Opinion: Online Learning Doesn’t Work for Low-Income Students Like Me. Here’s How We Can Do Better [calhealthreport.org]

By Jessica Nunez, Photo: Diego Cervo/iStock, California Health Report, January 11, 2022

For the past two years, student life has been different. The university I attend, UCLA, transitioned to virtual learning, which meant students couldn’t see a single professor or classmate in person. For students from low-income families, like me, this change was extremely challenging.

More than 70 percent of students attended school remotely during the first year of the pandemic, statistics show. This greatly impacted educational opportunities and learning. Black, Latinx and Native American students suffered the most. Not only did they suddenly find themselves isolated from their schools and peers, but their families and communities were disproportionately impacted by job losses, unequal access to health care and vulnerability to COVID-19 infections.

My senior year at UCLA was a struggle. I majored in cognitive science, and Spanish, community and culture. For my most difficult classes, I was used to being able to consult my professors in-person when I needed help. The pandemic changed that.

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