In this episode of “America Amplified: Life, Community, and COVID-19,” Mina Kim of San Francisco’s KQED and Rose Scott of Atlanta’s WABE explore what the nationwide school closures say about the future of our country’s education system.

The closures have affected about 43 million public school students, according to Education Week, and many will finish the academic year at home.

The sudden switch to distance learning immediately heightened the country’s existing gaps in income, services and technology.

Remote learning assumes access to high-speed internet access, computers, and caretakers who can stay home with the children.

Will the ongoing measures to control the pandemic only widen the gaps or can we find solutions to the problems? Should this experience shift Americans’ perspective and conception of what’s required to live?

You’ll hear from: 

• Kamau Bobb, Global Lead for Diversity Strategy and Research at Google and the founding Senior Director of the Constellations Center for Equity in Computing at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

• Julie Lythcott-Haims, former dean of freshmen and undergraduate advising at Stanford; her books include "Real American: A Memoir" and "How to Raise An Adult: Break Free of the Overparenting Trap and Prepare Your Kids for Success."

• Lisa Kelly, 6th grade English/ESL teacher at Life Academy in Oakland, whose students mostly come from Spanish-speaking households.

• Natasha Wimberly, an English teacher at Early County High School in Southwest Georgia.

• Nebraska high school seniors on missing their graduations and why they feel they have been prepared to weather this crisis.

You can also find our show wherever you listen to podcasts. We also live tweeted the show and you can see the thread by going to our Twitter account below.

Staff: Producer Susan Britton and engineer Paul Lancour of KQED  and producer Grace Walker and engineer Richard Firth of WABE.