Five kids, one cellphone hotspot: low-income family stuggles with online learning

Record ID: 1567486

  • Title: Five kids, one cellphone hotspot: low-income family stuggles with online learning
  • Date: 18th August 2020
  • Summary: VARIOUS OF 13-YEAR-OLD KEILLY FLORES ON LAPTOP (SOUNDBITE) (English) 13-YEAR-OLD KEILLY FLORES, SAYING: "She uses her hot spot on her phone and it's hard because it's me, my sister and my brother. And like we usually have videos to watch. So it's hard because, like someone could be using the Internet a lot, while other are trying to use it." KEILLY FLORES AND HER SISTER ANDREA DOING WORK ON THEIR LAPTOPS LAPTOP WITH "PROPERTY OF LAUSD" LOGO SOUNDBITE) (English) 13-YEAR-OLD KEILLY FLORES, SAYING: "It's kind of hard because they're always playing around. And so then like, if I have a class, I have to at least tell them to go to another room so I could pay attention."
  • Embargoed: 1st September 2020 23:40
  • Keywords: LAUSD back to school coronavirus covid-19 distance learning hot spot internet online classes
  • Location: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • City: LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: USA
  • Topics: Health/Medicine
  • Reuters ID: LVA003CRS1UFB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: With five children between the ages of six and 16 and only one cellphone hot spot to connect to the Internet, Los Angeles stay-at-home mother Anely Solis is dreading the start of the school year.
    Under an order from California Governor Gavin Newsom, schools in counties on the state's coronavirus "watch list" - which encompasses 90% of California's population, including Los Angeles - must stay shuttered this fall, with all classes taking place online.
    Solis, 32, says the family barely makes ends meet with only her husband working as a cook at a local restaurant. She visits food banks and collects lunches the school district provides for her children.
    "I don't have enough to pay for internet," she said from the kitchen of her modest home, where the children crowded around a small table.
    "We have to pay rent, bills, food. We don't make enough to pay $80, $100 for internet," she said.
    For Solis' 13-year-old daughter, Keilly Flores, distance learning is a huge challenge. Not only is connecting an issue, privacy is in short supply in their small apartment.
    "It's kind of hard because they're always playing around," she said. "When I have a class, I have to at least tell them to go to another room so I could pay attention."
    All five of Solis' children attend schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), the nation's second-largest school district.
    While LAUSD has not announced when it will be safe to return to school physically, Keilly is looking forward to getting back to face-to-face classes.
    "The most I miss is being able to actually get good grades and that. Because I have the teacher to help me when I need a question right away."
    (Production: Alan Devall / Norma Galeana)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2020. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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