The Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan School Board reviewed results of recent distance learning surveys offered to parents/guardians, students and teachers at its June 22 meeting conducted via Zoom.
The non-scientific survey was distributed over 10 days earlier in June to the three groups. The district got responses from 7,700 parents or guardians; 1,300 teachers and 1,600 students.
Responses from all three groups strongly favor returning to in-person learning as much as possible this fall. The feedback is being used by a district design team to plan for three different learning scenarios this fall: all in-person learning; all distance learning or a hybrid of distance and in-person learning.
Preliminary plans will be announced in July and focus groups will be held by the district and at each school to get feedback for making modifications to the plans. The state will announce by July 27 which learning model schools must open with this fall.
Survey highlights include:
Impact on academics and social-emotional health during distance learning:
• 41 percent of parents/guardians and 34% of students reported “regression both academically and social-emotionally.”
• 58 percent of teachers reported distance learning either “negatively impacted” or “somewhat negatively impacted” their mental health.
Comfort with returning to in-person learning:
• 59 percent of parents/guardians, 62 percent of students and 68 percent of teachers said they would return to in-person learning as much as possible.
Selecting a hybrid model of learning:
• 68 percent of parents/guardians, 61 percent of students and 52 percent of teachers chose “in-person as much as possible” as their first choice.
Superintendent Mary Kreger said the district had over 2,000 respond in the survey saying they would like to participate in a focus group. She’s confident the district will get enough input to create the best plans possible.
Kreger noted that the district will not have the option, as far as it knows, to choose which learning model it can use.
“The guidance from the state of Minnesota is really clear that it depends on what happens with our COVID rates throughout the state. If they are maintained or decreasing, we will have more options to have the in person learning environment that all of us really want for all of our students,” she said.
