VB Parent & Staff Questionnaire Results

7/24/2020

Apparently, the Board will not receive the collated data from the Parent & Staff questionnaires until Tuesday, but below are some of the results. I continue to review the recommended plan and welcome feedback from the public. School Board group e-mail is vbcpsschoolboard@googlegroups.com.

Family data (34802 respondents)

Scenario 1 (face to face) preference:
Send to school, 62%
Remote learning only, 36%
Would disenroll, 1%

Scenario 2 (hybrid) preference:
Send to school, 72%
Remote learning only, 24%
Would disenroll, 3%

Scenario 3 (virtual only)
Will you continue to enroll in VBCPS:
Yes, 84%
No, 16%

Instructional Staff data (5377 respondents)

Return to position in Scenario 1 (face to face):
Yes, 84%
Undecided, 15%
No, will retire or resign, less than 1%

Preference for teaching in Scenario 1:
No preference, 40%
Prefer face to face, 35%
Prefer to teach remotely only, 25%

Return to position in Scenario 2 (hybrid, alternating day):
Yes, 90%
Undecided, 9%
No, will resign or retire, less than 1%

Preference for teaching in Scenario 2:
No preference, 43%
Prefer face to face, 32%
Prefer to teach remotely only, 25%

Return to position in Scenario 3 (virtual only):
Yes, 92%
Undecided, 7%
No, less than 1%

Non-Instructional Staff data (2446 respondents)

Return to position under face to face model:
Yes, 89%
Undecided, 10%
No, less than 1%

Return to position under Hybrid (alternating day) model:
Yes, 91%
Undecided, 8%
No, less than 1%

Kat Woods

7/24/2020 09:03:33 am

What don’t you get about science? Why are you constantly stirring up controversy? Look at all of the Southeast region...the vast majority are going virtual for the safety of the children and staff. If you are so hot to trot about opening schools, why don’t you sign up to sub? Do you think this virus is a “hoax”? Let me guess...Trumper? Yeah, I thought so. Republican Party soon to be known as the dinosaurs of the US. Extinct. #ByeVictoria

Victoria Manning

7/24/2020 09:48:46 am

Here is the science, straight from the CDC: The best available evidence indicates that COVID-19 poses relatively low risks to school-aged children. Children appear to be at lower risk for contracting COVID-19 compared to adults. To put this in perspective, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as of July 17, 2020, the United States reported that children and adolescents under 18 years old account for under 7 percent of COVID-19 cases and less than 0.1 percent of COVID-19-related deaths.[5] Although relatively rare, flu-related deaths in children occur every year. From 2004-2005 to 2018-2019, flu-related deaths in children reported to CDC during regular flu seasons ranged from 37 to 187 deaths. During the H1N1pandemic (April 15, 2009 to October 2, 2010), 358 pediatric deaths were reported to CDC. So far in this pandemic, deaths of children are less than in each of the last five flu seasons, with only 64.† Additionally, some children with certain underlying medical conditions, however, are at increased risk of severe illness from COVID-19.*

Scientific studies suggest that COVID-19 transmission among children in schools may be low. International studies that have assessed how readily COVID-19 spreads in schools also reveal low rates of transmission when community transmission is low. Based on current data, the rate of infection among younger school children, and from students to teachers, has been low, especially if proper precautions are followed. There have also been few reports of children being the primary source of COVID-19 transmission among family members.[6],[7],[8] This is consistent with data from both virus and antibody testing, suggesting that children are not the primary drivers of COVID-19 spread in schools or in the community.[9],[10],[11] No studies are conclusive, but the available evidence provides reason to believe that in-person schooling is in the best interest of students, particularly in the context of appropriate mitigation measures similar to those implemented at essential workplaces.

7/24/2020 09:50:38 am

Also straight from the CDC:
Extended school closure is harmful to children. It can lead to severe learning loss, and the need for in-person instruction is particularly important for students with heightened behavioral needs.[12],[13] Following the wave of school closures in March 2020 due to COVID-19, academic learning slowed for most children and stopped for some. A survey of 477 school districts by the University of Washington’s Center on Reinventing Public Education found that, “far too many schools are leaving learning to chance.”[13] Just one in three school districts expected teachers to provide instruction, track student engagement, or monitor academic progress for all students, and wealthy school districts were twice as likely to have such expectations compared to low-income districts.[13]

We also know that, for many students, long breaks from in-person education are harmful to student learning. For example, the effects of summer breaks from in-person schooling on academic progress, known as “summer slide,” are also well-documented in the literature. According to the Northwest Evaluation Association, in the summer following third grade, students lose nearly 20 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 27 percent of their school-year gains in math.[14] By the summer after seventh grade, students lose on average 39 percent of their school-year gains in reading and 50 percent of their school-year gains in math.[14] This indicates that learning losses are large and become even more severe as a student progresses through school. The prospect of losing several months of schooling, compared to the few weeks of summer vacation, due to school closure likely only makes the learning loss even more severe.

Disparities in educational outcomes caused by school closures are a particular concern for low-income and minority students and students with disabilities. Many low-income families do not have the capacity to facilitate distance learning (e.g. limited or no computer access, limited or no internet access), and may have to rely on school-based services that support their child’s academic success. A study by researchers at Brown and Harvard Universities assessed how 800,000 students used Zearn, an online math program, both before and after schools closed in March 2020.[15] Data showed that through late April, student progress in math decreased by about half, with the negative impact more pronounced in low-income zip codes.[15] Persistent achievement gaps that already existed before COVID-19, such as disparities across income levels and races, can worsen and cause serious, hard-to-repair damage to children’s education outcomes.[15],[16] Finally, remote learning makes absorbing information more difficult for students with disabilities, developmental delays, or other cognitive disabilities. In particular, students who are deaf, hard of hearing, have low vision, are blind, or have other learning disorders (e.g., attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) and other physical and mental disabilities have had significant difficulties with remote learning.[17]

Liz Shovelin

7/24/2020 09:40:53 am

As a member of our School Board you are entrusted to information in advance of meetings, I’m disappointed to see you are abusing your role and sharing this information. By your own admission this is a “piece” of the data and I have concerns as both an employee and parent of VBCPS to the validity of this information. I hope others will wait to see the complete picture presented on Tuesday night by Dr. Spence and his team before reacting.

7/24/2020 09:47:46 am

I received this information directly from Dr Spence. This is public information that I believe the public should have. I also believe the Board and the public should have access to all of the data in advance of the meeting.

7/24/2020 10:10:22 am

YOU, as a member of the School Board, received this information that will be made public in the near future. This information is misleading and I look forward to seeing the ALL the data when it is made public. I am confident if Dr. Spence intended for staff, parents, and the community to see this today then he would have shared it with us.

Tara

7/25/2020 09:27:21 am

Why would not want to see this information?! Why is it an abuse of power for someone who represents US, is supposed to fight for our children, is keeping us informed? The science says go back to school—CDC and AAP. Do you really prefer to stick your head in the sand? I cannot believe that to be true. Thank you Vicky! She’s one of the few on that board that do as the majority of families want for the kids.

Timothy Sisson

7/24/2020 10:35:02 am

This is an aggregate data set. Will the raw data set be made public so those of us that wish to perform our own analysis can? There's nothing here to validate the data at all. Point is, BUT lets ignore the fact this virus is only second to tuberculosis (TB) in daily deaths and right now is killing more people globally on a daily basis than HIV/AIDS and Influenza combined. https://informationisbeautiful.net/visualizations/covid-19-coronavirus-infographic-datapack/

Phil Price

7/24/2020 03:55:00 pm

I certainly appreciate you sharing the data from the survey. It was totally lacking from the supposedly data-driven plan presented by Dr Spence.

Ann

7/24/2020 06:47:01 pm

Victoria Manning is a fierce and bold leader who is not afraid to speak up for what she believes in or for her constituents. Why so much anger towards her in these posts? It seems you are getting what you want so if she shows data we should have received days ago like the other school systems' surveys, she gets attacked? Have you ever watched her in a board meeting? She is polite and assertive. She isn't throwing a tantrum because someone differs in opinion. The AAP, CDC etc. say go back. In terms of community transmission, the more we test (as even the governor has stated numerous times) the more positive the cases. Are your kids going to bars and protests? Mine aren't. Are you? I'm not, yet punished we continue to be. I could list many reasons why it is probable that our cases have gone up, but I encourage you to look at the data, do the calculations, refer to reliable, evidenced based research on all aspects of public health risks to the never ending lock-down and be fully informed before judging someone else. I have no problem if you want to stay home. It is your choice. Others think differently and we need Victoria's voice and more like hers to even out the board and level the playing field. Voting Victoria all day long! Thank you Ms. Manning!

7/25/2020 04:38:16 am

Thank you so much Ann for your kind words!

Mark

7/25/2020 10:06:13 am

My mom is a school teacher in Virginia Beach and has been for a long time. I feel like you are not worried at all about how this decision impacts the teachers, or the students that live with grandparents. The disease spreads, (lets not worry about how it spreads)

The fact that teachers are having to take classes that gives them advice on how to cope with students when a teacher or classmate dies is too much. Even at .1 percent, with 70,000 students in Virginia Beach that is a death.

The data worldwide is not apples to apples with America, and you know that. The European Union, and Asia has the virus under much better control than we do. When this virus started it only impacted senior citizens, then it was 40-59 year older and now it is 18-35 year olds. The pattern evolves as more people go back to normal and the next age group to open is impacted. School aged children AND their teachers will be impacted... Are you willing to go work in a school each day? Lead by example, put your money where your mouth is.

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