, please consider supporting our students this year.

Dyslexia is a neurobiological learning disability characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often not in relation to other cognitive abilities; however, many students are mistakenly told they just need to work harder or get more general help (International Dyslexia Association, 2002). 

This scenario mirrors that of Kate Snedeker, a former BVSD student who couldn’t keep up the pace of curriculum in elementary school when reading became more the focus, and teacher conferences and report cards led to demoralization, despite understanding the material. 

One family’s perspective

When she was in sixth grade, her mother, Kristen, learned about dyslexia and saw some similarities in Kate’s experience; the diagnosis of “debilitating dyslexia” should have led to relief but instead emphasized how the lack of early intervention had now created a situation of playing catch up using time-consuming compensating strategies and 504 accommodations. 

Driven to prevent as much as possible the same situation for any other BVSD student, Kristen approached Impact on Education in 2019 with the idea of partnering to support students with dyslexia using early detection and intervention. Together with BVKID (Boulder Valley Kids Identified with Dyslexia) and BVSD, we concluded that the most effective way to address the need to help these students focused on teacher training in the Orton-Gillingham approach, a multisensory, explicit, sequential and diagnostic method of teaching literacy to dyslexic students.  We just needed funding.

So, Impact on Education created the Literacy Fund in late 2019, and with the help of the Boulder Valley community, we raised $50,000 to provide summer Orton-Gillingham training for 41 BVSD teachers and reading interventionists, enough to guarantee that every single school in BVSD can identify and support students with dyslexia, and no child should have to be told to just work harder, as Kate was told.

Taking place this week, the Zoom training mirrors the in-person training in its introduction of a concept via main meeting, demonstration of the concept, breaking of participants into small break-out groups, and interactive chat sessions. And with the distribution of all the materials, interventionists and teachers can use this approach with students as soon as the first week of school! 

Advocating for others

Now an advocate for younger students with dyslexia and college senior exploring a career in social justice, Kate is “happy to know that [my] own challenges helped to inspire a program at BVSD that may make lifelong differences in the lives of other students.” And this all started because Kristen, whose brother Blake Peterson served as a Board member, realized that our mission in working to overcome or eliminate barriers to success for all students might make this a program we would embrace. 

Kristen was right! Impact on Education exists to address critical needs and achievement gaps for all students in Boulder Valley’s public schools. With the Orton-Gillingham training that we are offering this week, we are proudly making big strides towards addressing the specific needs and overcoming the learning gaps for every BVSD student, including those with dyslexia. As the BVSD Director of Reading, Michelle Qazi shares, “Not only will learning the Orton-Gillingham approach help crack the code for those who have gaps in learning to read, but it is great teaching for all students at the universal level.” 

Our longstanding Crayons to Calculators program, generously supported by Western Disposal, needs your help to ensure that 11,000 Boulder Valley and St. Vrain Valley students pre-K through 12th grade start school in August well-equipped for success! This year, maybe more than any other, students will need our assistance, and Crayons to Calculators is ready for the challenge: 

In order to align with Boulder County Public Health guidelines, we are securing and pre-packaging all of the needed supplies recommended by BVSD and SVVSD, through a wholesale supplier and delivering them directly to the school districts for distribution to students in need. This program adaptation will serve as a safety measure while still fulfilling the need for every single student to return to learning in August feeling prepared and confident. 

What does this mean for community participation? It means we need community members, who share our commitment to education for all students, to make a gift on behalf of this imperative program. Since we are unable to incorporate two typical elements of this program, volunteer assistance and donated supplies, in 2020, we need to raise more funds from individuals and businesses.

This year, we’re excited to share that our friends at Google have pledged to match all donations made by June 30th up to $10,000. Crayons to Calculators has never depended more on community, individual, and corporate donations. Will you help us raise $20,000 for school supplies by then? 

So, as we head into the heat of summer, we know that with your help, Crayons to Calculators and its title sponsor Western Disposal along with partners Impact on Education and Education Foundation for the St. Vrain Valley will be able to meet students’ needs and help them start the school year ready to set new and higher goals! 

Donate here

Sponsorship opportunities are still available. Please reach out to darcy@impactoneducation.org if your business is interested in supporting this essential program or sharing information on our behalf. 

300,000 meals for BVSD families! Yes, you read that right! Because of generous individuals and businesses in our community, Impact on Education’s Critical Needs Fund was able to support BVSD Food Services in providing over 300,000 meals since mid-March when school doors suddenly closed, cutting off access to the 6,500 students who rely on free or reduced cost breakfast and lunch each day.  Food bags were distributed in a safe, drive-through manner at various school sites and reflected the consistently high standards of Chef Ann, Director of Food Services, which means high quality, local, organic when available, fresh produce, protein, and whole grains.

On Tuesday June 9th, our Executive Director Allison Billings presented this $100,000 check to BVSD Food Services Operations Manager & Registered Dietician, Stephen Menyhart, and we couldn’t be more grateful for such dedicated partners in keeping our BVSD students and families ready to learn and feeling connected to one another during this uncertain time. This investment was complemented by the $40,000 in grocery gift cards that Impact on Education provided to families in need between March and May to ensure that their basic needs were met. 

Food distribution details

When: 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., Tuesdays and Thursdays, through Aug. 6 (no distribution July 2)

Where: Sanchez Elementary, 655 Sir Galahad Drive, Lafayette; Crest View Elementary, 1897 Sumac Drive, Boulder; Columbine Elementary, 3130 Repplier Drive, Boulder; Emerald Elementary, 275 Emerald St., Broomfield; Louisville Middle, 1341 Main St., Louisville; Nederland Middle/Senior, 597 County Road 130, Nederland; and University Hill Elementary (site may change in mid-July due to construction), 956 16th St., Boulder.

For more info on food distribution, check out the School Food Project.

Thank you. Thank you.

Thanks to you, we are closing in on our Critical Needs Fund goal of $500,000. So far, Impact on Education and our entire community have raised nearly $470,000 from almost 750 donors. And both of those totals are growing because our impact continues to grow.

We’re continuing to partner with BVSD Food Services to distribute bags of fresh, local food to families at seven different school sites across the district twice a week, and that food distribution will continue into July.

We’re also providing grocery gift cards to families in need to supplement the meal bags from BVSD Food Services, and to date, school community liaisons have distributed over $40,000 in gift cards.

We’re so proud that BVSD has ensured internet access and devices to all BVSD families, and we’re now looking into how we can support the district in their professional development offered, so that all teachers are prepared and have the tools they need to support learning in the fall, whether that happens in person, remotely or in a blended format.

Finally, we know that our Critical Needs Fund will also address BVSD students’ significant academic gap as we move into the fall to ensure this temporary gap in in-person learning doesn’t translate to a longer-term overall knowledge and skill gap.

This “new normal”

More students will likely need interventions in some form and more continual food assistance; this situation is ever evolving and much is uncertain. Some needs can be foreseen and many cannot. Our Critical Needs Fund was established as support for both now and the future. And as the needs and our efforts grow, our community has stood with us, and we cannot thank you enough.

So, whether you’re someone in need of help or someone who can provide help, Impact on Education is here for you. We are committed to meeting the needs of the students and families in Boulder Valley’s public schools now and well after the COVID-19 crisis has ended.

Make a gift to the Critical Needs Fund.

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