Week 1 - Introduction

My name is Joanne Scott. I am originally from Scotland but moved to California in 1996. I am a Special Education teacher at Pittsburg High School in Pittsburg, California, around 30 miles east of San Francisco. This is my eighth year at my current school, and I have about 20 years of teaching experience. I currently co-teach 10th grade Geometry. I am married with two grown children. I am currently working on a Masters Degree in Curriculum and Instruction (Education Technology), and this blog is for my class on the Digital Divide.

I plan to apply what I learn in this course to the school where I work. There has been a huge change in the digital access my students have since I started at that school. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we changed from being a school where there were a few computer labs and a few mobile carts of computers that were shared by departments to a school where each student has a Chromebook that they carry with them from class to class and can use at home. At first, there were not enough computers for all the students, and not all students had internet at home. I had to teach some basic skills to students, such as how to copy and paste and how to get their computer to read aloud to them. A few students were able to print out assignments at home to do them on paper, but most were not. In addition to the digital divide between students, there was, and is, also a divide between teachers, where some teachers were much more comfortable and skilled at using the technology than others. Some teachers struggle to use the basic technology we have such as grade books or Google Classroom, while others are able to use advanced tools, such as designing or adapting online activities for students. This has been a particular focus of mine since then since I am one of the people in our school who trains and supports other teachers in the use of Educational Technology. The digital divide became much more salient since that time when we relied so much on technology to do school remotely rather than in person.

Pittsburg High School has around 3500 students and around 150 teachers. It is the only regular high school in the district (which serves the city of Pittsburg, CA). There is also a small continuation school and a small Independent Learning Center. The California Dashboard shows that the school has a diverse population, with 65.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% African American, 4.9% Filipino, 4.2% two or more races, 4% white, 2.7% Asian, 1.5% Pacific Islander, and 0.2% Native American. 80.4% of the students are "socioeconomically disadvantaged" and 19.1% are English Learners. Although the school performs below the state average academically according to CAASPP test scores, the community is proud of its school. There is an annual Multicultural Assembly where students showcase cultural dances, many clubs and activities, a successful sports program, and an award-winning band. The buildings are quite new and well-kept. They have two stories and indoor hallways which wrap around a central quad. The picture above shows students in the quad at lunch for a Halloween costume competition on October 31, 2024. Teachers also took part in the competition. I would like my call to action to be something that would help my school.

REFERENCES

California Department of Education. (2024). School Performance Overview: Pittsburg Senior High. California School Dashboard (CA dept of education). https://www.caschooldashboard.org/reports/07617880735407/2024

Test Results at a Glance: Pittsburg Senior High. English Language Arts/Literacy and Mathematics Smarter Balanced Summative Assessments. (2023-2024). https://caaspp-elpac.ets.org/caaspp/DashViewReportSB