Capistrano Unified School District Distance Learning + Reopening Survey Results

Press release from the Capistrano Unified School District:

June 12, 2020

Dear CUSD Families:

This evening we are posting recommendations for the District Board of Trustees regarding initial plans for re-opening schools in August. Our Trustees want our schools reopened and we want to return to normal as soon as we are allowed.

We are building our reopening plan based upon the feedback we received from the 24,000 family survey responses we received, as well as the requirements from state and local health agencies that we must follow. We will send you a link to the reopening plan recommendations after they are published on our website this evening.

District Survey: What did you tell us?

In addition to the responses from the 24,000 surveys, there were 12,000 specific comments which are encapsulated below:

• CUSD families appreciated the efforts of our teachers and staff for their work building, almost overnight, a distance learning model for 47,000 students
• Almost all families want to return to school
• Distance Learning was inconsistent across the District and uneven across school sites
• Families and students want more student-to-student interaction, need for play, and engagement with friends for their social and emotional wellbeing
• Families and students want more live interactions with teachers and live instruction (especially at secondary grade levels)
• Families would appreciate a weekly schedule and consistency with the schedule to support their student’s Distance Learning

A summary of the results is included in the attached infographic and highlighted below:

Distance Learning Experience

• 50% of elementary families, 40% of middle school families and 37% of high school families agree that their school did an effective job of implementing distance learning
• Results indicate that additional support and training will be necessary in preparation for any form of online learning in the future
• Parents shared that we need to create a more consistent online learning experience, including weekly schedules and predictability of work, a reduction in the number of platforms being utilized, and increased teacher and student live interactions

Reopening of School

• Assuming health restrictions are lifted, and schools are in normal operations in the fall, nearly 88% of parents prefer their child attend school on campus full-time, with only 12% preferring to attend an online school or homeschool instead
• If schools are unable to have students back in the traditional full-time format, but with a flexible learning model (a blend of online and in-class), nearly 86% would participate in this model, and 14% would prefer to attend an online or at a homeschool option
• Childcare was of interest to parents if we implemented a flexible learning model (a blend of online and in-class), where 43% of elementary and 22% of middle school families would need childcare for days students were not in school
• As to social distancing measures, parents prefer to have recess, outdoor activities, and lunch served somewhere other than in the classroom.
• Parents also strongly desire a continued focus and improvement of supports for the social and emotional health and wellbeing of their children, especially in an online teaching model.
• It is our intention to safely reopen schools on August 18, 2020. Our objective is to open on schedule, as normal as possible, if conditions and resources allow us to do so.

While we are developing reopening options that we will share publicly tonight, newly required health and safety guidelines will not be adopted until we are closer to reopening school. We continue to wait for the final health and safety regulations from Orange County Department of Health. At this time, we are using guidance provided by the California Department of Public Health to inform our work.

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we appreciate your feedback and input. We recognize that our classrooms provide rigorous learning experiences for our young people, connection to friends, teachers, and staff, and support for social and emotional needs. Our priorities for reopening schools are to provide core educational opportunities, a safe place during the school day for working families, and enhanced post-secondary opportunities for our juniors and seniors.

Thank you again for your support and collaboration and will share our reopening plan options with you this evening.

Sincerely,

Kirsten Vital
Superintendent

This press release was produced by the Capistrano Unified School District. The views expressed here are the author’s own.