By K.D. Norris
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association, during a Tuesday, June 23, teleconference, released the results of a survey of more than 30,000 Kent ISD area parents asking questions related to the school reopening issues.
The bottom line of the extensive survey (link at end of story), according to a summary shared with media during the teleconference, is that while some parents seek continued distance learning for various reasons including their child’s safety, the majority desired “safe, in-school” education for their children.
“Most parents would like to see a return to school as normal in late August,” Ron Caniff, superintendent of Kent ISD, said in supplied material. “Our superintendents are working to ensure a safe opening, researching all information regarding the steps necessary to protect students and staff, and will remain connected with the health department and parents throughout the summer to ensure they are well informed about school re-opening plans.”
The survey results come in preparation for the planned release June 30 of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer’s “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap”, which is expected to set state directives for the reopening of schools in August.
The survey, commissioned by the Kent ISD on behalf of the superintendents’ association and administered by Gartner Marketing, was conducted from May 29 through June 10. The 30,000 responses represent parents from the 20 public school districts across Kent ISD but did not include any private or charter school parents, according to the Kent ISD.
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association (KISA) Future Learning Committee hosted the meeting. The speakers included Superintendent Caniff; Kevin Polston, Superintendent of Godfrey-Lee Public Schools, KISA Future Committee Chair and member of the Governor’s Return to Learn Advisory Council; Sunil Joy, Data Scientist at Kent ISD; and Ron Koehler, Education Consultant and former Kent ISD Assistant Superintendent.
The Kent Intermediate Superintendents’ Association represents the superintendents Kent ISD and each of the 20 school districts it serves.
Survey summary results highlights
Among the key findings of the survey, according to the KISA summary (link at end of story), is that parents want to see school open in the fall, in a traditional face- to-face setting; continued parental concerns about safety will likely necessitate an online option; and a hybrid option has many of the same challenges as an online learning option and “It is also not highly preferred by parents.”
Part of the reason for a hybrid option — where students would spend part of their time in school and part of their time at learning remotely — is that there would be little cost savings on the part of the districts currently facing possible loss of state funding due to COVID-19’s economic impact. (See a WKTV story on the possible funding losses here.) And there would be little difference between the costs of an in-person or hybrid option.
“We know that hybrid and in-person costs are going to be very similar,” Superintendent Polston said during the teleconference, “because even though you may have fewer students back each day you still have your full compliment of staff the needs to be back each day.
“And, in addition, for a district like Godfrey-Lee, … we served more meals closed than we did open. That means for the students that aren’t at school each day are still going to need the nutritional services that schools provide. So we are going to need to allocate additional resources.”
The survey summary presented at the teleconference (link at bottom of the story) was, as explained by the Kent ISD’s Sunil Joy, a “stratified random sample of 800 respondents … (that was) … representative of the demographic makeup of our region.”
“A random stratified sample just is a statistical method to ensure the respondents to the survey actually look like the county’s demographics,” Joy said to WKTV. “For example, if East Grand Rapids parents made up a significant percentage of all respondents — that wouldn’t be very representative of our county as only a small percentage of our county is from East Grand Rapids. So that’s why it’s a stratified sample — so it’s more representative of our districts as whole.”
The survey data was also “disaggregated by respondent groups (e.g. race/ethnicity, special education, income, etc.)”
“This simply means that I reported data not just ‘overall’ but also for different respondent groups,” Joy said to WKTV. “For example, in the question of whether childcare is an issue if school did not open 100 percent this fall, I included both what parents said overall, but also by different grade-levels. As no surprise, parents of younger kids had greater concerns with childcare if school didn’t open normally in the fall.”
In addition to the overall, county wide survey results released at the teleconference, each district has access to their own district-specific reports.
“Each district will share the results in the way they see fit with their constituents,” Joy said to WKTV. “The best way to get them is to contact the district directly, if it is not already available on their website or social media.”
School Re-entry Plan
At the teleconference, and using the results of the survey as part of their guidance, the superintendents’ association also released a School Re-entry Plan, in both English and Spanish. (See links to both at bottom of the story.)
Among the highlights of the plan are: a “desire” to return to full-time, face-to-face instruction, per state health requirements; the intent to provide a high-quality online learning option for students and families; districts will share best practices in virtual instruction to maximize efficiency and quality; families who choose an online option will have continued access to local district extracurricular and co-curricular activities.
The plan also makes clear that a a hybrid option — a mix of face-to-face and online learning — is “not preferred and will be implemented if it is the only way to have in-person instruction as mandated by state executive order.”
Superintendent Polston, in summing up the position school districts could be put in come June 30 and the result of the Governor’s “Michigan’s Return to School Roadmap” plan, said the best interest of the students must and will come first.
“Regardless of the model for teaching and learning, together we must be ready to meet the challenge that awaits,” Polston said. “And we will.”
