Students across Arizona use the Internet every day to complete assignments and access study materials. However, Internet access remains out of reach for some Navajos.

This week, the Arizona Department of Education offers some helpful tools.

Ganad Unified School District is part of the Navajo Nation. It is located in Apache County in the northeast corner of the state.

Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction, Tom Horn, said ADE has donated new tablets to school districts.

“And the advantage is that everything is pre-loaded, so you don’t need internet access,” Horn said. They don’t have access to materials. “

Amazon Fire tablets are distributed to 2nd and 3rd graders who are unable to connect online.

GUSD officials say the pandemic has widened the gap between students with broadband access and those without. As a result, many juniors struggle to perform well at the state level.