At the Center of it All: Transforming Education through Internet Navigation
“The struggle is always greater than what we know”
Source: Matuor Alier
Navigating online school requires its own crash course for students and families. With few devices provided, a lack of internet connection, and additional language barriers, students from immigrant families have additional hurdles to attend school, submit assignments, and be supported by their parents. The South Sudanese Foundation has a pulse on the need for internet service and devices in the Fargo-Moorhead area. They’re helping families navigate the internet they need to be successful in school, work, and life.
Matuor Alier, former Director and current volunteer at the South Sudanese Foundation, is personally inspired by his work. He came to the U.S. as an unaccompanied minor taken in by the church. He spent much of his time in English language classes from organizations helping new refugees. Matuor didn’t know the language, the people, the culture, and wasn’t a fan of the food. But, these people who didn’t know him yet worked tirelessly as unpaid volunteers to help, gave him energy. Now, as a college graduate, Matuor hopes to give back to the community, to reach the person who’s shoes he was once in.
Role of the South Sudanese Foundation
The South Sudanese Foundation runs an after school program located at the South Sudanese Lutheran Church in the Fargo-Moorhead area. Sudanese immigrants founded this church, and it serves as a home base for many people in the community. Culturally, this is the place to go for everything. People come with health concerns, student issues, or to simply find someone to talk to. People don’t hesitate to come with all of their concerns, which is a testimony to the community trust and welcoming nature of this organization. This centralized location provides insight into the specific needs of families in the area.
The South Sudanese Foundation makes every effort to stay on top of the needs immigrant families face. A specific challenge the South Sudanese Foundation noticed was the need for educational support services for students. Kids cannot rely on their parents for help with school if they are not literate in English, and these families often don’t use the internet. Due to language barriers, it is hard for parents to know what help or equipment their student needs in order to succeed, especially in a pandemic.
The lack of internet accessibility caused some students to not go to school in the pandemic. While families had devices, that didn’t help if students weren't able to access the internet, and therefore could not turn assignments in. Parents were often confused about why devices alone weren't enough. They didn’t realize a strong internet connection was also needed. Communicating all of the information to these families to help their children succeed with technology and language barriers was a challenge in the pandemic.
Source: Matuor Alier
Digital Navigation
To address the initial need of internet access and devices in the community during the pandemic, the South Sudanese foundation initially raised money for 79 devices to distribute. Two hundred people came in, clamoring for supplies. The foundation partnered with the Moorhead and Fargo public schools and Midco to provide devices and internet connection at $10 a month. However, families still struggled to connect or have multiple people online at the same time. They needed help navigating digital technology and systems.
The South Sudanese foundation hired a coordinator to help with the compounding needs with internet connectivity. These digital navigators would visit people’s homes and help them connect to the internet, as well as answer questions the family might have. With the demand, the South Sudanese Foundation soon needed 4 navigators, each visiting 12 people a day. In addition, requests for tutoring were piling in, especially for non-native English speakers struggling to attend, let alone keep up, in online school.
The ConnectedMN grant helped the South Sudanese Foundation hire 2 more coordinators, totalling 6 in all, to help provide internet access and guidance. The grant also helped the South Sudanese Foundation buy discounted devices from local vendors. Unlike school devices, which were for temporary education only use, these computers were investments in the students’ future to own permanently and potentially last throughout high school and college. Matuor Alier reflected “the struggle is always greater than what we know.” Even with the grant’s additional resources, allowing 200 more devices to come in, there were 160 additional requests beyond the met need for devices.
Digital Equity Concerns
Matuor told the story of a particular family with nine kids in school. Before the distribution, none of them had devices. All these children are incredibly talented, motivated to do well in school, and completed assignments. Their parents want them to achieve, but when it’s a challenge to feed a family of eleven, how can they even think about devices? Three kids in this family were given computers in the first round, and three more got devices from the additional grant funding. Since the $10/month internet was not sufficient for the number of people that would be using it simultaneously, they were boosted up in broadband. Even with devices and the internet, families still aren’t set to succeed. Digital equity is not a one and done distribution. Getting children help with school, help with working devices, and providing accountability are still challenges to work through.
Now, as the Director of Equity and Inclusion in the Moorhead Public Schools, Matuor Alier sees the struggles in the Moorhead community, where over 2,500 students are students of color. He sees kids struggling beyond school and digital access, with homelessness, or taking on additional responsibilities like translating for their families. Matuor listens closely to students’ concerns about equity and works to connect with them. Matuor is excited to see that Minnesota has been quick to respond by providing financial support in the pandemic. However, equity issues will need more resources to address.