New USA Today and Ipsos polls show that while the majority of educators believe school buildings will reopen this fall, 20% of teachers say they are unlikely to return to the classroom if the decision to reopen is made.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, almost every school district in the United States shuttered their doors and implemented some form of distance learning. Two polls conducted at the same time by USA Today and global research and marketing firm, Ipsos, show 63% of parents and 65% of teachers believe that school buildings will open this fall.
From The Washington Post:
Some, such as in South Korea, have started reopening, but very few have in the United States, and, according to UNESCO, nearly 70 percent of the world’s students are still being affected by school closures. That is down from close to 95 percent of the world’s students a few months ago.
While 20% of teachers not returning this fall will certainly have an impact on school functions, a separate poll found that 90% of parents with at least one child in grades K-12 are “likely” or “very likely” to pursue at-home learning options rather than send their children back to school. This is also on top of other possibilities that schools will need to consider including compliance with social distancing requirements which could necessitate a hybrid opening of school where only a portion of students come in per day.
