The Richmond Fed serves the Fifth Federal Reserve District, which includes the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, and most of West Virginia. As part of the nation's central bank, we're one of 12 regional Reserve Banks that work together with the Federal Reserve's Board of Governors to strengthen the economy and our communities. We manage the nation's money supply to keep inflation low and help the economy grow. We also supervise and regulate financial institutions to help safeguard our nation's financial system and protect the integrity and efficiency of our payments system.
The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond -- At Work for America's Economy
Hi Marcus, good question! The reality is that it is sometimes hard to let families know about all of the resources that are available to them. That’s why, as Oleta mentioned in the previous panel, communication and outreach is an important part of expanding broadband access. Another option is for people to contact their local provider (such as Verizon, Comcast, etc.). Subsidies like the FCC’s Lifeline program go to the providers, who then provide service at discounted rates. www.fcc.gov/lifeline-consumers
It’s hard to say for sure. In some cases, a lack of access to technology is a barrier. But in other cases, technology can give students access to resources they couldn’t get before. For example, we heard from Sonja Santelises (Baltimore City Public Schools) in Session 1 that virtual school has allowed her best teachers to teach more students, and it’s allowed kids who struggled in a traditional school setting to thrive.
Thank you; I look forward to the future sessions, focusing on what policymakers, leaders, parents, anyone with any influence on kids, can do given the insights you shared with us today.
School districts are doing their best, but we're learning from both urban and rural districts that it's extremely difficult to do so. Each of the districts we spoke to indicated that the virtual students seem to be falling further behind.
