Closures of schools hit poor, minorities hard
In poll, stressed parents worry about students lagging
School closures across California have been hard on most students and parents, but the learning loss and lack of resources are worse for poor, Latino and African American families, according to a poll released Wednesday.
The survey of 1,200 parents across the state found that nearly 40% of lowincome families lack internet access at home, compared to about 16% of households overall. And about half of lowincome families lack devices at home to access distance learning.
“The poll just confirms that the closures exacerbate school inequity, especially for the most vulnerable students,” said Elisha Smith Arrilaga, executive director of the Education TrustWest, which conducted the poll. “Longterm closures are going to impact student learning and performance, but especially for students who are already most marginalized.”
Overall, nearly 90% of California parents are worried about their children falling behind academically during the coronavirus closures, which are expected to last through the rest of the school year. And 80% report higher stress because of the closures.
Nearly all parents, more than 9 out of 10 surveyed, said they would like to have regular access to their child’s teacher, technical help setting up distance learning, paper packets of learning materials and access to counselors. Yet, the survey also found that less than half the schools offer those resources.
Tony Thurmond, California’s superintendent of public instruction, promised the state will listen to concerns raised by parents who participated in the poll.
“We think this is important feedback,” Thurmond said during a virtual news conference Wednesday. “I think what the poll shows is all parents are feeling stress and need for support, but we have to be careful so students of color don’t fall farther behind.
“... This is a daunting challenge on a scale we’ve never seen. Let’s face it: Teachers are being asked to do something they’ve never done before.”
Some school districts are planning Saturday academies and summer enrichment programs, Thurmond said. Those strategies could help address the longterm concerns parents expressed in the survey released Wednesday.
“The other big finding is that parents also are beginning to worry about the future of academics for their children,” Smith Arrilaga said. “That reinforces the need to double down on plans for the summer and fall.”