Fewer U.S. Parents Want Full-Time In-Person Fall Schooling
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 36% want full-time in-person instruction; 28% want full-time remote learning
- More parents concerned about children catching the coronavirus
- A growing percentage of concerned parents want full-time remote learning
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As U.S. coronavirus infections and parents' concerns about their children catching COVID-19 have surged, parents' preferences for school attendance this year have shifted.
In late May and early June, a majority of 56% of K-12 parents wanted full-time in-person school this fall. Now, 36% prefer this option. Meanwhile, 28% of parents, up from 7% in the prior survey, prefer full-time remote instruction. The remainder, 36%, favor a hybrid system of part in-person teaching and part distance learning.
U.S. Parents Less Likely to Favor Full-Time In-Person Schooling This Fall
In the fall, would you want your children's school to have full-time distance/remote learning, have a modified program where they attend school part time and do some distance/remote learning, or have your children attend school full time?
The July 13-27 Gallup Panel survey results come as governors, school officials and parents decide how best to educate children amid the coronavirus pandemic.
After nearly all U.S. schools relied on remote learning to finish the 2019-2020 school year, the Trump administration has insisted that all children should attend school in person this fall. But some larger school districts in COVID-19 hot spots have already decided they will have full-time remote learning in the fall, something President Donald Trump recently acknowledged may be necessary despite his administration's preferences. Organizations representing pediatricians, superintendents and teachers recently urged leaders to base decisions about reopening schools on the recommendations of local public health officials, educators and parents.
When Gallup last asked this question in late May and early June, parents' preferences for full-time in-person schooling largely conformed with their experiences with remote learning at the end of the 2019-2020 school year. At that time, 56% said their children's distance learning was difficult for them, while 44% said it was easy.
Parents' preferences for 2020-2021 schooling at that time were also largely shaped by CONTINUE READING: Fewer U.S. Parents Want Full-Time In-Person Fall Schooling