Tracy Gray: COVID-19 and Lack of Access in the American Education System

In this episode, Managing Director at the American Institutes for Research, Tracy Gray talks with students from the UC Riverside School of Public Policy, about the challenges and opportunities faced by distanced learning, as well as depending on technology in education now, and in the future. About Tracy Gray: Dr. Gray is a Managing Director at the American Institutes for Research, and currently leads the Center for Technology Implementation. Before working at AIR, she was Vice President for youth services at the Morino Institute and was responsible for the design and implementation of the Youth Development Collaborative. Dr. Gray was also the deputy executive director and chief operating officer for the Corporation for National Service that enabled more than 50,000 corps members to work in 1,500 programs throughout the United States. She is also a UCR School of Public Policy Advisory Board Member. Learn more about Tracy Gray via https://www.air.org/person/tracy-gray. Podcast Highlights: “Most schools and districts were ill-prepared to make this sudden transition...” -       Tracy Gray on the topic of emergency distanced learning back in March as the country quarantined due to the COVID-19 pandemic. “They also find themselves in these internet deserts, even if they went outside, having access to connectivity is far from a reality.” -       Tracy Gray on the topic of the digital divide and the technological struggle many students will continue to endure as teaching continues remotely. “It does offer an opportunity to really think about how we deliver education to students, what's important, and what are the systems that need to be in place...” -       Tracy Gray on the topic of how COVID-19 will affect the future of education. She speaks about reconsidering the important support schools offer such as mental health and food services. Guest: Tracy Gray (Managing Director at the American Institutes for Research) Interviewers: Maddie Bunting (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Chief Ambassador) Kamillah Pollard (UCR Public Policy Major, Dean’s Ambassador) Music by: Samuel Roberts (UCR Public Policy ‘20) This is a production of the UCR School of Public Policy: https://spp.ucr.edu/ Subscribe to this podcast so you don’t miss an episode. Learn more about the series and other episodes via https://spp.ucr.edu/podcast.