Patch Survey: CT Parents Divided Over School Safety Precautions

CONNECTICUT — Patch readers are pretty much evenly divided over whether the state's school safety guidelines are really going to keep anyone safe, and most wish the school reopening protocols were stricter.

Those are the key takeaways from an informal survey of 1,061 readers conducted this week.

Less than a single percentage point separated the "ayes" from the "nays" when asked whether the safety measures Connecticut has taken to reopen schools were adequate. That mirrors the battle lines sketched out across the social media debates (and rants) on Patch sites statewide.

Neighbors were less in accord on whether those precautions had drifted into overkill, or should be embellished even further.

About a quarter of the readers taking the survey found the restrictions too strict, while a little over 40 percent said there is still plenty of room to crack down some more. According to the data, 35 percent found their district's approach to reopening to be just "about right," but they weren't the ones who opted to give us an earful in the "comments" section of the survey, some of which are shared below (Reader responses are presented unedited):

"The emotional and academic health of these kids is a much bigger concern to me right now- they need to be back in school and sports full time- the risk of depression, suicide and drug use is far greater than the risk of death from Covid."

"I think during a pandemic that’s growing in strength again we should all shelter in place."

"CT is way too restrictive, children need to be in school and businesses need to reopen."

"No schools should be open full time & full day like the one I teach in. Have kids come back with the hybrid method to limit crowding and maximize spacing. My students are way too close to each other all day."

Fueling much of the emotion is "district envy." After initially calling upon every school system to reopen full-time and in-class, Gov. Ned Lamont empowered each superintendent to choose their own path. Now, for many Patch readers, the grass appears greener just one or two towns over:

"In the district in which I teach, there is no air circulation and we have been given no PPE. I do not feel safe where I teach. My personal children attend in a different school district. I think they are handling it beautifully."

There wasn't a whole lot of enthusiasm for distance learning back in the spring when everyone was in the same boat. Now that some students have returned to the classroom full time, many still at home are feeling the drawbacks of "virtual" education even more keenly:

"I don't understand why the schools in the surrounding towns from us are in session 5 days a week and our town only allows 2 days a week, the kids are not getting a good education, schooling from home doesn't work, and the kids do not know how to type, yet no typing classes are offered."

As parents have been paying closer attention to neighboring districts, some have become rankled when they realize that the definition of "hybrid" can vary from school to school:

"I'm shocked that hybrid does not mean that teachers are teaching simultaneously to students at home and at school. Many classes have the students at home working on alternate assignments, and lectures only happen in person. I'm also surprised that we now have only 4 days of school instruction with hybrid. At our school, there are NO CLASSES on Wednesdays at all! What happened to our minimum numbers of educational days?"

An overwhelming majority of responders (74.7 percent) agreed that students should be wearing masks during school hours, and some believed schools were giving the kids too many breaks:

"While students are kept in cohorts and masked, they're far too many times where they're allowed to not be wearing your masks and situations that are considered unsafe and they mix cohorts far too much whether it be in the lunch or extracurricular sports. Our school system isn't even correctly using cleaners not following manufacturers directions."

For at least one reader, even that one meal break away from a face covering was one period too many:

"I've seen how lunch is at school. Students take off their masks and gather in large groups. The teachers barely do anything to stop them."

A common theme among the anti-mask outliers (15 percent of responders) was that young people were paying the price of their elders' political shenanigans. Their pleas were both impassioned...

"What is being done in the schools are outrageous!!! This mask garbage, social distancing and other draconian measures are destroying our children both mentally, physically and socially. This needs to stop. Let our children be free. It makes me sick to my stomach to see what abuse is being done to our children. This is no longer about a virus, they are using our precious children as political pawns and this needs to END NOW!"

...and calculated:

"Children belong in school. If we are to follow the science children are at very little to no risk of dying from coronavirus. And children do not spread the virus to adults; teachers, parents etc. Our children are being used as pawns and it is disgusting. Additionally making them wear masks is criminal. Making children, especially elementary ages, feel they are diseased and a threat to their friends and teachers is abuse. Telling a kindergartener that they are responsible for their friends health and safety is a crime that should be reported to DCF."

There were a lot fewer residents on the fence when it comes to how the state is handling the pandemic overall. Just over 40 percent either somewhat or strongly disapprove of Gov. Ned Lamont's handling of the COVID-19 crisis, while 48.7 percent approve of the way he is tackling the pandemic. Only 11.3 percent had no opinion either way.

One thing is for certain. The uneven academic reopening and the anxiety it has ignited have been a bonanza for private schools, where smaller class sizes and independence from many of the choices made by the local districts have given them a whole new set of marketing bullet points:

Kids need to physically in school to learn. Remote learning does not work. I pulled my kids out of public schools and sent them to a private school that offered 100% in person instruction. I am lucky that I can afford the tuition. Not so for the less advantaged in the inner cities.

Just 5.3 percent of the parents who responded to the survey said their kids were in private school, but a good number of them wanted us to know they were very happy with their choice:

My daughter’s private school has taken great measures to be safe and I am confident in the work that they have done but from what I’ve read about the public schools, I would not send her if she were in public- primarily because they can not achieve 6 feet social distancing at all times.

A large number of readers took the opportunity presented by the survey comment section to praise the commitment and sacrifice of the state's teachers. Others reminded us that kids, will be kids:

"I had one of my children in hybrid learning where he was attending in person classes every other day. I thought this was good for him socially. Then he came home and told me other children were purposely breathing on each other’s lunches in the cafeteria. They said it was a game. He also told me that when he walks to lunch with his class the kids pull off their masks and blow air at each other. I complained to the school principal, the superintendent, and the board of ed. But after I heard that from my son I pulled him out of hybrid and put him in full distance learning. I don’t blame the teachers..."

The most vocal comment consensus, by far, had nothing to do with learning, or lunches.

"My only issue is football. If they can play soccer, they should be able to play football.

The Connecticut Interscholastic Athletic Conference uncorked a firestorm when it canceled full 11-on-11 football this season, judging by the number of Patch readers who sounded off on the topic.

"Don't understand the discriminate way the state is handling football. Should be all sports play or none. The double standard is unfair and discriminatory"

"Let the boys play football!"

"The high schools should be able to PLAY FOOTBALL!!!"

Many readers on both sides of the divide acknowledged they expected no real changes, scholastically or societally, until a COVID-19 vaccine is released.

How many of them are planning to actually take that vaccine when it does become available? That sounds like a good question for our next poll...