NYers Still Unsure About Back-To-School Safety: Patch Survey

HUDSON VALLEY, NY — Students have gone back to school — whether in-person, hybrid or remotely — and New York families have mixed feelings on how local officials are handling education safety amid the coronavirus pandemic. More than half of those who responded to a Patch survey are not convinced that the safety measures being taken by local officials to reopen schools will keep school communities safe, but more parents believe their children are safe in school than those who don't.

Overall, there were 1,211 responses to the unscientific Patch survey.

Nearly 40 percent of respondents believe the current safety measures taken to reopen schools will keep their communities safe, while nearly 28 percent disagree. Almost 26 percent responded "maybe," while more than six percent said they don't know.

Some parents expressed worry about hangouts between children outside of school.

"My concern is the social gatherings happening outside of school with large groups and no precautions," one said.

Another wrote, "The school is not the problem. It’s when the kids are away from school without masks and not social distancing. Mask up!!"

The most popular answer to the question about the "severity" of measures being taken by school districts was "about right," with 42.7 percent of respondents clicking that answer. Meanwhile, more than 29 percent said the measures are much or somewhat too loose, while more than 28 percent said the measures are much or somewhat too strict.

"Safety measures are excellent but outbreaks will occur," one parent, who answered "just right," said. "How well the school handles them (communicating, contact tracing, isolating, quarantining, closing the school temporarily if necessary) is everything."

Another parent, who said the safety measures in place are much too strict, wrote: "It is an OUTRAGE how the public schools are treating the children. Children should not be wearing masks, it is unhealthy and psychologically damaging. Teachers should not wear masks. Children learn from others by watching their facial expressions, seeing their mouths move. Children should see others smile. The mask mandates need to end. The 'science' behind the mask benefits simply DO NOT EXIST. This is a control issue. And our children are the ones suffering on so many levels."

Another parent expressed their children need in-person learning to thrive.

"My kids are suffering learning online," they wrote. "I have two children with ADHD and another two battling depression. The effects of being home and disconnected from their communities is beyond more severe than any virus they could contract. If I could I would send them for as many days as possible for in person learning. No laptop or application can take the place of a good nurturing teacher."

Respondents were mixed on how they rated New York State's overall handling of school safety issues during the pandemic. More than 46 percent strongly or somewhat approve, while more than 40 percent strongly or somewhat disapproved. That leaves 13.5 percent who are neutral.

"I believe [Gov. Andrew Cuomo] did an excellent job in laying out a school reopening plan," one grandparent wrote. "Let's face it. It's an experiment and hopefully the results will be positive. We will have to wait and see."

One parent who strongly disapproves of the state's handling of the coronavirus as it relates to education wrote: "King Cuomo is drunk on power and needs to go. There’s no reason our kids cannot be in school in person full time. The damage this is causing to their mental health is far worse then the chance of them catching a virus. They are falling so far behind in learning and will be at an extreme disadvantage. The numbers have been down for months, life needs to go back to normal. Enough is enough."

Most parents are confident that their children are safe when in school. On a scale of 1 to 5, more than 27 percent answered "1," or most confident, while more than 18 percent clicked "2." Roughly 19 percent are neutral, while 35.5 percent combined expressed none or the least amount of confidence.

"I am so impressed with our district the amount of safety measures that have been put in place is incredible," one parent wrote. "I know some parents and teachers are still complaining but I think it’s a wonderful thing that the children have returned back to school! I also work in a school in my district and I think they’re doing an amazing job at keeping the children safe but also allowing them to have some normalcy."

Another parent stated: "The current guidelines are unfounded, have no basis in science, harmful and destructive to our children emotionally and physically."

The one survey question the majority of people agreed on was the issue of whether students should be required to wear masks in school. More than 75 percent answered yes. Nearly 17 percent said students shouldn't be required to wear masks, while 7.6 percent said, "yes, but only in middle."

"I think masks should be on at all times in school, unless outside and still 6 feet apart," one parent said.

One parent who went against the grain wrote: "Masks are not meant to be worn for children 6-8 hours a day."