STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- As the 2020-2021 school year unfolds amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, with a mix of in-person and remote learning in New York City public schools, some say they are struggling with the devices issued by the city Department of Education (DOE) for use when a student is participating in virtual instruction.
“Connecting to the internet took hours and a lot of troubleshooting, and then we had issues downloading the apps requested by the teachers for work. It said passwords were needed -- codes and things we were never given,” said Alicia Cortez, who has a third- and a fifth-grader participating in blended learning at PS 37 in Great Kills.
She added that, while obtaining the device was simple, nothing else has been easy.
“It’s just added stress on top of stress. It’s frustrating for the kids, too,” she said.
Parents have reported problems with everything from connectivity issues to accessing assignments.
WORKING TO BRIDGE TECHNOLOGY GAP
The DOE acknowledged various technical issues, and said it is working to create additional support for parents.
“With the start of the new school year, we’re expanding our efforts to bridge the technology gap and provide remote learning supports to our families in need,” said DOE spokeswoman Sarah Casasnovas, when asked about the device issues.
The agency is in the process of developing a dedicated family-facing help desk with expanded tech support, she explained.
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Currently, parents are advised to reach out to their child’s school directly, visit one of the DOE’s many tech-support troubleshooting pages, or call the support phone number, 1-800-919-2775, for assistance.
Cortez said that when she reached out to the DOE’s tech support line, she ended up spending hours on hold over the course of several days trying to troubleshoot the problems with downloading the apps and passwords.
As a result, she said that one child missed a full day of remote learning, and while her older child was able to attend video chats via cell phone, there was no way to complete the assigned work.
TROUBLE AFTER UPDATING DEVICE
Melissa Youngs Haynes said the DOE-issued devices her children received worked great in the spring, but they haven’t worked properly since the devices needed to be updated in August. She has a first- and fourth-grader in PS 53, Bay Terrace.
“Now we have problems connecting to the WiFi, opening Google Classroom assignments and meetings,” she explained.
The school advised Haynes to contact DOE tech support to resolve the issues. However, that was weeks ago, and she said the ticket is still open.
Laura Braun, who has a daughter in second grade at PS 53 and a daughter at Susan E. Wagner High School, said the classwork requires Zoom, and she’s unable to download the app because of restrictions on the device issued by the city.
“They still don’t connect, and it’s limited to certain apps,” Braun said.
Other parents said they receive various error messages when logging onto their device, including “unable to connect to server” and “invalid VPN code," in addition to prompts to download the NYC Education App, which they are unable to download.
The city said evaluations have been ongoing and rely on individual school’s attestation forms, providing proof that there is a problem with any given device, so that specific, individual support can be provided.
AN EXPENSIVE SCHOOL SUPPLY
To avoid tech problems with city-issued devices, some Staten Island parents opted to purchase their own iPads and laptops for their children for the 2020-2021 school year.
Todt Hill resident Donna Michele Capasso-Bodden said she spent close to $1,000 on her son’s HP Chromebook. Other parents said they spent hundreds of dollars more than any previous school year due to the need for technology.
Since the COVID-19 pandemic shuttered schools in March -- upending the traditional classroom learning model for students -- the DOE said it has distributed more than 320,000 devices to students across the city.
WHERE TO TURN FOR HELP
The city currently has in place a number of online and phone tech support options through the DOE, as well as within individual schools.
Families can troubleshoot a variety of issues by visiting the following websites:
ADDITIONAL IPADS
Since the beginning of the 2020-2021 school year, the DOE said it has distributed more than 20,000 additional internet-enabled iPads to meet the recent demand for devices.
The city is also purchasing an additional 100,000 internet-enabled iPads for students who recently requested a device for this school year.
Priority is still being given to families in temporary housing and those without internet access at home.
The additional 100,000 iPads will allow the DOE to fulfill any outstanding requests for families that have been waiting, as well as provide a safety net for any devices that need to be repaired or replaced during the school year.
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