News, updates and perspectives on the
future of education from Learn4Life
Photo credit: Los Angeles Football Club
Bend it Like Tony!
Learn4Life Student Playing in MLS
Tony Leone’s teacher describes him as a humble, bright and successful young man who doesn’t fear pressure. Which is amazing, since he happens to be one of the top youth soccer players in the United States. He started last year with the youth academy of the Los Angeles Football Club, a Major League Soccer (MLS) team.
Charters Attacked for
Accepting PPP During Pandemic
There are many news articles attacking charter schools for taking advantage of Congress’ Paycheck Protection Program. What many don’t realize is that charters do not have access to other federal aid or low-cost financing options like traditional schools have.

In anticipation of stay at home orders, we surveyed our students (at-risk and former dropouts, socio-economically challenged, students of color and special needs) to understand their technology capabilities and access. We learned that more than 85% of our 23,000 students did not have a device or access to internet outside of school.

We incurred significant unbudgeted costs to continue learning uninterrupted. 
Putting Hotspots in the Hands of Our Students 
Students who don’t have broadband access are severely disadvantaged during remote instruction, which is part of learning for the next school year. Schools, parents and communities are struggling to pay for a few months of internet access, but we need to recognize we will need a hybrid instruction model moving forward. Learning must take place at school and online at home indefinitely.

So, we have partnered with T-Mobile to provide 12,000 hotspots to our students who do not have access to the internet. T-Mobile’s EmpowerED 2.0 program aims to narrow America’s digital divide by providing wireless devices and service plans to eligible schools and their students.