A Coquitlam business owner is offering a laptop scholarships to help School District 43 families cope with digital changes to the curriculum.
“Our goal is to provide at least three brand new laptops for September, the 2020/2021 school year. The Laptop Scholarship is available to children of School District 43, for those in grades 6 to 10 (as of September 2020), and will be awarded to students whom we feel need it and will benefit the most. The laptop scholarship is a way for us to put a laptop in homes where children do not have adequate access or any at all,” stated Sharon Perry, of Sharon Perry & Associates, Chartered Professional Accountants.
Perry, the owner of a Coquitlam accounting firm, said in her scholarship announcement that COVID-19 had added to the stress of families as many require a device to do school work.
But even before COVID-19 struck, she notes that many high schools required students to have access to a device.
‘For most families, coming up with $500+ within a couple of months is not the easiest thing to do and this was before COVID-19 even happened. Then we add COVID-19, parents working from home and kids also learning from home and realized that ALL kids need technology,” she further stated.
According to Perry, students need access to their own own device and shouldn’t have to share with a parent or sibling.
Thank you to @sjperryCA for creating the Laptop Scholarship and for your generosity in providing three brand new laptops to our students who need this most! Is your child starting Gr 6-10 this fall? Apply by Aug 10, 2020 here: https://t.co/qK0I0Bao63 @DPAC43
— School District 43 (@sd43bc) July 14, 2020
“Having access to a device for only one hour a day, at say 7 p.m., once the working parent is done for the day, isn’t ideal if your child has no access to their teacher at that same time.”
She told The Tri-City News she hopes other students will consider offering laptop scholarships, too.
This week School District 43 Tweeted out its thanks to Sharon Perry for the Laptop Scholarship.
SD43 has been providing devices, and internet in some cases, to families that are struggling when remote learning was introduced after spring break.
The deadline to apply for the Laptop Scholarship is August 10, 2020 at 11:59 p.m. Eligibility criteria is also on the application.
