Educational technology is often a community issue that needs to be addressed by groups outside of the school. A project in Los Angeles County's southeast cities plans to bring high-speed, broadband Internet access and education to poor communities and serve as a model for other regions to replicate.

The California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF) and the City of Vernon today presented grant awards of $476,000 and $301,000 to the Southeast Cities Technology Collaborative "We're pleased to support the southeast community of Los Angeles County," said Michael Peevey, president of the CPUC and chairman of CETF. "Investing in high-speed Internet access will encourage the social, educational and economic advancement and help community residents get ahead."

The Southeast Cities Technology Collaborative will conduct a three-year technology initiative in these communities to develop strong pathways for improving educational and health outcomes by expanding community broadband access, implementing a comprehensive computer literacy program and enhancing existing community service programs throughout the region.

It will serve at least 1,700 residents, plus 500 students with the adult education training programs, and 1,000 children/youth over a three-year period. The Collaborative will develop eight Regional Technology Centers in eight communities by strategically locating 80 computer workstations in community facilities, providing space and staff members to enhance early learning skills for children, math and science skills for youth, career and workforce development and financial literacy skills for adults. A total of 500 adult students that successfully complete a three-month computer literacy class will receive a free refurbished computer and two years of free AT&T DSL service.

A mobile computer lab with 15 laptops and a projector will be established to provide life-skills, health awareness and job development classes at on-site locations that want to offer classes yet cannot accommodate a learning center. The Collaborative will partner with East Los Angeles Community College (South Gate Branch), Southwest Community College and Huntington Park-Bell Adult School and will refer students for advanced classes.

"By supporting this project, Vernon will be a part of truly transforming and improving the quality of life for residents in nearby cities," said Leonis Malburg, Mayor of Vernon. "The mobile lab will mean that people living in the southeast cities will have access to the Internet and technology like never before."

How Deep is the Divide?

Although adoption of high-speed broadband Internet technology is steadily increasing across the nation and within California, many underserved populations exist without Internet access. Almost all adults with household incomes above $80,000 use computers (94 percent) and the Internet (92 percent), while those with household incomes under $40,000 are far less likely to use either computers (58 percent) or the Internet (49 percent), according to the Public Policy Institute of California. Three in four Californians (75 percent) report that they use a computer at home, work or school, and 70 percent use the Internet. Latinos lag far behind other groups with only 58 percent using computers and 48 percent using the Internet.

A recent study conducted by the University of California in Berkeley has shown that residents of the southeast cities, including the communities of Bell, Bell Gardens, Cudahy, Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate, Vernon and Walnut Park / Florence-Firestone, are largely disconnected from the Internet due to the lack of broad public access to computers, technical assistance and computer literacy education. The situation is identified as a concern for California's future global competitiveness.

This project is the first of many initiatives beginning statewide that will help underserved communities and populations get ahead by closing the Digital Divide through the use of high-speed Internet access and education. CETF's overall goal is to make a substantial and measurable impact on bridging California's Digital Divide in rural areas, urban disadvantaged neighborhoods, and among people with disabilities. Achieving this goal will require both the availability of broadband technology as well as the ability to access and use it.

Source: California Emerging Technology Fund (CETF), California Emerging Technology Fund and the City of Vernon Announce Major Grants to the Southeast Cities to Close the Digital Divide

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