State Superintendent Stanford Taylor Highlights Virtual Learning, Literacy in State of Education Address

State Superintendent Stanford Taylor delivered her annual State of Education address Thursday. She highlighted the efforts of educators across the state to provide instruction to students throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. 

She spent considerable time discussing virtual education and technology, noting that an estimated 15% of Wisconsin households, representing approximately 125,000 Wisconsin children, lacked internet access in 2019. 

"The response of our education community was swift," said Stanford Taylor. "School buses were redeployed as mobile hotspots. School staff delivered Chromebooks or mobile hotspots to children’s homes. DPI partnered with the Public Service Commission to identify public Wi-Fi locations so students and families could continue learning."

Stanford Taylor said that DPI worked with schools and libraries to keep Wi-Fi available even though buildings were closed, allowing students to access the internet from parking lots. In addition, she highlighted the work of PBS Wisconsin to provide instructional materials through broadcast or streaming means as well as the Governor's Task Force on Broadband Access. 

Stanford Taylor said that federal CARES Act funding is being used for professional development efforts related to online or virtual instruction. 

She also highlighted the importance of literacy for Wisconsin students. 

"Now, more than ever, it is critical for citizens - even our youngest citizens - to be able to use literacy to acquire information about our world and communicate the ways they want to see their communities change," said Stanford Taylor. "The simple way we can do this is to work with our libraries - school and public libraries - to ensure children experience texts that reflect their identities and teach them about other identities."

She concluded her speech by previewing her 2021-23 state budget request, which she said will include increased funding for special education and school-based mental health services, and by calling on education stakeholders to work together to address inequities. 

You can watch her full remarks here.