New Poll Suggests Most Parents, Teachers Oppose School Reopening In The Fall

A new poll has revealed that 1 in every 5 teachers in the U.S. is unlikely to return to schools even if Donald Trump orders the reopening of classes in the fall. Majority of parents are also hesitant to send their children back to school over coronavirus concerns.

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused disruptions in America’s educational system. When the pandemic reached the country earlier this year, every district had to prematurely close out the school year and send students home to adopt distance learning. Even if schools reopen in the fall, such disruptions are still sure to ring into the new school year as the pandemic thwarts efforts to resume daily routines in American life.

The survey has revealed that most teachers are particularly concerned about being thrust into new roles they were not trained to fill. “I’m on a committee with my district talking about the what-ifs, because we don’t have answers on what is going to happen,” said middle school teacher J.W. White. “The expectation of parents and society is we’re sending our children to be educated in a safe environment, and how we’re going to provide that safe environment is completely unknown,” she added.

Most parents of children in grades K-12 who participated in the poll also said they would continue to pursue at-home learning options despite the reopening of classes. With regard to the perils of distance learning, however, the survey has found that parents are less worried than teachers are.

Based on the poll, 75% of teachers are worried that relying on distance learning might cause students to fall behind in their classwork, while only 46% of parents are worried about that. However, both parents and teachers acknowledge the difficulty of the other group in supporting distance learning. 52% of parents said that teachers have struggled adopting distance learning during the pandemic, while 85% of teachers said parents have.

Most of the respondents who opposed the reopening of the school year said they would stay at home until a coronavirus vaccine is already available. While several groups are already developing a vaccine for the disease, the most optimistic predictions suggest the vaccine won’t be available until the end of this year. Less optimistic predictions suggest it may even take longer.