JACKSONVILLE, Fla — It’s safe to assume students are tired of being away from their friends in the classroom, but parents and teachers aren’t as ready to go back to traditional in-person schooling.
In survey results published by Duval County Public Schools Thursday afternoon, the majority of students said they were “most comfortable going back to school with classmates full time,” while parents and teachers indicated they wanted to continue online learning until it was safe to return.
The responses feature the voices of almost 50,000 students, parents, teachers and faculty. And while a lot of the results are mixed, there was one thing an overwhelming majority supported: frequent handwashing.
In May, the school district began distributing surveys online for community members to indicate how comfortable they felt online learning, returning to school full-time or a hybrid of the two.
Published results show the majority of respondents were parents, representing more than half of the answers.
Of the more than 27,000 parents that responded, 15,133 were elementary school parents.
In heat charts representing teacher and employee’s comfort levels, results show a support for hybrid learning over fully online or fully in-person classes.
“Superintendent Dr. Diana Greene will continue to work with the local medical community, the Florida Department of Health, the Department of Education and other superintendents around the state and nation to determine the best way forward for next year,” the district said in an email scheduled to go out to families this week.
- Monitor current infection levels within the district
- Follow CDC protocols, when feasible
- Prepare for several scenarios
- Provide options for families
- Ensure adequate signage, PPE, health screening and hand washing/sanitizing supplies are available
- Review available scheduling options
- Continue to provide readiness communication with all stakeholders
Full survey results are available on the Duval Schools website, DuvalSchools.org.
