How Public Media Is Helping Parents Overcome the Digital Divide

During this webinar, one of a new series focused on the Learning Loss Recovery Challenge, leaders from PBS, PBS KIDS Digital and three local PBS stations discussed how public media is making at-home learning accessible to families without the need for broadband by broadcasting literacy, STEM and other fun and educational TV programming. Panelists described their resources for both parents and educators and the partnerships that have been developed between local stations and school districts to align programming schedules with the curriculum.

Co-presenters, Sara DeWitt of PBS KIDS Digital and Sara Schapiro of PBS shared an overview of the PBS KIDS learning ecosystem, including the breadth of educational content available for parents, kids and educators. PBS KIDS Learning Frameworks guide how age-appropriate curriculum is built into each series based on input from advisors in each subject area, from health and nutrition to literacy and fine arts. Through a daily newsletter to parents with tips to engage their children in at-home learning and broadcast read-alongs with luminaries such as Michelle Obama and author Christian Robinson, PBS KIDS is providing multiple methods for families to bypass the digital divide and engage in continued learning. And for educators, the PBS LearningMedia platform offers free, anytime access to thousands of classroom-ready, standards-aligned public media resources. Over the last two years, PBS has expanded content development for pre-K to third-grade teachers and early care providers to use in formal and informal learning environments. DeWitt and Schapiro emphasized the importance of the 330 local PBS affiliates in urban, suburban and rural communities across the country that both broadcast these important resources and develop their own programming to meet the needs of local families and educators. 

Community Commentators — Jamie Myers and Susie Grimm of PBS SoCal, Kierstan Schwab of Texas PBS and Debbie Stack of WCNY — shared how their respective PBS affiliates have been leveraging the national PBS resources and generating educational content in partnership with their local school districts. 

• PBS SoCal established a comprehensive partnership with the Los Angeles Unified School District that includes a daily, standards-aligned educational TV schedule that is universally accessible by students. They also distributed 3,000 early learning backpacks to families that lack internet access and provide a regular series of early learning webinars for educators across eight southern California counties. 
• Texas PBS serves as the Co-State Lead for the GLR Campaign and is encouraging the statewide collaborative to use Bright by Text to reach parents and caregivers of young children with tips and information for early learning. Schwab also discussed the Texas PBS partnership with Dallas Independent School District that focused on broadcasting teacher-led math lessons in response to data showing COVID-19’s devastating impact on math achievement. 
• WCNY in Syracuse, New York, calls its programming “TV Classroom” and features a complete weekly schedule of 45 hours of PK–12 content with lessons taught by area educators. It also broadcasts fun story time read-alongs and curriculum-aligned shows and activities.