EJ-ROC partnered with Chalkbeat to survey NYC students on their priorities for schooling during COVID-19.
Much of the narrative about school reopening in the media has centered around government actors and teachers, but there has not been much emphasis on student ideas related to returning to school. This report explores student responses from a survey of New York City K-12 students about the reopening of schools for Fall 2020. Main findings from this included:
- 92% of respondents want in-person learning, many preferring a return to school over continuing remote learning
- 52% of respondents have health concerns, whether it includes wanting additional health measures in the classroom, or a hesitancy to return related to health
- 36% of respondents are concerned about cleanliness, often stating that prior to the pandemic, schools were not as clean as they would have liked, so it would be difficult to maintain cleanliness in schools when reopening
- Students are calling for long-term changes to curriculum and social-emotional support when schools open up in the Fall
- Students are critical of the DOE with regards to public school structure, funding distribution, and cross-classroom standards, and often do not believe that the DOE will be able to make or sustain the changes necessary to make school safe.