Parents receive guidance from instructors on the reintroduction of their children to the school.
Nearly 90% of parents in the United States intend to bring their children to school in person this autumn, an increase from May, despite the spread of the delta variant across the country and an increase in the number of children sickened by COVID-19.
Simultaneously, almost a third of parents say they are unaware of their child’s school’s COVID-19 safety plan, and 60% say they would like to learn about the safeguards in place to keep children safe.
The figures come from a poll of more than 3,000 parents conducted last summer by the RAND Corporation on behalf of the Rockefeller Foundation to determine how reticent individuals are this year to bring their children to school in person. Will Students Return? was issued Wednesday.
Andrew Sweet, managing director of the Rockefeller Foundation’s COVID-19 response and recovery, expressed surprise that more parents committed to in-person learning this summer than in the spring.
“I believe we’ve reached a tipping point, and many parents just cannot afford to keep their children at home. They are pressed for time. Numerous parents need to work. You cannot work remotely at a grocery shop “‘He stated.
Parents of children under the age of 12 who are not yet allowed to get the COVID-19 vaccination are just as likely to personally deliver their children to school as parents of children aged 12 or older, the poll showed.
57% of parents indicated they would get their child vaccinated if the injection was approved for their child’s age. Meanwhile, 52% of parents with children aged 12 and older – almost two-thirds of all respondents – said that their child had gotten the vaccination.
Parents vary by race: 94 percent of white parents questioned indicated they would personally transport their children to school, compared to 83 percent of Hispanic and 82 percent of Black parents.
Additionally, parents of color were far more likely to request specific school safety measures – such as classroom ventilation, obligatory masks, and vaccinated teachers – before allowing their children to return to school this fall.
Parents of color were twice as likely to favor mask regulations as white parents, an issue that has erupted recently in places such as Florida, Texas, and Arizona, where governors have sought to prohibit schools from requiring children to wear face coverings.
Only 27% of parents are fully aware of the safety precautions their kid’s school is doing, indicating a significant lack of communication, with the majority of questioned parents requesting further information about how their child would be safeguarded from COVID-19 in the classroom.
“I believe there is a misunderstanding as a result of the abundance of messengers,” Sweet explained.
The majority of parents surveyed indicated that they would like to receive information regarding school safety from a school staff member, with 44% preferring to hear from a principal.
However, Sweet noted that educators may not be the best effective transmitters of health advice to parents and pupils.
“It’s challenging to be both an educator and a communicator of public health. We’ve asked a lot of our instructors throughout the epidemic, and adding another component to it, such as speaking about ventilation systems or antigen testing, is beyond their vocation. That is not the purpose for which they signed up. As a result, it is asking them to perform yet another task “‘He stated.
This summer, the New Orleans public school district began holding weekly news conferences with the superintendent to assist families in communicating safety decisions. Additionally, the district is utilizing social media to disseminate information and encourage parents to communicate with one another and directly contact their child’s school.
“It is always a struggle to ensure that the nitty-gritty information reach our parents, which is sad and difficult at times,” Dina Hasiotis, senior adviser to the NOLA Public Schools Superintendent, said during a Rockefeller Foundation-sponsored discussion on Wednesday.