Addressing the Digital Divide: Interview with Beaverton School District

When the COVID-19 pandemic thrust students and teachers into virtual learning (literally overnight), existing digital inequities were quickly exposed. Matthew Hiefield, a teacher for Beaverton School District, and a member of their Digital Equity and Inclusion Team, shares how their district is addressing these challenges while also seeking out new opportunities to improve learning during the pandemic.

Matthew Hiefield has 25 years of experience teaching high school Social Studies and is currently a Future Ready TOSA focuses on digital divide issues and how they affect teaching and learning.

In this episode, Matthew shares the district’s priorities in addressing connectivity issues, intentional outreach, how they are identifying opportunity gaps, and establishing consistency while still getting creative to ensure students continue to learn.