The Mississippi Department of Education has received all of the 320,000 laptops purchased through CARES Act funds and is distributing devices to the 148 participating school districts. Some districts are working with internet providers to expand online access as more students are completing education from their homes. State Superintendent Carey Wright says the procurement of these devices came at an opportune time, as many states are now struggling to find these essential tools. “Going two years without an assessment I do not feel is in our children’s best interest or in our future quite honestly,” says Wright. “We need to know exactly what has occurred because of the pandemic, and then we need to know how to best regroup and are there other initiatives that we need to start, are there other resources that we need to pivot to?”
When schools were shut down in March because of the pandemic, students did not take end of year assessment tests. But this year, Dr. Wright says students will be taking those exams. “We’ve been told that most devices that if you’re trying to order now, you’re looking at spring and even summer. So Mississippi stepped to the head of the line, and being able to do this with the money that we had, with the power that we had, with the numbers that we had, we were able to get the devices to our state. And that is no small feat,” says Wright.
Dr. Wright says she is hopeful that the tools and methods gained during the previous months will help education in Mississippi grow beyond the pandemic.
