Parents are divided as schools around the country return to in-person instruction. We believed the epidemic was gone, but it isn’t, thanks to the spread of the Delta variety of COVID-19. We thought school closures were over and we’d be back to regular classes, but now some parents are opting to leave their children at home for a variety of reasons, including increased infection rates, politics of face masks, and vaccine demands.
In many cases, state and school officials are reacting to this range of levels of comfort. From July 29 to August 12, the number of districts offering students a virtual option to in-person learning nearly doubled, from 41 to 79 percent, according to CRPE, The Center for Reinventing Education.
Why are some parents opting for online learning over in-person instruction?
The rise in COVID transmission rates has added to the concern surrounding student and staff safety in traditional classrooms. If testing and distancing requirements cannot be reached, one Alberta parent is considering removing her kindergartener until they are eligible for immunisation.
Then there’s the recent Hart Research Associates study for education and civil-rights organisations, which indicated that more than a quarter of parents are still hesitant to send their children to school in person unless strong safety precautions for students and staff are in place.
With an increasing number of parents requesting remote solutions, COVID isn’t the only game in town.
Parent advocates in Oakland, California, informed the school board that remote learning provides “quality learning opportunities for all students.” And the newly created group “Parents For Virtual Choice” in New Jersey is increasing by the day.
Remote instruction was a lifesaver for certain pupils with difficulties, particularly those on the autistic spectrum. “When the epidemic first came, online school was a bit messy for everyone,” said this mother of a 13-year-old. My older daughter, on the other hand, handled it admirably. She began to interact more with teachers and felt more at ease than she had when she was in school. Her academic performance was outstanding.”
“We heard from parents who were frustrated with the bad narrative around online learning because that hadn’t been their experience,” a principal of a virtual school in Calgary Alberta told CBC. Those broad generalisations ignore what has worked for a large number of families — and that group is significant.”
In addition, a rising number of parents are opting to homeschool their children instead of sending them to public schools.
Then there are the parents that encourage their children to learn in person.
According to several polls, millions of parents want in-person schooling to return, mostly to counteract learning loss and social isolation. According to a recent survey in Calgary about how federal recovery funds should be spent, 70% of parents wanted their child to learn in person this autumn.
According to a Gallup study released in March, the “great majority” of parents want their children back in school, although there are significant party disparities. For example, while 79 percent of parents said they support “providing in-person schooling” in their communities, Liberals supported it at considerably higher rates—94 percent—than Independents (80 percent) and Conservatives (62 percent ).
The cost of daycare, as well as its scarcity, is another key concern for working parents. Susannah Frances, a mother, business owner, and founder of the group Working Moms of Calgary, remarked, “I don’t know anyone who isn’t struggling.”
Are some parents more receptive to online learning than others?
Yes. According to numerous surveys conducted around the country, substantially more Black and Hispanic parents prefer virtual education and are less comfortable with in-school learning. According to a poll conducted last summer, nearly 70% of Black families with school-aged children approve or strongly support maintaining all instruction online, whereas only 32% of white parents agreed.
In comparison to white and Asian parents, roughly 20% of Black parents were most hesitant to send their children back for in-person schooling in fall 2021, according to a recent nationwide poll conducted by Rand.
COVID-19 has been harsher on communities of colour due to other socioeconomic determinants of health such as food instability, affordable housing, and access to health care, according to analysts. Furthermore, Black Americans have a greater proportion of pre-existing diseases, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, which could make them more vulnerable to the virus.
What are the responses of big school districts and states to parenting concerns?
States are dispersed around the country. Thirty-eight of them have approved permanent virtual learning institutions, including the District of Columbia: After a poll indicated that 8,000 families want a remote option, Philadelphia Superintendent William Hite expanded the district virtual school, Philadelphia Virtual Academy; and Indianapolis is offering parents the choice of two virtual charter schools.
But that leaves 13 states where parents have little choice but to ignore their own risk calculus, join a “micropod,” or learn how to homeschool their children.
Refer to CRPE’s database on policies for masks, immunizations, complete in-person instruction, virtual learning choices, and learning plan continuity in specific states and large school districts to keep track of the developments.
What’s the bottom line?
For a variety of reasons, parents prefer in-person learning over remote education, but districts must be able to accommodate a family’s requirements wherever they fall on the spectrum—and right now, every district is failing to do so, leaving some families out in the cold.
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