8 charts that show just how American parents are feeling as they send their children back to school in the middle of the pandemic

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8 charts that show just how American parents are feeling as they send their children back to school in the middle of the pandemic
  • Many US school districts are starting to reopen for in-person classes or are preparing to reopen in the coming weeks.
  • However, some schools that have already started the academic year have reported coronavirus cases among teachers and students.
  • We decided to look at various surveys to get a sense of how parents are feeling about schools reopening — or not reopening — this fall.

Some schools in the US have already opened their doors to students, but several districts have already run into the problems that can arise with in-person schooling.

Students are testing positive for the coronavirus, forcing students, teachers, and staff who just returned to school to be sent home to be quarantined. In Corinth, Mississippi, The Washington Post reports 116 students had to be sent home after six students and a staff member tested positive.

On the first day of school in Greenfield, Indiana, the school was notified a student tested positive, according to reporting from The New York Times. Buzzfeed News reported on a photo shared on Twitter showed a school in Paulding County, Georgia, where students were close together as they walked through the hallway and many were not wearing masks.

A local Illinois news station reported on photos that also showed crowded hallways at Morton Community High School on the first day of school. Nearly 1,200 people have to quarantine in Cherokee County, Georgia, after a second grader tested positive for coronavirus, as reported by The New York Times.

But the problem may even get worse. Business Insider's Lauren Frias interviewed an emergency medicine physician who said because of combination of the coming fall and winter flu season with COVID-19, schools may have to close again as soon as October, citing increased exposure during flu season. The physician also notes the two viruses also share similar symptoms, such as coughing, that could make it harder to identify what a patient has. Per US News & World Report, some schools had to close for a few days last year due to a large number of student absences during flu season.

Schools are trying to find safe ways to have students return in person, from New York City attempting a hybrid model to a school district in Detroit trying out outdoor classrooms, according to reporting by NBC News.

A review of over 470 school districts conducted by the Center on Reinventing Public Education found about 40% of districts plan for in-person learning and about 12% plan a hybrid model, while more than half of city school districts plan to teach only remotely at least for one grade level. The report found about 62% of districts will also offer a remote learning option.

Not every parent is ready to send their child back to school. A survey of 500 parents by Echelon Insights and the National Parents Union found that only 27% feel safe having their child return to in-person school this August or September. Of the parents surveyed, 17% would prefer their child to return later in the fall, while 15% prefer sometime in the spring.

We decided to look at how parents are feeling as some schools near reopening. The following are eight charts based on surveys conducted from Homes.com, Kaiser Family Foundation, and Echelon Insights with the National Parents Union that asked parents about their feelings and attitudes regarding upcoming school plans and virtual learning.

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White parents tended to prefer their children return to school in August or September, while non-white parents were more likely to want their children to return to school in the spring.

A majority of Republicans preferred their children return to school in August, September, or the late fall, while Democrats tended to want their children to return to school either in the winter or early next year.

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Higher-income parents were more likely to prefer their children return to school in August or September, while lower- and middle-income parents had varying feelings about the right time for their children to return.

Parents are most concerned about staff and teachers getting coronavirus if their children return to in-person schooling.

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Parents are afraid their children will fall behind in social and emotional development if their children don't return to in-person schooling.

Parents would feel safest sending their children back to school if the school makes it a requirement to quarantine after exposure to coronavirus.

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One survey found 65% of parents had their work negatively impacted because of their children learning from home.

About half of parents surveyed in a recent poll think at-home learning was at least mostly successful, while 21% found it was not.

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