Slightly more than half of U.S. elementary and middle school students will attend this fall almost this fall, according to a new study, as education officials struggle with an unusual and twisted decision amid the pandemic of coronavirus.
The survey by Burbio, which collects national school and community calendars, found that 52% of students will go to school almost exclusively and just 25% will attend every day. The remaining 19% will have some form of hybrid education, combining online and personal learning. Four percent of the districts remain undecided.
The situation is fluid, with new decisions being announced daily and school districts often changing minds as the virus spreads or comes under control, and as parents, teachers and politicians debate what is safest for children, teachers and the wider community . But Burbio found a definite trend toward more virtual learning.
“We’ve seen a dramatic shift in online learning in just the past three weeks,” Burbio co-founder Julie Roche said in a news release. “Large districts like Chicago, and Sun Belt cities like Houston and Miami along with large suburban districts like Fairfax County Virginia, all set plans to return with personal learning and shifted to full distance.”
Schoolmaster Aurora Chen presents a gift from the graduation committee to a student who just graduated from Yung Wing School PS 124 in New York City.
Michael Loccisano | Getty Images
Burbio found the largest 200 districts were two-thirds virtual despite a decision by the New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo last week looking forward to opening schools in New York City.
Burbio sampled 1,200 of the nation’s 13,500 school districts, representing about 35% of the nation’s schools to reach its estimate. The estimate has an error margin of plus or minus 2.7.
It found great differences between regions and states, between counties in the same state and even between school districts in the same province. Texas, a recent hot spot for the virus, is a patchwork quilt of divergent choices. Schools in the Panhandle, for the most part rural, are almost all personal. Equal schools in southern Texas seem to choose virtual learning. Houston is virtual, but some schools in Harris County, where the city is located, are personal.
“We expect this situation to remain fluid for the entire academic year and we will continue to measure it,” Roche said. “Many districts have thresholds for Covid-19 levels that could result in conversion back to distance learning. Other districts plan to review the ‘on-line’ decision as soon as September and could convert to personal models . “
Correction: Andrew Cuomo is Governor of New York. An earlier version missed its name incorrectly.
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