BALTIMORE — While tens of thousands of students attended their first day of virtual learning in Baltimore, some of them still don’t have laptops or access to the internet.
“We have to fix this,” Lisa Molock, who is the founder of Let’s Thrive Baltimore. “We absolutely have to fix this.”
Molock has made it her mission since the beginning of the pandemic to close the digital divide. To date, her organization has donated more than 500 tablets to students in need .
“At this point, every child should have a digital device,” she said.
One of the students Molock helped was De’Montez Walton. He a freshman at Digital Harbor High School. He said it would have been nearly impossible to attend the first day of classes if Molock didn’t give him a tablet.
“It was big for me, he said. “Without the tablet, I would not have been able to do no work.”
Molock said that is the reality the for many students.
She said despite the city and school district providing tens of thousands of laptops and internet hotspots to students, there’s still a gap that leaders need to address.
“A quite of few devices have been delivered, but there is a lot of children that still does not have a digital device,” she said.
Molock, who spent the day passing out energy saver kits to help families save money due to virtual learning, said she’s hoping something is done before too many students get left behind.
“We’re not getting it right. We are not getting it right,” she said. “Our children should not have to suffer for this. I’m going to advocate for these children and I’m going to advocate hard for these children.”
WMAR-2 News reached out to the school district to get details on how many students don’t have laptops or access to the internet, but we are still waiting on that information.
However, the district’s CEO said families who still need a laptop should reach out the the school principal because are coming in.
If you would like to donate a laptop or tablet to students, you can visit Let’s Thrive Baltimore’s website.
