Reticent Families in NYC, LA Could Prove True Test For School Reopenings, Even As Gallup Poll Reveals Overwhelming Parent Support Nationwide
According to a Gallup poll conducted in mid-March, 79 percent of parents are in favor of schools in their communities offering in-person learning. However, as the Los Angeles Unified School District and New York City make plans to reopen schools in April, the decisions made by parents will play a crucial role in the success of these reopenings.
Currently, just over half of American students attend schools that provide five days a week of in-person learning, as reported by the website Burbio. It is expected that this number will increase due to the new guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The updated guidelines state that a distance of 3 feet, rather than 6 feet, is sufficient for social distancing in classrooms as long as masks are worn. This change allows schools that were operating at reduced capacity to accommodate more students in each classroom.
Several districts, such as Indianapolis Public Schools, Marshall Public Schools, and Mashpee Public Schools, have already announced plans to take advantage of the relaxed distancing protocols and bring students back to classrooms full time.
In Los Angeles, where schools have been closed since the start of the pandemic, there is still a high level of skepticism among parents about in-person learning. A district survey revealed that less than 30 percent of families intend to send their children back to school in April.
Similarly, in New York City, the majority of families were hesitant to send their children back to classrooms when schools first reopened. In November, parents were given the option to choose in-person instruction, and approximately 70 percent decided to keep their children learning from home full time.
However, with the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines and a decline in cases, many parents are now eager to have their children return to school. In March, parents in New York City protested outside the Department of Education headquarters, demanding a full reopening of schools.
The new two-week opt-in period in New York City will provide further insight into parental preferences in the largest school system in the country.
The reluctance to return to in-person school in Los Angeles, the second-largest district, aligns with a national trend identified by the Gallup poll. While 79 percent of parents across the country supported school reopenings, the percentage was slightly lower for parents in the Western region of the United States.
California, Oregon, and Washington have some of the lowest rates of in-person learning, with only a small percentage of students attending schools that offer this option.
Previous surveys have shown that Black and Latino parents are less willing to send their children back to classrooms compared to white parents. Trust has been identified as a major factor for Black parents when making the decision to return to school during the pandemic.
The Gallup poll also revealed that support for school reopenings differed based on parental employment. Working parents were more likely to favor sending their children back to school compared to non-working parents.
The poll also highlighted the impact of the pandemic on working mothers, with a significant number reducing their job hours or quitting to assist their children with remote learning.
Financial stress during the pandemic has also led many teenagers to take on jobs while attending virtual classes.
The Gallup poll, which surveyed 860 adults with children ranging from kindergarten to 12th grade, provided a more optimistic view of parents’ opinions on school reopenings compared to previous reports. Other surveys have shown varying levels of support for reopening schools, with some favoring hybrid models that combine in-person and remote learning.
Health experts advised in March that schools conducting in-person learning should be prepared to quickly adapt due to the rapid spread of a more contagious variant of the virus, originally detected in the UK, which is doubling its cases in the US every 10 days.
In Los Angeles, the decision to reopen schools comes after the teachers union voted with 89 percent in favor of returning, following an agreement on safety measures and a hybrid teaching approach. However, nationwide, teachers unions remain skeptical and pose as obstacles to the resumption of in-person learning.
Randi Weingarten, the president of the American Federation of Teachers, and Becky Pringle, the president of the National Education Association, both expressed their opposition to the CDC’s announcement that relaxation of physical distancing protocols in classrooms is safe.
Weingarten wrote a letter to Education Secretary Miguel Cardona stating that they are not convinced by the evidence that supports changing the current physical distancing requirements.
Nonetheless, a compilation of 130 studies indicates that there is minimal difference in COVID-19 transmission rates between classrooms with 3 feet or 6 feet of physical distancing, as long as other safety measures such as mask-wearing are rigorously enforced.
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