US School Closings Can Leave Rural Students Struggling
2020-11-30
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1The closing of classrooms and the move to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected students living in rural areas.
2Cyliss Castillo is one of them.
3The 18-year-old lives in Cuba, New Mexico, in a school district on the edge of Native American land that belongs to the Navajo Nation.
4Like many of his neighbors, Castillo does not have the internet or even electricity.
5"There's not a lot to do here. You clean up, pick up trash or build stuff," he told the Associated Press.
6Castillo said he does not like online school.
7"Hopefully by next semester we'll be going back into school...I just find it a lot easier and a lot better than just out here, not doing (anything)," he said.
8The Cuba Independent School District sits in a village of about 800 people.
9The district has kept buses running as a way to bring school to students who live in widely separated areas.
10The buses carry schoolwork, art supplies and meals.
11Advisers also use the buses to speak with students who may be struggling with online bullying, abuse, thoughts of suicide or other problems.
12The buses are very important for families in the Cuba school district.
13About half of the students are Hispanic.
14The other half are Native American, including many Navajo-speaking English-language learners.
15Many families in the area do not have running water.
16Castillo and others with no electricity charge their school-issued computers with car batteries or at a family member's house.
17At least one student sends a computer with the buses to be charged at school.
18Internet service is often either not available or too costly for families living in such rural areas.
19For students without home internet, the buses bring USB drives loaded with schoolwork and video lessons from teachers.
20Some students, like Castillo, began asking for schoolwork on paper because of the difficulty of charging computers.
21With COVID-19 cases increasing in New Mexico to their highest levels yet, it is unclear when the district will restart in-person classes.
22The district has learned to deal with difficulties.
23And it has established a good record with graduations, with about 83 percent of its students finishing high school.
24That is well above the state average.
25The district has long used a "community school" method of helping students.
26Social workers, nurses and teachers help students day and night, not just during the school day.
27The idea is that students will do better in school if their home life can be improved.
28All students were given computers in 2019, well before the coronavirus health crisis.
29That made the move to distance learning easier in March when school buildings started shutting down.
30Before the buses leave Cuba High School each day, about 25 bus drivers and school workers spend over an hour preparing for the trip.
31They load up milk, fruits and vegetables, prepared meals, toilet paper and other important necessities.
32As the bus travels, it passes a home every few kilometers.
33The Castillos built their home by hand and use a small camper as well.
34On a recent day, students went out to meet the bus driver, Kelly Maestas.
35He asked them how they were doing and handed out lunches.
36Among the students was 15-year-old Autumn Wilson.
37Her father died after she started high school last year.
38Then school shut down. Now she cannot play on the volleyball team anymore.
39Autumn said the sadness over her father's death makes it difficult for her to finish schoolwork.
40But she sometimes finds happiness riding horses with her grandfather.
41And she looks forward to visits from the bus driver, who once brought her candy for her birthday.
42"Kelly, he's really funny to talk to. And if you're feeling sad you can really talk to him," Autumn said.
43She added: "And you can trust him."
44I'm Jonathan Evans.
1The closing of classrooms and the move to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected students living in rural areas. Cyliss Castillo is one of them. The 18-year-old lives in Cuba, New Mexico, in a school district on the edge of Native American land that belongs to the Navajo Nation. 2Like many of his neighbors, Castillo does not have the internet or even electricity. "There's not a lot to do here. You clean up, pick up trash or build stuff," he told the Associated Press. 3Castillo said he does not like online school. "Hopefully by next semester we'll be going back into school...I just find it a lot easier and a lot better than just out here, not doing (anything)," he said. 4The Cuba Independent School District sits in a village of about 800 people. The district has kept buses running as a way to bring school to students who live in widely separated areas. 5The buses carry schoolwork, art supplies and meals. Advisers also use the buses to speak with students who may be struggling with online bullying, abuse, thoughts of suicide or other problems. 6The buses are very important for families in the Cuba school district. About half of the students are Hispanic. The other half are Native American, including many Navajo-speaking English-language learners. 7Many families in the area do not have running water. Castillo and others with no electricity charge their school-issued computers with car batteries or at a family member's house. At least one student sends a computer with the buses to be charged at school. Internet service is often either not available or too costly for families living in such rural areas. 8For students without home internet, the buses bring USB drives loaded with schoolwork and video lessons from teachers. Some students, like Castillo, began asking for schoolwork on paper because of the difficulty of charging computers. 9With COVID-19 cases increasing in New Mexico to their highest levels yet, it is unclear when the district will restart in-person classes. 10The district has learned to deal with difficulties. And it has established a good record with graduations, with about 83 percent of its students finishing high school. That is well above the state average. 11The district has long used a "community school" method of helping students. Social workers, nurses and teachers help students day and night, not just during the school day. The idea is that students will do better in school if their home life can be improved. All students were given computers in 2019, well before the coronavirus health crisis. That made the move to distance learning easier in March when school buildings started shutting down. 12Before the buses leave Cuba High School each day, about 25 bus drivers and school workers spend over an hour preparing for the trip. They load up milk, fruits and vegetables, prepared meals, toilet paper and other important necessities. 13As the bus travels, it passes a home every few kilometers. The Castillos built their home by hand and use a small camper as well. 14On a recent day, students went out to meet the bus driver, Kelly Maestas. He asked them how they were doing and handed out lunches. 15Among the students was 15-year-old Autumn Wilson. Her father died after she started high school last year. Then school shut down. Now she cannot play on the volleyball team anymore. 16Autumn said the sadness over her father's death makes it difficult for her to finish schoolwork. But she sometimes finds happiness riding horses with her grandfather. And she looks forward to visits from the bus driver, who once brought her candy for her birthday. 17"Kelly, he's really funny to talk to. And if you're feeling sad you can really talk to him," Autumn said. She added: "And you can trust him." 18I'm Jonathan Evans. 19Cedar Attanasio reported on this story for the Associated Press. Jonathan Evans adapted this story for Learning English. Bryan Lynn was the editor. 20_____________________________________________ 21Words in This Story 22batteries - n. electric cells or connected electric cells for providing electric current 23bullying - n. acts or written or spoken words intended to intimidate or harass a person or to cause physical harm to a person or his or her property 24trash - n. things that are no longer useful or wanted and that have been thrown away 25USB drive - n. a small usually rectangular device used for storing and transferring computer data