Delaware Technical Community College made the pivot to virtual classrooms in March, but the school — which provides two years of tuition-free college to qualifying Delaware high school students through the SEED (Student Excellence Equals Degree) Scholarship program — faced some of the same challenges faced by many public schools that serve underserved communities during the COVID-19 pandemic: While it had the resources to teach students in the classroom, some lack access to the computers needed for online learning at home.
In response, JPMorgan Chase, which employs about 3,800 people at five locations in Wilmington, has committed $300,000 to assist the school and help ensure that its students can stay enrolled through the pandemic. Funds will allow Del Tech to make laptops and Chromebooks available to enrolled students for online classwork.
In addition to the devices, the funds will be used for faculty development opportunities, including sending 38 Del Tech faculty members to a two-week virtual boot camp to learn how to develop online courses to optimize student learning and engagement.
Funds will also be used for a virtual healthcare and education career fair to help both current students and unemployed alumni access career counseling and job placement services.
In early March, the JPMC expanded its Advancing Black Pathways program in partnership with Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), including Delaware State University.
“JPMorgan Chase has a long-history in Delaware and a standing commitment to supporting our employees, customers and communities across the state,” said Tom Horne, Delaware market leader for JPMorgan Chase, in a statement. “Investing in our youth and ensuring that students can continue to benefit from high-quality education is key to helping make sure the COVID-19 crisis doesn’t widen the economic opportunity gap for the most vulnerable Delawareans.”
In all, JPMC has committed $200 million globally in response to the impact of COVID-19 on underserved communities.
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