MD Parents Worried About Distance Learning Due To Coronavirus

MARYLAND — Recent polls surveying Maryland voters and educators have revealed that distance learning presents many problems for both teachers and families. By a 2-to-1 margin, Marylanders support the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future despite its recent veto by Gov. Hogan. The Blueprint for Maryland’s Future aims to "expand career and technical education, hire more educators and increase their pay, provide additional support to struggling learners and create lasting educational equity and a more prosperous future for Maryland." The General Assembly can override the veto when the legislature convenes again.

According to the polls, when it comes to distance learning, educators are primarily concerned about student engagement while parents are concerned about separation from the school community and loss of a well-rounded school experience. Increased safety measures, such as requiring personal protective equipment and social distancing through reduced class size, are widely supported and seen as essential to reopening schools.

The school funding poll findings include:

• 91 percent of voters believe that it is important to protect public school funding and educator jobs and salaries during the pandemic
• 66 percent of voters support the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future school funding plan after hearing a message from both supporters and opponents
• 60 percent of voters say the state is spending too little on education (with only 7 percent saying we spend too much)
• 70 percent of voters say that teachers are not paid enough

The distance learning poll findings include:

• More than 80 percent of educators are seriously concerned about student motivation, participation, internet access and mental health.
• More than 70 percent of parents report serious concerns about their students missing their peers, their teachers, and their extracurricular activities.
• Majorities of voters and educators strongly support reduced class sizes, PPE for educators and students and additional mental health staff as prerequisites to reopening schools.

“The pandemic has exacerbated inequity and trauma that existed widely before the pandemic shuttered schools,” said Baltimore County elementary school teacher and MSEA President Cheryl Bost in a news release. “These polls clearly show that educators and the public know that we need to protect school funding and the health of our educators and students. Our kids have waited too long for equity in education, and now more than ever we must act to give all of our students the opportunities and support that they deserve.”

During the 2020 session, the General Assembly overwhelmingly passed the Blueprint for Maryland’s Future to create strong schools in every neighborhood by expanding career and technical education, hiring more educators and increasing their pay, providing additional support to struggling learners, and to address the systemic inequities that have especially impacted students of color and students in poverty for decades. The Blueprint, vetoed by Gov. Hogan May 7, is a 10-year plan to make Maryland’s education system world-class, resolve historic inequities, produce graduates ready to fill the jobs that will bring back the economy and end a decade of underfunding schools by billions of dollars.

For the full poll memo, click here. The poll of 650 registered voters and 800 Maryland educators and Maryland State Education Association (MSEA) members was conducted by GBAO Strategies on behalf of MSEA between May 14 and 25.