Have-not Learners		Have Learners

Digital Learning Apartheid

According to a recent report for the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, there exists a Silent Epidemic...

"... a high school dropout epidemic in America. Each year, almost one third of all public high school students' and nearly one half of all blacks, Hispanics and Native Americans fail to graduate from public high school with their class. Many of these students abandon school with less than two years to complete their high school education. Given the clear detrimental economic and personal costs to them, why do young people drop out of high school in such large numbers?"¹

At the same time, many well-meaning educators, politicians, and citizens are basking in self-congratulations for having successfully eliminated the at-school digital divide (the gap between individuals able to benefit from technology and those who aren't) as a contributing factor to this Silent Epidemic. But, millions of our country's economically and socially disadvantaged learners are still suffering a Digital Learning Apartheid. For them, digital isolation at home only further expands the gaps in digital learning participation and academic achievement between them and the have learners. Full article...

Who We Are

The BrightZone Institute, Inc., a Florida based non-profit education technology research and development organization, is developing a consortium of education, technology, and telecommunication related private sector firms working in conjunction with its university client/partner to eliminate our country's Digital Learning Apartheid.

Vision

We envision in the near future an educational environment where our country's poorest middle and secondary school English and Spanish speaking have-not learners and dropouts will have equal access to the at-home safe digital learning resources with full participation in networked educational collaborative platforms to ensure their future opportunities as productive and happy citizens.

Mission

The BrightZone Institute, Inc. was founded to develop and nurture a patient and passionate research and development environment for a consortium of education, technology, and telecommunication related private sector firms to work in conjunction with the Institute's university clients and/or partners to eliminate our country's Digital Learning Apartheid.

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Digital divide refers to the gap between those individuals able to benefit from digital technology and those who are not.