I teach at a pre-K - 8 school, which like many other schools around the country, closed around March 13 to protect the health of its students and staff from the spread of COVID-19. During this time of unprecedented isolation, Spectrum rose to the occasion and offered "free service to any student" who had to learn from home due to COVID-19 school closures. Our school, like our entire district and the districts around us, all closed the same weekend. My students and I, and all our staff and students, had to scramble to provide online education ASAP. Some students were able to take advantage of the free online services Spectrum offered to continue their education. Some of us tried to work around the "digital divide" by sending home packets, but we learned later that sending home packets and having parents or students return them had to stop, because that process was exactly the kind of contagion spread that closing our school was intended to stop. So, to protect the health of our students, children, and community, we provided solely remote education via online services.

This week, many of my students' access to reduced-cost internet access ends, because Spectrum's offer is only free for 60 days. Our schools remain closed through the end of the year, or at least 4 more weeks, and that is a good decision, because last weekend our COVID-19 cases were still increasing. For my students' education, however, that means that either they crunch their remaining month of education into one online week's worth, or they miss out completely on their last  weeks of online education and activities which are designed to enrich their minds, further their skills, and enhance their socio-emotional learning during this unprecedented time of social isolation. Some of my students' families have informed me they will try to crunch the remaining month of learning into one week, although that is a huge disservice to kids who are already struggling to complete daily assignments, often in households where everyone else is also necessarily at home, sharing their limited online resources. My students  need social interaction, such as what they are getting every week with our daily Zoom meetings. They need to learn basic building blocks of how to research, synthesize, and cite information properly, which is what they are doing now in my classes. They need to interact with teachers online and with their classmates through our online platforms. They and their families have developed a routine to handle this crisis, but after 60 days of free service through Spectrum, they will soon be required to pay full price if they want to keep online service. Most of my families are willing to do this, but they are unable, due to the massive layoffs this social-distancing requirement has necessarily caused.

We are not looking to endanger our families and children by asking them to come back to school or work if that endangers their health. The state where I live, like many others, has been hit hard by the coronavirus, and our schools remain closed because we believe our students' health is paramount. I teach because I believe students' education is also important, and there is a way to not have to sacrifice one for the other, IF Spectrum and/or Charter agree to continue to allow our struggling families, who signed up for their services because of this crisis, because that is how their children have been able to connect and continue their valuable education, to continue their services FREE of charge. Spectrum and Charter can afford this, and this is a time when we all need to step up to the plate and show our human brothers and sisters that we are a family who help each other. Thank you.