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Coronavirus Exacerbates Learning Disparities In Indigenous Schools

Lynette Stant
Arizona Educational Foundation
Lynette Stant

Arizona schools are trying to reach their students at home for the remainder of this school year, but the challenge has made disparities in our communities more clear.

Online learning, for example, only works if students can actually get online. And some teachers have wondered how to balance students’ academic goals and their emotional needs in increasingly stressful times.

These challenges have been more apparent in some communities than in others for years, and they are now being exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Lynette Stant is a third grade teacher at Salt River Elementary in the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community. She was the first indigenous Arizona Teacher of the Year when she won this year.

The Show spoke to her about how her community and others are handling this crisis.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.