The “digital divide” is defined as the gulf between those who have ready access to computers and the internet, and those who do not. A 2019 report by New York City Comptroller, Scott Stringer, found that roughly a third of New York City residents did not have reliable access to the internet. Not only was this a cause for concern when it came to the completion of the first online census in 2020, but the subsequent, necessary transition to widespread remote learning, amid the pandemic, brought the problem into even sharper focus.

 

In June of this year, as reported, an economic analysis report by the State comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, found that the pandemic hit the Bronx harder than any other borough by several measures, with one finding showing that only 61.3 percent of households in the borough had reliable internet access, compared to a range of 69.5 to 78 percent across the city.

 

As the pandemic unfolded, there was broad recognition by elected officials that changes were needed. Not only was reliable internet access needed by everyone, so too was access to electronic devices. In addition, it was acknowledged that in an ever-evolving, virtual world, not all New Yorkers were moving at the same technological pace.

 

Phipps Neighborhoods, a nonprofit, helps children, youth, and families in the South Bronx rise above poverty by addressing barriers to success through long-term support in education, career programs, and access to community resources. In the last year, the nonprofit’s “STEAM [science, technology, engineering, arts and math] club” has become part of that overall plan.

On July 26, Phipps Neighborhoods announced that 85 Bronx students had successfully completed a virtual, after-school, STEAM course during the 2021 school year. The nonprofit launched the after-school club during the winter of 2020, thanks to a two-year grant from Verizon, part of the company’s “Citizen Verizon” initiative which aims to promote and enhance digital inclusion.

 

Andre D. White, executive director and CEO of Phipps Neighborhoods, said bridging the digital divide through access to digital literacy programs is crucial to the long-term success of the students his organization serves. “Programs such as our STEAM Club provide our young people with not only the 21^st century skills they need to succeed in higher grades, but the inspiration to explore promising career paths in STEAM,” he said. “We are grateful for Verizon’s support in creating this program, inspiring the next generation of tech leaders right here in the Bronx.”

 

Bronx elementary and middle school children, at seven Bronx sites in Soundview, West Farms, and Melrose, were provided with free, hands-on, STEAM programming, allowing them to learn new applications and follow their interests across a variety of subjects.

 

The STEAM scholars improved their digital, literacy skills by engaging in weekly, 90-minute courses in engineering, 3D design and coding, using “Scratch” and “Tinkercad” applications. With Scratch, users can program their own interactive stories, games, and animations. Scratch also helps young people learn to think creatively, reason systematically, and work collaboratively. Meanwhile, Tinkercad is a free, online 3D modeling program.

 

MakerState, a non-profit serving kids and schools-in-need with hands-on STEAM education, is Phipps’ primary partner and MakerState facilitators support the student members of Phipps’ STEAM club. In addition, a first-of-its-kind, tech hotline has also now been set-up to provide real-time assistance to the students.

The value of the STEAM club was emphasized by Brenda Brown, recreation coordinator at Phipps, and Allison Jeffrey, director of digital access at Phipps. Because of the club, they said students are now able to hone their creativity, collaborate with others, and they also feel empowered by their newly acquired coding and other skills. Through the program, Jeffrey and Brown said they worked with children from a range of educational backgrounds, from elementary to middle school, instilling in them the confidence they needed in their own abilities.

 

Referring to the level of STEAM course difficulty, Jeffrey said, “With STEAM, you are never going to get it right the first time. Your code is never going to work probably the first one hundred times and so, in order to develop character in STEAM, you have to develop a relationship with failure.”

 

She added, “That is why we start them with coding because in coding, there is so much failure. They are going to have to debunk a code at some point throughout [their] experience. Your coding robot is not going to always do what you want it to do.”

 

Jeffrey and Brown said the aim of the program was to encourage students to learn as many digital literacy skills as possible and potentially pass on the knowledge they attain to their families and, possibly, future students. They said they are aware that access to such digital knowledge and skills is not always available to everyone, since such courses are often expensive. According to coursereport.com, a minimum 8-week coding bootcamp course can cost about $13,000.

 

For her part, Brown highlighted how amazing it was to see the kids’ faces light up when they succeeded with a coding program. She said she’s also learning more about how to get kids to use computers. Brown said the program is full of students who have different goals and aspirations, all of whom aspire to apply what they’ve learned in the classroom to advance their careers.

 

Meanwhile, Jeffrey has a personal connection with the course. She said, through STEAM, starting in 7th Grade and continuing through college, she, herself, was given the opportunity to work in a morgue, harvesting human body parts, and also in a biology lab, cleaning zebrafish. She later attended the University of Pennsylvania and also spent time at John Hopkins University and Brandeis University during the summer.

“STEAM is actually a reflection of life because you are always problem-solving every single day,” she said. “Whether it’s in gardening, whether it’s in engineering…… and an engineer doesn’t want to fail, after building the actual product. The condo buildings that fell in Florida is an example of how engineering and structural buildings can affect lives”

 

Other initiatives have also taken place over the last year in the borough to help mitigate the digital divide. As reported earlier this year in January, House New York Inc., the educational philanthropic arm of the State Association for Affordable Housing (NYSAFAH) launched a PILOT program to repurpose underutilized community and common spaces in two Bronx affordable housing residences, for educational use. Under the program, the two spaces were used as safe and staffed learning environments for students who might not otherwise have had access to reliable WiFi during the period of hybrid learning.

 

Meanwhile, back at Phipps STEAM Club, some of the students said they enrolled in the program because they wanted to do something worthwhile with their time. As a result of participating in the program, they ended up being enlightened by ideas for things they wanted to develop and build.

 

Eric T., 13, is an incoming 8^th grader who joined the STEAM club in July, after discovering the program while looking for something to do with his sister over the summer. Tull’s enthusiasm for the program stems from his interest in coding, working with robots and collaborating with his peers.

 

“We make it as a competition,” he said. “Like, when I was drawing lines with one of my partners, we were the best ones to do it, like how we drew the lines and stuff, how creative [we] create it,” he said.

Meanwhile, Oumou N., 11, is a 7^th grader who joined the program in February because she lives across the street from where the STEAM club is located. She attends the club at the Sonia Sotomayor Community Center at 1000 Rosedale Avenue in Soundview and said she liked how in-depth the program was. Much of what she learned has aroused her interest in STEAM, and it has also allowed her to test her abilities, she said.

 

“My favorite activity in the program, my best memory so far……there are many more to come, but so far, during one of my class assignments, it was a hands-on project,” she said. “We were told to make, like a card for the person you love, and you were supposed to do like a strip, and then the person will hang it up, and you would write the [positive] things on the strip, and they will rip the strip off when they need one.”

 

Oumou added, “It could actually help people a lot. I made one for my mother. It was actually, really good, and she loved it.”

 

Editor’s Note: A previous version of this story used an incorrect pronoun for Oumou and included an incorrect initial for her surname. We apologize for these errors.