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Education Dive
Poll: 2 in 3 teachers want to start the school year remotely
Shawna De La Rosa
Aug. 7, 2020
Dive Brief:
A recent teacher poll shows most K-12 teachers are concerned about
returning to the classroom this fall, and two-thirds want to start the
school year remotely, NPR reports, noting an additional NPR/Ipsos poll
showing 66% of parents want to start the year with distance learning
models.
Seventy-seven percent of teachers are worried about their own health,
and 78% are concerned about having access to personal protective
equipment and cleaning materials. However, 42% of teachers over 55
years old would still rather start school in person — compared to 74%
of teachers under 34 preferring to start the year with mostly distance
learning.
Teachers are also concerned with enforcing safety procedures such as
mask-wearing and social distancing, with 49% of teachers polled saying
it is “very likely” enforcing social distancing will be difficult. Only
37% of teachers agree to some extent that their districts have
sufficiently trained or prepared for the upcoming school year.
Dive Insight:
As of the end of July, most districts plan to offer at least some form
of in-person learning this fall. Data collected by the Center on
Reinventing Public Education (CPRE) suggests 40% of school districts
have announced full in-person instruction this fall, while 51% will
provide at least some in-person learning through a hybrid model. The
data, collected at the end of July, shows rural districts are more
likely to return in-person than those located in urban areas.
As pressure mounts from the Trump administration and some states to
reopen, some teachers and parents are pushing back. Parents in
Arlington Public Schools in Virginia asked the district to provide an
all virtual learning model after it announced plans to offer in-person
and hybrid learning options. The district now plans a full-time remote
start with options for a hybrid model later in the school year.
Teachers in the Houston Federation of Teachers called Houston
Independent School District’s plan to reopen inadequate and offered
their own proposal.
New York City Schools, meanwhile, will open with a hybrid model this
fall but is implementing a rigorous system of testing and contact
tracing. The steps include free testing that yields results within 24
hours and contact tracing for every positive test. Positive cases
require a 14-day quarantine, and the city’s health department will
investigate if anyone outside of the classroom may have come in contact
with someone who tested positive. Schools will remain open after one
case is reported but will close for two weeks if multiple cases appear
to be spreading between classrooms.
Though enforcing mask-wearing among young students will be challenging,
it’s not impossible. Educators should encourage parents to begin the
process of mask-wearing at home and have kids wear them for longer
periods each day. Teachers should also develop new routines to ease
younger kids into new mask-wearing and have students practice reading
others’ emotions with masks on. Educators can make masks fun for the
youngest learners by giving associating superpowers with them or
including masks in theme weeks.
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