Companies, Ed Tech Organizations Band to Help Families Through Hotline
- By Dian Schaffhauser
- 04/16/20
Nearly
90 companies and education technology organizations have joined a
growing volunteer effort to help families and teachers affected by
school closures. People who call or text (855) 264-2051 can get
"concrete help or advice" in any number of areas:
So
far, according to SchoolClosures.org
co-founder Manisha Snoyer, some 85,000 people have visited the
website, and the organization has taken calls from families and
teachers "all over the country." Snoyer is also the
co-founder of Modulo.App,
an "experimental project" that supports parents as they
involve themselves in their children's education.
The
program has 150 volunteers. Participating organizations include Class
Dojo,
Donors
Choose,
Intuit,
Khan
Academy,
Revolution
Foods
and Salesforce.
The hotline is staffed by volunteers with experience in education and
social services, according to Snoyer.
Snoyer
said the initiative is "growing every day as new volunteers and
organizations reach out to see how they can be of support."
That's evolving, she noted, "as we learn more about what parents
and teachers need and create new projects to support them."
More
information is available on
the School Closures website.
About the Author
Dian Schaffhauser is a former senior contributing editor for 1105 Media's education publications THE Journal, Campus Technology and Spaces4Learning.