ROCHESTER, N.Y. — The pandemic changed the way schools taught their students, and highlighted the need for technology in learning. Experts say many adults who go back to school don’t always have access to computers. One Rochester program is helping adult learners cross the digital divide.

For Rodneisha Corbit, it felt like Christmas Day, as she unwrapped a gift — to help reach her goal.

What You Need To Know

  • One Rochester program is helping adult learners cross the digital divide

  • Advocates say the need is great for adult learners, not just for an access to technology

  • Programs in New York state, they say, are under-funded

  • In early February, five adult learners at OACES, including Rodneisha Corbit, received laptops, Wi-Fi and other accessories — through a partnership with Literacy Rochester

“We’re doing our training online,” said Corbit, of her school work. “We’re doing our testing online.”

When she first became a young parent, Corbit — now a mother of three — had to put school aside. Now, she is studying to get her high school equivalency diploma through Rochester’s Office of Adult & Career Educational Services, or OACES.

“The main thing is just to make my children proud,” she said.

Four months into her effort to get her GED, Corbit has been doing her homework without access to a laptop. In a pandemic, it’s been difficult.

And she is not alone.

“Most of our students face that challenge,” said Alla Dewolf, OACES program coordinator.

In early February, five adult learners at OACES, including Corbit, received laptops, Wi-Fi and other accessories — through a partnership with Literacy Rochester. The laptops are theirs to keep. The Wi-Fi hotspots are on loan to students for six months.

“This means a lot to me,” said student Sylvia Cleary. “I can work on my GED, and I thank God I’m getting a computer so I can work at home and play catch up.”

Advocates say the need is great for adult learners, not just for an access to technology. Programs in New York state, they say, are very under-funded.

“It’s difficult because they have a goal, they know what they want, but there's just this one additional barrier to the ones that they have,” said Dewolf. “That doesn't allow them that.”

Corbit says bills have gotten in the way of her goal to purchase a laptop. Now, she doesn’t have to. As she works toward her GED, Corbit is also training to become a nurse assistant.

“I’m just ready to go,” she said. “I’m just ready.”