Devices for Students is a coalition of educators, tech employees, nonprofits, and local businesses.
The Devices for
Students Story
Devices for Students was inspired by a man named Tom in Detroit who woke up to the startling news that a large percentage of Detroit Public School students do not have a laptop or Internet Service Provider access at home. As he started working to help this acute issue, he connected with colleagues who realized other geographic areas were dealing with similar issues.
That’s where we came in.
Jay and Chris, two long time friends who grew up with limited access to devices in lower income communities, saw firsthand how lack of access to quality education creates barriers for students to reach their full potential. They connected with their contacts at education focused non-profits and Bay Area school districts and discovered the alarming fact that even in the Bay Area - the heart of technology - school districts have tens of thousands of students who are unable to participate in online learning needed to progress a student’s education.
Within days, Devices for Students tapped into the Bay Area community to connect with 10+ nonprofits and 20+ school districts to understand both the depth and the breadth of the digital divide. Each conversation was filled with energy and desire to help solve this massive chasm in access to education - something we learned is a consistent issue in today’s education system.
Devices for Students has partnered with Spark, the Ravenswood Education Foundation, nonprofits, school districts, corporate partners, and the community to make sure that Bay Area students, regardless of socioeconomic status, have access to the same online learning opportunities.
Learn more about us on our blog.
