Rural Communities Hope Tech Training Will Bridge ‘Divide’

Bridging Washington’s “Digital Divide” won’t succeed if people think rural economic growth results solely from faster networks and more computers, a panel of state and business leaders agreed Friday in Spokane.

Rural communities need to train workers quickly and more effectively to attract the new-economy jobs that otherwise land in large, urban tech centers, the panelists said.

“The solution is not just bandwidth. And getting the telecoms to focus on smaller communities is just the start,” said Martha Choe, director of the Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development.

Choe, speaking on a panel at the Spokane Convention Center, agreed that a key step will be helping train workers in rural areas to excel in the new global economy.

She and more than 330 other regional business and government officials attended and took part in the two-day “Getting Connected” session.

Chaired by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., the conference focused on how to use new technology to enhance rural areas.

Small cities are already practicing innovative ways to pull the world into the modern classroom, said John Jones, superintendent of schools for the Forks School District.

Forks High School is among nearly three dozen in the country comprising a Virtual High School network. Using the Internet, about 70 students this year in Forks will study foreign languages and science through the program.

“Those courses are taught by instructors in Colorado, in Massachusetts and elsewhere,” Jones said.

That option helps, but it’s not a complete education solution, he said.

To enable interactive student-teacher contact over long distances, Forks and eight other statewide districts recently formed the Washington Virtual Classroom.

That system includes courses specifically designed to help high school students learn computer-related skills.

“We have students gaining certification in Cisco-system management, in Microsoft and other software areas,” Jones said.

Choe agreed the state should help rural areas in recruiting jobs and companies.

“Instead of exporting workers to the I-5 corridor, we need to keep more people in the smaller communities,” Choe said.