US School Closings Can Leave Rural Students Struggling
美國學校關閉讓鄉村學生舉步維艱
The closing of classrooms and the move to online learning during the COVID-19 pandemic has greatly affected students living in rural areas. Cyliss Castillo is one of them. The 18-year-old lives in Cuba, New Mexico, in a school district on the edge of Native American land thatthe Navajo Nation.
在新冠病毒爆發期間，關閉學校並轉為在線教學極大地影響了鄉村地區的學生，賽利斯·卡斯蒂略就是其中一名學生。他今年18歲，住在新墨西哥州的古巴居民區，這是屬於納瓦霍族的美國原住民土地邊緣的一個學區。
Like many of his neighbors, Castillo does not have the internet or even electricity. "There's not a lot to do here. You clean up, pick up trash or build stuff," he told the Associated Press.
卡斯蒂略和他的許多鄰居一樣，沒有網際網路，甚至沒有電。「在這裡沒什麼可做的。」他告訴美聯社說：「做清理、撿垃圾或者建東西。
Castillo said he does not like online school. "Hopefully by next semester we'll be going back into school…I just find it a lot easier and a lot better than just out here, not doing (anything)," he said.
卡斯蒂略表示他不喜歡網校，他說：「希望下學期我們能回學校……我只是覺得回學校比在這裡輕鬆多了，也會好很多，在這兒什麼也幹不了。」
The Cuba Independent School District sits in a village of about 800 people. The district has kept buses running as a way to bring school to students who live in widely separated areas.
古巴獨立學區坐落在一個大約有800人的村莊裡。該區一直有校車運行，以便送居住在相隔甚遠地區的學生去上學。
The buses carry schoolwork, art supplies and meals. Advisers also use the buses to speak with students who may beonline bullying, abuse, thoughts of suicide or other problems.
校車上載有作業、美術用品和飯菜，學習顧問們還利用校車與那些可能正在被網絡欺凌、虐待、自殺念頭或其他問題困擾的學生交談。
The buses are very important for families in the Cuba school district. About half of the students are Hispanic. The other half are Native American, including many Navajo-speaking English-language learners.
校車對古巴獨立學區的家庭非常重要，這裡大約一半的學生是西班牙裔，另一半是美國原住民，包括許多說納瓦霍語的英語學習者。
Many families in the area do not have running water. Castillo and others with no electricity charge their school-issued computers with car batteries or at a family member's house. At least one student sends a computer with the buses to be charged at school. Internet service is often either not available or too costly for families living in such rural areas.
這個地區的許多家庭沒有自來水。卡斯蒂略和其他家裡沒電的學生用汽車電池給學校發的電腦充電，或到其它家庭成員的家裡充電。至少有一名學生會帶著電腦坐校車去學校充電。對於生活在這些鄉村地區的家庭來說，往往無法接入網際網路，或者是網絡使用費用過高。
For students without home internet, the buses bring USB drives loaded with schoolwork and video lessons from teachers. Some students, like Castillo, began asking for schoolwork on paper because of the difficulty of charging computers.
對於那些家裡沒有網際網路的學生，校車會帶來裝載有作業和教師視頻課程的U盤。一些像卡斯蒂略這樣的學生，因為很難給電腦充電，所以他們開始要求紙介作業。
With COVID-19 cases increasing in New Mexico to their highest levels yet, it is unclear when the district will restart in-person classes.
隨著新墨西哥州新冠病毒病例上升至最高水平，尚不清楚該地區何時將重新開始面授課程。
The district has learned to deal with difficulties. And it has established a good record with graduations, with about 83 percent of its students finishing high school. That is well above the state average.
這個地區找到了處理困境的方法，並創造出良好的畢業記錄，大約83%的學生完成了高中學業，這遠遠高於該州的平均水平。
The district has long used a "community school" method of helping students. Social workers, nurses and teachers help students day and night, not just during the school day. The idea is that students will do better in school if their home life can be improved. All students were given computers in 2019, well before the coronavirus health crisis. That made the move to distance learning easier in March when school buildings started shutting down.
該區長期採用「社區學校」的方式幫助學生。社會工作者、護士和教師不分晝夜地幫助學生，不僅是在學生在校期間。他們的想法是，如果家庭生活能得到改善，學生在學校的表現會更好。所有的學生都在2019年拿到了電腦，那是在新冠病毒危機爆發之前。今年3月，學校開始停課，這使得向遠程教育轉變變得更加容易。
Before the buses leave Cuba High School each day, about 25 bus drivers and school workers spend over an hour preparing for the trip. Theymilk, fruits and vegetables, prepared meals, toilet paper and other important necessities.
每天在校車離開古巴高中之前，大約有25名校車司機和校工會花一個多小時準備行程。他們裝上牛奶、水果和蔬菜、準備好的飯菜、衛生紙和其他重要的必需品。
As the bus travels, it passes a home every few kilometers. The Castillos built their home by hand and use a small camper as well.
校車行駛時，每隔幾公裡就經過一戶人家。卡斯蒂略的家是他們自己建造的，他們還使用了一輛小型露營車。
On a recent day, students went out to meet the bus driver, Kelly Maestas. He asked them how they were doing and handed out lunches.
最近，學生們出去見校車司機凱利·梅斯塔斯。他詢問學生們過得怎麼樣，還給他們分發了午餐。
Among the students was 15-year-old Autumn Wilson. Her father died after she started high school last year. Then school. Now she cannot play on the volleyball team anymore.
學生中有一名15歲大的秋·威爾遜，她去年上高中後父親去世了。隨後，學校就關閉了。現在，她不能再去排球隊打球了。
Autumn said the sadness over her father's death makes it difficult for her to finish schoolwork. But she sometimes finds happiness riding horses with her grandfather. And she looks forward to visits from the bus driver, who once brought her candy for her birthday.
秋說，父親去世的悲傷讓她很難完成課業，但她有時會和爺爺一起騎馬找樂子。她期待著校車司機的來訪，他曾經在她過生日時帶來糖果。
"Kelly, he's really funny to talk to. And if you're feeling sad you can really talk to him," Autumn said. She added: "And you can trust him."
「跟凱利說話真有趣，如果你感到悲傷，可以和他聊聊。」她補充道：「你可以信任他。」
I'm Jonathan Evans.
喬納森·埃文斯報導。
記得點讚哦