Dear Council Members,

As long-time parents and volunteers at Bruce-Monroe Elementary School at Park View (BMPV), we urge you
to release DCPS owned devices to elementary and middle school students.
We have heard from friends on limited incomes that their children are feeling very isolated and distant from
their teachers and classmates.  We’ve heard from one social worker at a Title 1 school that up to 10 family
members are sharing one device.
Our Parent-Teacher Union (PTU) is currently focused on making sure our families are fed and have basic
necessities.  We don’t have the bandwidth to ensure equitable access to technology in our school
community. The needs are too high.
We understand the city is hailing the DC Educational Equity Fund as one approach to dealing with this
problem.  Unfortunately, as of this coming Monday, many of our children will hit the two week mark of being
home without access to adequate technology.  We have no idea when this fund will make devices available
or to whom they will go.
Please authorize principals to release the technology they have on hand now.  It is the fastest, most equitable
way to serve a large number of our high-need students.
I don’t want my children or anyone else’s staring at a screen all day.  I do want ALL children to have access to
the technology they need to stay connected to their teachers, their school community, and materials offered.
We are grateful for the work DCPS is doing to ensure access to WiFi.  We hope there are paths for
undocumented children to also gain access.

We wish you and your staffs safe and well.  Thank you for all of the work you are doing on behalf of your
constituents.

Sincerely,
Diana M. Delgado, BMPV PTU Co-President

Emily Roderer, BMPV PTU Co-Vice President