By Katie Teachout
The Journal 

Parents respond to back-to-school survey

 

Last updated 8/7/2020 at 8:10pm



RITZVILLE – An online survey asking parents and guardians about return to school options had 311 total responses. Superintendent Don Vanderholm said the 2019-20 school year ended with 546 students, and parents with more than one child in school could complete more than one survey.

“At least 285 of our 546 students were represented, and that’s a good turnout,” Vanderholm said. “That’s the best response I’ve ever seen to a survey. It’s obviously a hot topic.”

A question detailing COVID-19 restrictions in place by the department of health and Labor and Industries, including daily screenings and the need to wear masks, showed 156 respondents choosing the option “my student will return to on-campus learning while meeting all department of health requirements.” Another 69 responded, “My student will not return to on-campus learning, but would like to attend Lind-Ritzville schools virtually with the remote learning option.” Fifteen responded, “At this time, my student will not return to either on-campus or remote learning with Lind-Ritzville schools,” and 30 chose “other.”

“I was pleasantly surprised so many people who are in an ‘I’m not comfortable having my student on campus’ mode are wanting to stick with us for remote learning,” Vanderholm said. “That was reassuring, because I wasn’t sure what the numbers were going to be on that area.”

Vanderholm said under the “other” option, some parents said they still needed more information, or weren’t comfortable making that decision at this time.

A 40-person stakeholder team of parents, students, staff, board members, administrators and union representatives will continue working on the plan this week. Vanderholm said they are expecting revisions to the guidelines from the state department of health early this week, but hope to have a plan to present for adoption at a special school board meeting August 10. He said a community-wide Zoom meeting is planned for August 11 at 6:30 p.m. to share re-opening plans. The link to the meeting will be available on the school website and distributed through the school’s instant alert system and email.

The back-to-school plan needs to be submitted to the state for approval no later than August 14.

Results to the online survey are as follows:

Asked if students would return to on-campus learning,

57.8 % of respondents said students will return and meet social distancing/mask requirements; 25.6 % said students will not return to a campus, but will be a digital student; 5.6 % said students will not return and 11.1 % said “other.”

Asked why students would prefer to participate in remote learning only, 2.7 % of respondents said there must be a vaccine first; 52.2 % said their students will not return until masks, screenings, and social distancing are no longer required; 28.3 % said their kids won’t return until they felt it safe for them to do so; and 16.8 % said “other.”

For those who chose not to return to campus, or participate in remote learning, 40% said students would be enrolled in an online academy; 22% said they planned to homeschool their students; and 38% said “other.”

Asked if childcare would be an issue if schools don’t open fulltime, 19.7% said it would be a very challenging issue; 23.2% said somewhat challenging; and 57.1% said it would not be an issue.

In looking back at spring 2020, parents were asked how well students engaged in virtual learning, or “Continous Learning 1.0.” Only 45.9% said their students were fully engaged; 46.6% said students were partially engaged; and 7.5% said students did not engage at all.

Asked what were the biggest challenges with digital learning this past spring, 21.6% said there was a lack of sustainable internet; 22.8% said there were teacher-to-student communication challenges; and 28.6% said there were instructional challenges, including different teachers using different platforms for communicating.

Asked why students didn’t study last spring, 15.1% of parents or guardians said their student had no internet, 39.5% said their student was not interested, and 11.9% said there was not enough technology support from the school.

Author Bio

Katie Teachout, Editor

Katie Teachout is the editor of The Ritzville Adams County Journal. Previously, she worked as a reporter at The Omak-Okanogan County Chronicle, the Oroville Gazette-Tribune, Northern Kittitas County Tribune and the Methow Valley News. She is a graduate of Western Washington University.

 

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