By Maame-Abena Dwumfuoh l Contra Costa Youth Journalism
In today’s highly digitized world, reliable internet access is extremely important for students to effectively learn and succeed in school.
Students at Dozier-Libbey Medical High School in Antioch regularly use multiple online educational materials on sites such as IXL and the College Board. Many students say their work is regularly disrupted by the school’s spotty Wi-Fi, though.
From struggling with a consistent Wi-Fi connection during online exams or quizzes to being unable to finish assignments during school hours, many students share the same daily frustration.
“Dozier-Libbey never had the best Wi-Fi, but I’ve noticed this year’s was worse,” 11th-grader Ahmad Ali said recently. “It seems like the entire school is on the guest Wi-Fi, so whenever everyone is connecting onto the school’s internet, you have the majority of students on one connection.”
A recent Google Forms survey conducted by 11th-grader Gianni Callwood, the the Antioch Unified School District board’s new student representative, aimed to understand the primary issues affecting students. Wi-Fi problems quickly became clear as the students’ top concern.
Responses included comments such as “Extremely poor internet,” “Please fix the Wi-Fi” and “Negative Wi-Fi around campus.” In fact, all 21 responses mentioned Wi-Fi or internet problems that students have experienced.
Wi-Fi problems have clearly frustrated many Dozier-Libbey students and teachers, who say the problems can significantly delay students’ learning and affect their ability to succeed in school.
“I feel like the internet is such a big barrier when it comes to my education at times because it keeps me from doing the work I need to get done on time,” said Daniela Edeh, a 12th-grader.
Oluchi Chimara, a 10th grader, agreed.
“For world history, our tests in AP (Advanced Placement) Classroom are timed,” Chimara said. “Sometimes when you open the tests, the Wi-Fi will stop working, but the time keeps running. It gives you less time to answer the test questions, so if you’re rushing through questions, it can harm your score.”
During school hours, many teachers and instructors have to plan accordingly if Wi-Fi issues occur. Biology teacher Calida Martinez explains her approach to dealing with the school’s recurring Wi-Fi issue.
“Oftentimes I’ll turn off my Wi-Fi and just use (cell phone) data,” Martinez said. “It’s been an issue ever since I’ve been at this school.”
Although Martinez said she hears complaints from other teachers, especially about online AP and California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP) testing, she said the school’s Wi-Fi issues have not really impacted her lesson plans.
With increased concerns about how the school plans to fix or alleviate these issues, Callwood has already taken steps to find solutions. Before running for the student representative spot on the AUSD board, Callwood said he had one clear focus for his campaign.
“Wi-Fi wasn’t my only issue I ran on, but I found out very, very quickly that Wi-Fi was the most important issue,” Callwood said. “That’s what I focused my attention on.”
After being sworn in for office on Sept. 24, he began planning to address these concerns at an AUSD student board meeting by submitting a request to discuss the school’s connectivity issues. Callwood said he has experienced problems with the school’s Wi-Fi not working multiple times. He also noted that poor Wi-Fi connections make students more reliant on their phones, which can be a problem.
“If the Wi-Fi does not work, people might look for alternatives to entertain themselves,” Callwood said. “This leads them to being less on-task during class and getting less work done.”
Blair Wilkins, Dozier-Libbey’s principal, said he is well aware of the school’s online connection problems and has taken steps to address them.
“We do have Wi-Fi issues, so (members of the) technology (department) actually came out last year,” Wilkins said. “They ran wires and did a whole reset on things, such as making sure that we were up to date with our wires, since it improves (the) signal.”
Although different solutions have been implemented at Dozier-Libbey, a permanent solution is still in the works. Wilkins said he noticed the severity of connectivity issues since his very first day as principal in July 2024.
After sending a request to the AUSD technology department, he was informed that Dozier-Libbey had to go through a five-year process, including surveying the land that requires multiple rules and regulations. While waiting for long-term solutions, Wilkins has taken short-term measures to alleviate issues.
“Mrs. [Kimberley] O’Leary, for example, she does the baby project. I actually had to go to (the) technology (department) and get a Wi-Fi hub to help support that because I wanted to make sure she doesn’t crash the network,” Wilkins said. “It’s a very big project, so we want to make sure that the teachers feel supported and that the kids can do this project without having any internet stress.”
While those at Dozier-Libbey continue to find short-term solutions to address this issue on campus, the district’s Information Technology Department has also investigated the issue. AUSD network engineer Keith Jackson said workers have visited Dozier-Libbey to assess the wireless service issues.
Jackson said they visited algebra teacher Rabiah Muhammed-Bashir’s classroom and spoke with about 10 students, asking them about their wireless issues. Jackson said the district has a technical issue with access points randomly throughout their schools.
“As I explained to the students and teacher,” Jackson said, “we have escalated this to senior technical engineers to resolve, and we hope to have this widespread issue fixed soon.”
Along with consulting teachers and students about the Wi-Fi problems, the district identified one main issue — the cellular service.
“Upon further discussion, it was made very clear to me that the wireless issues the students are having, besides what I just mentioned, are related to cellular services like Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile and Cricket,” Jackson said. “These are not services supported by AUSD.”
As Dozier-Libbey continues to implement different solutions to fix online connection problems, students such as Valerie Gutierrez are hopeful that new outcomes will present themselves.
“For me, better Wi-Fi at our school can help me access online resources quicker, and assignments without having to make the teacher wait for me to connect,” Gutierrez said.
Contra Costa Youth Journalism is a collaborative effort involving educational institutions and professional news organizations dedicated to expanding opportunities for Contra Costa County high school students to inform Contra Costa County residents about relevant local news.
Want more insights? Join Grow With Caliber - our career elevating newsletter and get our take on the future of work delivered weekly.
