The digital divide impacts millions of people in the United States. Three-fourths of the 20 million U.S. households that lack home broadband or mobile data connections live in urban areas. As a result, more than 2 million Texas students face barriers to online academic engagement and learning opportunities.

Texas is one of only six states that does not have a state broadband plan. Despite three measures passed in 2019 that touch on expansion and study of broadband, the state must move forward substantially to create a permanent broadband infrastructure with a robust, positive student and family engagement strategy and with support for community reinvestment initiatives.

This article provides a look at best practices on virtual instruction from teachers and students as they have navigated the frontier of distance learning.

Among the recommendations are to use relevant apps for students to visually interact with information, keep the virtual class session open after instruction for student engagement, encourage tutoring, regularly connect with students and parents, use screen-sharing to ensure students are on the same page as their teacher, and be empathetic and patient with students during this difficult time. This article also shares thoughts by the students who recommended the four teachers featured in this article.

IDRA's webinar series is supporting educators as you continue student learning during this unprecedented pandemic.

Words matter, especially when talking about people with unique needs or identities. Almost 5 million students in U.S. public schools are learning English as a second language, a number that has almost doubled over the last 15 years.

A close inspection of common terms, such as English learners, shows that they are deficit-based and define students by what they lack. IDRA believes in the value of bilingualism and biculturalism. Schools must protect the civil rights of all students by preserving and celebrating cultures and experiences tied to diverse languages students bring into the classroom. For these reasons, IDRA prefers using the term emergent bilingual students.