District Surveys Parents on Reopening of School: June 2020
On June 15, the district sent a survey to all Hendrick Hudson School District families, requesting their opinions regarding a number of topics related to the reopening of school in September. At the time the survey was sent, the district was awaiting guidance from the New York State Education Department and wanted to find out what Hen Hud families were thinking about potential options.
The district sent 2,702 surveys via email and received 981 responses. It should be noted that incoming kindergarten families were not included in this survey; a separate survey has been sent to those households, and results will be shared, once they become available.
The following is a summary of the responses received by the district:
83% of respondents said that they would be comfortable sending their children to school if the following guidelines were met: (1) smaller classes to provide social distancing; (2) health screening of staff and students; (3) requirement of staff and students to wear personal protective equipment (PPE) and (4) enhanced cleaning/disinfectant procedures.
60% of respondents said they would be comfortable having their child ride the bus, if the district could provide social distancing, enhanced cleaning procedures and a requirement of students and drivers to wear Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). 35% of respondents said that, while they were open to schools reopening, they would choose to drive their children to school.
68% of parents said they felt their child would be comfortable wearing face masks/coverings and wouldn’t try to remove them frequently, when social distancing was not possible.
91% said their child had a cloth mask/face covering at home that they could wear to school, and 91% said they could provide an extra face covering at school, if necessary.
95% of respondents said that they were supportive of daily temperature checks/health screenings for students and staff.
94% said they understood and could comply with immediate pick up of their child, if the child registered a temperature above public health guidelines or exhibited COVID-19 symptoms.
97% said that enhanced attendance restrictions for staff and students who are ill would be appropriate.
82% said they would understand enhanced restrictions within the school building to enforce social distancing and avoid congregation of students (i.e., cafeteria, bathrooms during passing times, closing locker rooms, etc.).
92% would prefer their family be scheduled to be in school on the same days, should the district create a hybrid schedule comprising in-school and distance learning.
41% of respondents said that if the district had to create a hybrid schedule, they would need older siblings to provide child care for younger siblings, due to parent/guardian work schedules.
The district has recently received reopening guidance and is currently making plans for the fall, making this feedback critically important. A separate survey was sent out in July, utilizing a different format (ThoughtExchange) and requesting detailed input from parents and school district staff. Those results will be shared as well, as soon as they are available.