Support Strong For 5 Days Of In-Person School: VA Patch Survey

VIRGINIA — Most Virginia school districts are offering some form of in-person learning in the early spring, whether it be full in-person learning or a hybrid of in-person and virtual learning. As momentum shifts toward bringing students back to physical classrooms, Patch surveyed readers on their school districts' approaches and planning for the next school year.

As of March 22, the Virginia Department of Education reported 38 school divisions are offering four or more days of in-person learning, 50 are partially in-person with some students in schools four or more days, 34 school divisions with hybrid learning (a mix of in-person and virtual), and seven partially hybrid (typically younger grades in hybrid). Three school divisions are fully virtual but have plans to add in-person learning in April and May.

Our Patch survey asked readers about the status of their school districts' reopenings, perception of hybrid or in-person offerings, support for five days of in-person learning in the fall, the CDC's new 3-foot physical distancing guidance in schools, and whether vaccinations affect their decision to send their children back. The survey was open from noon on March 25 through noon on March 29.

We received over 1,000 responses, largely from Northern Virginia and Fredericksburg area school districts. A few responses came in from the Richmond and Hampton Roads area, Caroline County and others.

The majority of respondents — 94.2 percent — said their school district is offering a hybrid mix of in-person and virtual learning. Another 3.6 percent said their school district has five days of in-person learning each week, and 2.2 percent said the school district remains virtual only.

When asked which school reopening option they'd choose, the top choice wasn't hybrid learning. The survey found 71.7 percent of respondents prefer five days of in-person learning per week. Hybrid learning received support from 19.4 percent of respondents, and virtual learning got 9 percent.

Support for five days in schools was even stronger when respondents were asked about the 2021-2022 school year. A total of 83.1 percent support five days of in-person learning each week in the fall and 8.4 percent do not support it. The remaining 8.5 percent are undecided on whether five days of in-person learning should be offered.

Results were mixed when respondents rated their school districts' in-person or hybrid learning options. Respondents who rated offerings as poor made up 24.3 percent, and 21.4 percent rated offerings as very poor. An additional 23.5 percent were neutral about school district offerings, while 19.2 percent rated offerings as good and 6.6 rated them as excellent. The remaining 5 percent said rating hybrid or in-person learning was not applicable to their school district.

At the time of the survey, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is the only FDA-authorized vaccine for 16 and 17-year-olds. No vaccines are approved for children under 16, although studies are underway. But vaccinations do not factor into the decision to send students back to classrooms for most survey respondents. A total of 76.6 percent said the ability for their child to get a COVID-19 vaccine does not impact the decision to send them back to in-person learning. An additional 15.4 percent said vaccinations do impact their decision, and 7.9 percent are undecided.

Before the survey came out, the CDC updated its school reopening guidance to indicate 3 feet of physical distancing is adequate for elementary schools as well as middle and high schools in areas of low, moderate, or substantial community transmission. In our survey, 63.5 percent said they were very comfortable with the 3-foot physical distancing standard and 13 percent were mostly comfortable. Respondents that are mostly uncomfortable with 3 feet of distancing made up 8.7 percent, and 10.5 percent feel very uncomfortable with the standard. The remaining 4.4 percent are neutral about the standard.

Lastly, we asked readers if they had additional comments about hybrid or in-person learning. Numerous comments touched on the perception of concurrent learning; mental, educational and social needs of children; and vaccinations for children and school staff. Below are some of the highlighted comments and which school districts they live in.

• School should not reopen until vaccines are available. The long term issues of Covid are still uncertain. (Loudoun)
• At the very least elementary schools should have a 5 day a week in person option. My very young child cannot read and certainly cannot type. We abhor virtual learning. (Fairfax)
• Teachers were a priority to be vaccinated so they should be in the classroom. If they didn't want to be in the classroom, then they shouldn't have taken a vaccine since supply is so short. (Fairfax County)
• I strongly believe concurrent learning should not continue in the 2021-2022 school year. It is not best for students or teachers. I worry about teacher retention. (Alexandria)
• I think holding parents to a decision they made in the beginning of the year is wrong. Circumstances change. Some teenagers are getting vaccines, and parents should be able to send kids back even if they picked virtual in the beginning of the year. And hybrid choosers should be able to change their preferences also. (Arlington County)
• Until students have access to a vaccine there should be a virtual option available. (Loudoun County)
• I've seen too many students have cameras off and not respond to teacher's questions/requests while observing my children's virtual learning. Nothing can match in-person learning, and I believe we've seen plenty of examples that schools are not mass spreaders. The hybrid learning was a reaction to fears about spreading. We know enough and have taking enough precautions to go back to 5 days a week next year. (Fairfax County)
• With cases again rising and dangerous variants in the area, opening schools at this time is a bad decision. (Fairfax County)
• Get the high school kids vaccinated before fall, and if doctors can figure out the doses for younger kids, get them vaccinated as well. Have them keep wearing masks, handwashing and social distancing until we know more about the disease and how long the vaccine protects. (Fairfax County)
• All schools should be open 5 days a week, all children need to be school. Private schools have gone all year round and there is no spread. (Alexandria)
• Schools should be open full time in the fall, there are no more excuses. As a someone who is military affiliated, I feel my kids are suffering. We did not ask to come here. My brother and his wife live in Texas and his children have been full time since August. Teachers demanded that they go to the front of the line for the Covid vaccine and yet some are still refusing to go back. My opinion is if you are a teacher and refuse to go back, despite having been vaccinated, then maybe you should find another profession. No more excuses, open the schools up Fairfax County. (Fairfax County)
• Fully open. Kids’ mental health and academic learning has been damaged, and there are kids that have been going in person, 5 days a week all year. The risk is minimal, get it done! (Fairfax County)
• Most students need 5-day in-person learning to thrive intellectually and emotionally. A smaller number will thrive with remote learning and that option should be available to them. (Loudoun)
• My 5th and 7th graders have loved being back two days a week in school. Hoping they offer four or five days very soon! My rising Kindergartner is registered for private Kindergarten. We won’t send her to FCPS unless they offer 5 days a week of in person learning. (Fairfax County)
• Hybrid is not effective. Teachers can’t switch back and forth between the virtual and in-site students to respond effectively to their Qs (Arlington County)
• The concurrent learning model is a disaster and is harmful to both students and teachers. All scientific data show that schools are safe for kids with proper medication measures. For the future of the lives of these children and our society, children need to be in school five days a week with teachers in the classrooms! (Fairfax County)
• 3' with masks is okay, but what about lunchtime? No masks requires more space. Outdoor spaces should be offered. (Alexandria)
• The hybrid model shortchanges the learning done virtually at home. The teacher can only tend to the kids who are attending in-person that day. FCPS should preserve the virtual option for families, but also accelerate the return to five days a week of in-person learning. The students have fallen way behind and it is time to address this. (Fairfax County)
• I support full back to school in August/September 2021. I am hoping for approval of vaccines for all children/ages as I worry about children having covid and any longterm effects on them. Thank you. (Fairfax County)
• Top challenges - Screen time is damaging to young eyes (all eyes really), limited tech capabilities for some, no true interaction of any value, and lack of true accountability for work. (Stafford County)
• It is impossible for teachers to provide adequate instruction to both online and in-person students. Students who remain online should enroll in accredited virtual schools who have the experience and set up for 100% virtual lessons. (Fairfax County)
• i’m concerned about children wearing masks for lengthy periods i would rather see plexiglass or shields as options (Fredericksburg)
• I think that the virus should be more under control before the kids go back to fully in person education. (Prince William County)
• My 1st grader is still learning to read and spell, not to mention needing to develop social skills and interact with her peers. Online learning was absolutely awful. Young kids need to be in the classroom. Older kids seem to do OK with virtual classes. I hope moving forward there is an opportunity for some kids to remain virtual (if that is their preference) but classroom teachers should be focused on kids in the classroom. Virtual students should have a dedicated online option and teachers should not be made to carry the burden of teaching to both classroom and virtual students. (Fairfax County)
• My 2 kids are not getting much learning with the virtual environment. My high school child spends 2 days a week in each virtual class and 1 out of the 2 seems to be asynchronous where the teacher says to work on your school work. The kids just end up playing computer games and wasting a lot of time not learning. (Fairfax County)
• I am a teacher and a mother of students. We all need to be back in school five days a week. And no more hybrid. It is too difficult to teach to both audiences - virtual and in-person - at the same time. (Fairfax County)
• If we move too fast, we could be set back with outbreaks. Families are traveling the globe for spring break. Let’s see what happens with that! Better to move slow to ensure a full opening in the fall. (Fairfax County)
• Need to be safe, but at this point the most important thing is getting the kids back to a real classroom. My kids have been so happy and so much more engaged since they went back 2 days a week. (Fairfax County)
• Hybrid learning isn’t any different than when our child was doing 100% virtual. Our child is still doing the virtual learning even on the hybrid days. Our child still has very limited interaction with other students and staff. How can teachers run both the hybrid classes and virtual learning classes at the same time? It doesn’t make much sense. (Alexandria)
• The schools need to go back to the normal school schedule. Immediately. I don't feel like the struggles of a single parent, like me, are being taken into consideration. Having to quit my job to stay home with my kids while they fail miserably at virtual learning, struggling to make ends meet and now over a year later dealing with depression and other mental battles all because of the closing of the schools. That was THE WORST decision ever made. (Stafford County)
• My daughter is in the hybrid model. She is miserable. They go to class and use their laptops at their desk instead of their in-home space. Nothing is different. She should have just stayed home . They don’t use lab equipment or do anything differently. The teachers are still teaching to the virtual students. (Arlington County)
• Vaccination should be mandatory for kids and teachers (hopefully we can get a safe vaccine for kids and have enough for everyone). I saw COVID firsthand working in healthcare and we can’t consider any positive cases acceptable. (Fairfax County)
• Children have to get back to in-school learning, socializing with friends and productive routines. Schools can have air-filtration systems, require mask wearing and hand washing. (Alexandria)
• I hope VA still allows for the option of virtual learning in the fall. The option is important as people may still be understandably uneasy with in person ANYTHING for some time. But by fall more people would have been vaccinated-hoping especially all school personnel-so if in person learning is more prevalent at least school staff will now be protected from the children they care for. (Spotysylvania County)
• Concurrent learning should not continue beyond this school year. It’s the worst of all worlds for Virtual and In person learners. Those wanting virtual in 2021 should opt to utilize the Virtual VA / Virtual K12 programs, or homeschool, so that our school system does not need to waste resources reinventing the wheel for an online platform. For students with high risk medical needs and IEPs that would require accommodation for a FAPE, they should apply for Homebound Instruction through the school system. (Fairfax County)