Name: Poll: NC students shortchanged by remote learning, but most say in-person classes not yet safe :: WRAL.com
Brand: wral.com
SKU: wral-com-230
Availability: OnlineOnly

critic

Poll: NC students shortchanged by remote learning, but most say in-person classes not yet safe :: WRAL.com

preview

Published: 2020-09-17 17:30:00Updated: 2020-09-17 18:35:09EducationTags:By Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor, &amp; Joe Fisher, WRAL multimedia journalist — Public school students across North Carolina who are taking classes online during the coronavirus pandemic aren't getting as good an education as if they were at school, a slight majority of state residents said in a WRAL News poll released Thursday.But, according to the 750 people statewide polled by SurveyUSA between Sept. 10 and Sunday for the exclusive poll, few believe it's safe for students to return to in-person classes right now. The poll's responses have a credibility interval of +/-4.9 percentage points.About 50 percent of respondents said students in remote learning are getting a worse education than those in school, compared with only 10 percent who said online classes are superior and 24 percent who said remote and in-person instruction provided an equal education. The rest said they weren't sure.Parents gave the online instruction slightly better marks, with 16 percent saying it was better than sending their children to school, and 43 percent saying it was worse. About one-third of single parents said the two systems were about the same, but only 10 percent said remote learning was better, while 40 percent said it was worse.Adults ages 35 to 49 – the age range of parents of many school-age children – also gave online instruction the highest marks of any age group, with 44 percent saying it's at least as good as in-person classes and 42 percent saying it's worse.Almost half of respondents who classify themselves as upper middle class or wealthy also said remote instruction was better than or as good as in-person classes, compared with only 27 percent of those who describe themselves as middle class and 37 percent who say they are poor. A major problem for school districts holding classes online is that many students from low-income families lack computers and internet access at home, and there have been delays in getting the needed equipment to them."We still have students who are living in dead zones in the county where there is nothing we can give them," said Kathleen Dawson, deputy superintendent of Orange County Schools.The district has given a laptop to almost all of its 7,400 students, but logging into class isn't possible for more than 1,000 families with no at home, Dawson said. Even families with a connection are experiencing slowdowns."A lot of people out in Cedar Grove have spotty and I know the school offers but sometimes they are not effective either," parent900 have been distributed, with 400 requests unfulfilled. As the district looks for more has ."It is quite astounding that we find ourselves in this situation in the 21st century," Dawson said, adding that the state needs to increase the number of cell towers and fiber cables in Orange County."Our students have a right to a free and public education and to equitable educational opportunities, and right now, we are not able to meet their constitutional right," she said.About 834,000 households across North Carolina lack high-speed because people either can’t get it, can’t afford it or don’t want it, according to state officials."We’re seeing problems in every county. It’s not just rural counties," said Jeff irector of the state's Broadband Infrastructure Office.Despite all of the difficulties, most of those polled said it's still safer for North Carolina students to learn online for now.Twice as many respondents (34-17 percent) said it won't be safe for students to return to class at all during the 2020-21 school year as said it's safe to do so now. Eighteen percent said it will take a few months, while 16 percent said they would feel safe by next spring.Parents were slightly more bullish, with 44 percent saying it's already safe to return to school or will be in a few months. But single parents held the opposite stance, with 46 percent saying it wouldn't be safe this school year."I really think we need to be back in schools," Grap said. "I really don’t know how to make it work, though.""It’s a totally different world that we are existing in, and the stakes are so high," Dawson said.for months, saying parents should have the option to send their children to class in addition to the option of all-online instruction. The poll reflects that political stance, with 32 percent of Republican respondents calling schools safe now and another 27 percent saying they would feel safe in a few months. Only 4 percent of Democratic respondents said schools are safe now, and 51 percent said they wouldn't be safe this school year.Whites (23 percent), those who describe themselves as middle class (23 percent), men (21 percent) and rural and suburban residents (19 percent each) also expressed above-average confidence that schools are already safe for in-person classes. Black and Latino respondents, at 4 and 3 percent, respectively, don't have such confidence, although a third of the Latinos polled said they thought schools would be safe in a few months. More than half of Blacks polled said schools wouldn't be safe during the school year.1show allTags:ReporterWeb EditorMatthew BurnsCopyright 2020 by Capitol Broadcasting Company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.Our has changed. If you would like to comment, please share on social media using the icons below and comment there.SPONSOR

Published: 2020-09-17 17:30:00Updated: 2020-09-17 18:35:09EducationTags:By Matthew Burns, WRAL.com senior producer/politics editor, &amp; Joe Fisher, WRAL multimedia journalist — Public school students across North Carolina who are taking classes online during the coronavirus pandemic aren't getting as good an education as if they were at school, a slight majority of state residents said in a WRAL News poll released Thursday.But, according to the 750 people statewide polled by SurveyUSA between Sept. 10 and Sunday for the exclusive poll, few believe it's safe for students to return to...

Poll: NC students shortchanged by remote learning, but most say in-person classes not yet safe :: WRAL.com

No article scores yet.

CRITIC REVIEWS

PUBLIC REVIEWS