Federal Official In Town To Discuss America's 'Digital Divide'
By KYW's David Madden
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) -- The "digital divide" will be the topic of discussion at a center city charter school Monday. At the center of the session is a member of the Federal Communications Commission.
It's no accident Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is holding the forum in Philadelphia, known for having one of the largest percentage of households in this country without internet access. It's been an issue at the String Theory Charter School campus on Vine Street where the session is being held. Jason Corosanite is a co-founder of the school.
"We are a school in Philadelphia that relies upon a lot of digital technology that requires internet access for most of what we do with learning," Jason Corosanite, a co founder of the school, told KYW Newsradio.
And they've been working with Comcast, the region's primary internet provider, to make such access affordable. In fact, Comcast's "Internet Essentials" program, which provides internet services to poor families with school aged children for as little as 10 dollars a month, was recently expanded in the city.
Corosanite hope to impress upon people the needs of the classroom of tomorrow.
"The problem with most education is we're still dealing with paper textbooks that sometimes are outdated." he said, "and for us to be able to move towards a platform that allows personalized learning for every student."
To do that, Corosanite believes, internet access has to be more than just a luxury. It's quickly becoming a classroom necessity.