Digital Promise is committed to advancing digital equity for all learners, especially those who have been historically and systematically excluded. We have led this work for more than a decade by working to address the three pillars of digital equity – accessibility, affordability, and adoption of technology tools and skills.
19 million households struggle to access reliable, high-speed broadband, especially in instances where multiple individuals are accessing broadband and devices concurrently.
Of learners who do have internet access, 16 percent of adult learners reported sharing their device with others in their household, and 38 percent of learners reported primarily completing coursework on a smartphone.
32 million Americans have limited or no digital literacy skills, including half of Black and Latinx/Latine workers.
“Digital equity ensures that all individuals have the technology resources to fully participate in society. In order to prepare our students and communities, we work to provide access and opportunities to students and households that will positively impact future generations.”
– Dr. Sara Martinez Crawford
The “Delivering on the Promise of Digital Equity” report is designed to help state and local community leaders find effective ways for investing funding from the $65 billion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in K-12 education to increase digital equity.
Our belief that digital transformation must be the rule and not the exception in education is the animating force for our report, “Breaking With the Past: Embracing Digital Transformation in Education.” It looks forward to the future when we will have harnessed the power of technology in a coherent and scaffolded way to solve long-standing challenges created by the traditional approach to education, including its inability to deliver equitable opportunities and outcomes generation after generation.
“The nation’s learners can’t wait for many more tomorrows to come and go without a broad national commitment to breaking the outmoded framework for American education.”
– Jean-Claude Brizard
On Digital Learning Day in March 2023, Digital Promise’s Jean-Claude Brizard and Dr. D’Andre Weaver joined leaders from Verizon and ISTE to discuss how to achieve greater digital equity for learners.
2022 Annual Report
