Results of regional school reopening survey indicates interest in school as usual with precautions

Akron Central School stakeholders were invited to be part of a Western New York Regional Reopening Survey which closed for comment on Friday, June 19.

The purpose of the survey, offered to stakeholders in 17 Erie County school districts, was to inform the views of school superintendents as they participate in conversations about reopening school in September with the NYSED Reopening Task Force, their own regional dialogue, and planning teams within individual school districts.

Akron Central and other participating districts have uploaded the survey data, in addition to their own disaggregated district data, on their respective websites.

A total of 745 Akron Central School District stakeholders responded to the survey.  The District will comply with the requirements for restarting school as set forth by the Governor, NYS Department of Health, and the NYS Department of Education with the safety of students, staff and visitors guiding every decision.  The District has indicated they value the opinions and feeling of parents and they will be taken into consideration as well.

Of Akron participants, 73.29 percent identified themselves as Parent/Family Member with 8.86 percent as students, 7.1 percent as teachers, 4.3 percent as District Staff, 2.15 percent as both Parent/Teacher, with counselor/Social, Parent/District Staff, District Taxpayer, Board member, Grandparent, Bus Aide/Driver, and Administrators percentages at 1. 34 percent down to .13 percent respectively.

Akron respondents of students in grades 3 to 5 totaled 20.27 percent, grades 6 to 8 – 18.73 percent, and grades 9-12 – 31.56 percent, with 9.75 percent not a student/ or parent

Over 67 percent of Akron participants in the survey indicated a noticeable impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their household with about 21 percent seeing significant daily disruption and reduced access and 5.36 percent seeing severe daily disruption, immediate needs unmet.

Fifty-nine percent of those answering the survey reported that they are working full-time, 9.4 percent part-time, and 4.97 percent temporarily laid off.

Answering the question “If student return to school in September would that improve your employment situation or your availability to improve your employment situation?” 42.01 percent said yes, 20.13 percent No and 37.85 percent said not applicable.

Confidence level for sending students back to school knowing that the School Districts will comply with all CDC guidelines, to the best extent possible, to provide a safe and healthy school environment, was 43.36 percent Strongly confident, 22.42 percent confident, 9.26 percent Not confident, 2.42 percent who will not send child(ren) back to school buildings until a vaccine is available and 22.55 percent unsure.

Of parents with a child that will be of Kindergarten age this Fall, 63.46 percent said they would enroll them in the district if students return to school in September and 36.52 percent said they would not.

When asked to indicate agreement with the statement “I believe in-person school should resume in September with HALF of the students ATTENDING SCHOOL on any given day and the other HALF of the students virtually learning from  HOME” 45.91 percent said they strongly disagree with the statement, 19.33 percent disagree, 16.91 percent were neutral, 13.29 percent agree, and 4.56 percent strongly agree.

When asked to indicate agreement with the statement “I believe in-person school SHOULD resume as normal in September, with some new procedures to reduce the spread of illness” 7.52 percent strongly disagree, 9.80 percent disagree, 11.28 percent are neutral, 21.88 percent agree, and 49.53 percent strongly agree.

Respondents indicating if they will transport their own children to reduce the number of children on a bus at any given time were somewhat evenly distributed with 18.52 percent strongly disagreeing, 11.81 percent disagreeing, 24.43 percent neutral, 20.13 percent agreeing, and 25.10 percent strongly agreeing.

Expressing their level of agreement with the statement: “I am comfortable with my child(ren) being transported everyday to and from school on a deep cleaned/sanitized school bus with regular volumes of student passengers,” 13.29 percent said they strongly disagree, 11.81 percent disagree, 28.99 percent neutral, 15.84 percent Agree, and 30.07 percent strongly agree.

Support of face coverings for students and staff when social distancing is not possible was varied, with 22.28 percent strongly disagreeing with face coverings, 17.58 percent disagreeing, 23.36 percent neutral, 20.67 percent agree, and 16.11 percent strongly agree.

The statement, “I believe school should NOT resume in September, and all students should continue using distant learning technologies until a vaccine becomes available” saw 57.58 percent disagreeing, 15.03 percent disagreeing, 11.68 percent neutral, 8.05 percent agreeing, and 7.65 percent strongly agreeing.

When asked “What is your expectation regarding student athletics, performing arts, and extra-curricular activities if students return to school in September? 26.44 percent indicated “I am CONCERNED about students participating in these events because of social distancing challenges while participating.”  65.37 percent responded, “I FULLY expect these events to be provided for student participation in a traditional format with reasonable safety measures,” and 8.19 percent responded “I would NOT allow my students to participate in these events at this time.”

27.54 percent indicated only parents should attend athletics, performing arts, and extra-curricular activities, 62.42 percent indicated both parents/public with safety measures and 10.04 percent indicated no fans/audience.

On the issue of whether school should resume in September provided the district complies with CDC guidelines to reduce the spread of the illness 66 percent agreed or strongly agreed, 9 percent were not confident, two percent will not send their children until a vaccine is available and 23 percent were unsure.

When asked if the school should continue with distance learning until a vaccine becomes available, 73 percent disagree or strongly disagree, 16 percent agree or strongly agree, and 12 percent are neutral.

A hybrid model – half the students in school and half remotely leaning did not find support from 65 percent, with 18 percent agreeing or strongly agreeing with that model and 17 percent neutral.

Akron Central School administrators, teachers and staff are expected to work throughout the summer to be prepared for al learning contingencies – in person, remote or hybrid – in preparation for the requirements of the Governor, NYS Department of Health and NYS Department of Education.

Parents and students will continue to be kept informed in a variety of ways.

NYS Education Department

 to receive copy of survey

The results of full survey results have been sent to the New York State Education Department Interim Commissioner Tahoe, as well as to the attention of Governor Andrew Cuomo, for their information and review.

On the key issue of whether or not students should return to in-person instruction in the fall, 68% of respondents across the region agreed or strongly agreed that school should resume as normal in September with new procedures to reduce the spread of illness, while 10% strongly disagreed with the idea of returning to school as normal. Also, 21.6% agreed or strongly agreed that a hybrid approach (half of the students in school and half remotely learning) should be employed in September, while 55% disagreed or strongly disagreed with a hybrid approach.

This snapshot of opinion taken between June 10th and June 19th gives school superintendents important information upon which they can reflect as they plan. “We appreciate the fact that so many people took the time to share with us how they felt about this critically important issue, and we are each thankful for the opportunity to serve our respective communities as Superintendent of Schools,” Michael Cornell Superintendent, Hamburg Central School District said in releasing the survey results.

Those responding by district are: Akron 745 – 2.9%, Hamburg 1,849 – 7.2%, Alden 1,125 – 4.4%, Ken-Ton 1,800 – 7.1%, Amherst 1,493 – 5.7%, Lackawanna 463 – 1.8%, Cheektowaga 900 – 3.5%, Lancaster 3,272 – 12.8%, Cheektowaga-Sloan 423 – 1.7%, Maryvale 1,196 – 4.7%, Clarence 3,269 – 12.8%, Sweet Home 1,205 – 4.7%, Cleveland Hill 703 – 2.8%, Tonawanda City 978 – 3.8%, Frontier 770 – 3.0%, West Seneca 2,994 – 11.7%, Grand Island 2,320 – 9.1%.

When asked “What precautions would make you feel MOST comfortable with your student participating in athletics, performing arts, and extracurricular activities?” the top overall most common responses written in out of 12, 373 total responses were approximately: 875 Extra hand cleaning/sanitizing and stations to do so; 660 Want mask wearing; 650 Want social distancing; 475 Want constant temperature checks; 400 Want an extra clean environment being maintained, extra sanitation, constant deep cleaning; 275 Wait until there is a vaccine; 220 When everyone is constantly COVID tested/screened; 150 Use common sense; 130 Want schools to follow CDC guidelines and state regulations; 100 Want to go back to normal; 95 Want social distancing at all time.