Survey: Half of Minnesota’s Teachers Favor Distance Learning
St Paul (KROC AM News) - Nearly half of the Minnesota public school teachers who took part in a recent survey about returning to classrooms this fall indicated they would prefer to continue distance learning.
The survey was conducted by Education Minnesota and included more than 20,000 of its members.
It found 49-percent favor the distance learning policy that was implemented after the state closed schools in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Only 17-percent favored in-class teaching and 29-percent supported a hybrid model that would include distance and in-person teaching.
“No matter what we look like or where we come from, most educators and parents want to get back to in-person education, but only if the whole school community can learn, teach and work in safety during this pandemic,” said Denise Specht, president of Education Minnesota. “Educators see there are enormous challenges and difficult tradeoffs in resuming our students’ education this fall, especially when you consider that the health risks are so different by race and ZIP code in the diverse communities served by our public schools.”
Gov. Walz has indicated the state education department will release its guidance for the new school year next Thursday.
KEEP READING: Scroll to see what the big headlines were the year you were born