Minnesota Department Of Education Releases Results Of Fall 2020 Family Survey

Press release from South Washington County Schools:

July 13, 2020

The Minnesota Department of Education (MDE) released the results for its Fall Planning Survey for Families. Of the more than 130,000 responses statewide, 64 percent of families say they are comfortable sending children back to school this fall. Of those 64 percent, 94 percent of families say they would send students back to school full-time, but public health remains a top concern for a majority of respondents.

Families were also asked to rate their experience with distance learning this past spring. Most of the respondents said access to the internet, access to technology and communication from teachers went well. Areas that most respondents said were challenging include, students not feeling empowered to work on their own, students experiencing new mental health challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lessons that were hard to understand.

MDE says information from this survey is being incorporated into its planning for the 2020-21 school year. MDE has previously stated it will make an announcement on the plans for the upcoming school year no later than the week of July 27, 2020.

The results of MDE’s Fall Planning Survey for Families are available on MDE’s webpage, which includes a summary of results for all respondents, summary of results disaggregated by race/ethnicity as well as the full data file.

To learn more about how South Washington County Schools is preparing for the 2020-21 school year, visit sowashco.org/fall2020.

This press release was produced by South Washington County Schools. The views expressed here are the author’s own.