Survey: Most Radnor Parents Want Students To Return To School

RADNOR TOWNSHIP, PA—Radnor Township School District recently released the results of a survey regarding whether schools should reopen in the fall. According to the school district, more than 1,350 parents and community members as well as 220 staff members completed surveys on pandemic online learning and school reopening in the fall.

Of the parents and community members asked to provide their preference for school reopening, 81 percent indicated as their first (41 percent) or second (40 percent) choice that students physically return to school "with some precautionary measures, such as some amount of social distancing, intense cleaning, and temperature check protocols for students and staff."

Forty-nine percent of respondents selected as their first (25 percent) or second (24 percent) choice that a return to school be "as normal as possible, but to include additional cleaning and encouraging students to wash their hands...and other healthy habits."

Nineteen percent indicated as their first (11 percent) or second (8 percent) choice for RTSD to "provide instruction online until there is a vaccine."

Approximately 73 percent of parent respondents strongly agreed or agreed that online learning in RTSD improved after the first few weeks of the Spring 2020 closure. However, should another closure be ordered by the state, 72 percent stated they would prefer their child receive more synchronous (live) learning than was provided during the closure.

Sixty-eight percent of staff members who responded to a separate survey indicated as their first (33 percent) or second (35 percent) preference to reopen schools with "strict social distancing and...as many precautionary measures as possible." Echoing community members' preference, nearly the same percentage of staff members, 67 percent, selected as their first (29 percent) or second (38 percent) choice to reopen "with some precautionary measures."

Thirty-seven percent stated their first (27 percent) or second (10 percent) choice would be for RTSD to "provide instruction online until there is a vaccine" and 70 percent strongly agreed or agreed that online learning improved after the first few weeks of the closure.

The survey was open June 19 through July 1, 2020.