CHICAGO (AP) – Unprecedented school closures in Illinois caused by the coronavirus pandemic have left many school systems with a major challenge to improve e-learning methods. With the statewide shutdown now on through April 7 and the possibility of more extensions, a particular concern in Chicago Public Schools, where a majority of students are considered economically disadvantaged, are those who lack proper devices or inadequate internet access at home. CPS officials say they’re doing everything to help bridge the digital divide for the district’s 355,000 students, meanwhile the Board of Education has approved a $75 million coronavirus spending proposal that will be used for a new “device equity strategy.”
